The former secretary of state sticks to campaign themes — women, the family, wages — at EMILY’s List dinner. Meanwhile, questions continue about her State Department tenure.
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WASHINGTON — About a dozen introductory speakers at a Democratic gala here on Tuesday heaped praised on the honoree of the evening: Hillary Clinton.
But in the back of the ballroom at the Washington Hilton, as yet another speaker took the lectern, reporters hovered around Clinton's spokesperson, hoping for further comment about a pair of controversies that lent a darker hue to an event meant to celebrate the former secretary of state, and preface her likely presidential campaign.
In her speech at the 30th anniversary dinner for EMILY's List, an organization that supports pro-choice women running for office, Clinton did not acknowledge the recent scandals.
Negative headlines have run for weeks about foreign donations to her family's foundation. This week, she has faced questions about the use of her personal email account to conduct government business at the State Department.
Clinton instead delivered a speech that hit on the economic themes expected to play at the center of her presidential campaign: She cast parents and working families as the core of the economy and described the recovery from the recession as "real but fragile."
"Across our country, Americans feel the ground shifting under their feet," Clinton said, acknowledging efforts by President Obama to stabilize the economy. "Thanks to President Obama, we have fought our way back from crisis and recession… But there's still so much anxiety and uncertainty. And the gains we've made are real but fragile."
Her speech to the 1,600 in attendance gave the clearest sense yet of the language Clinton would use to pitch a weary electorate on the economy.
She returned to themes she first tested during a string of rallies last fall for midterm Democrats, using the frame of the family and making a passing reference to her newborn granddaughter. "When a parent is short-changed, a family is short-changed," Clinton said. "And if you go all the way up the ladder, the economy is short-changed."
Following introductory remarks by such lawmakers as Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Attorney General Kamala Harris, and Sen. Barbara Mikulski, Clinton praised EMILY's List for its efforts on behalf of women in politics, listing Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the progressive often cast as her ideological foil, as an example. It's because of EMILY's List, Clinton said, "that Elizabeth Warren can work to hold Wall Street accountable."
She also spoke about the importance of affordable child care, closing the wage gap, and the right to collectively bargain. "The middle class was built in part by the right of people to organize and bargain on behalf of themselves," Clinton said to a standing ovation.
"We're fighting for an economy that works for everyone and includes everyone," said Clinton. "That is the only way to achieve broad-based prosperity in a world that is growing more competitive and interdependent every day."
At the end of her speech, Clinton made a passing reference to what is now considered her imminent presidential campaign. "I suppose it's only fair to ask, don't you someday want to see a woman president?" she asked the crowd, causing one group of guests toward the back of the ballroom to stand and swing their white dinner napkins in the air.
"Let's keep up our pressure, let's understand what we're facing, and lets go forth and win some elections!" Clinton said in closing, leaving the podium without mention of the scandals which have precipitated negative headlines.
Only one speaker, EMILY's List head Stephanie Schriock, made a nod toward the stories — and only to say that no other American in political history has "faced more unfair attacks."
But Clinton, she added, knows better than anybody how to "ignore the haters."
Source BuzzFeed - Politics http://ift.tt/1AYO0SR
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