Latinos in Nevada Cheer Hillary Clinton's Responses on Immigration

[BlueMTexpat]

Hillary Clinton's wonky immersion in policy details paid off for her when immigration came up on Thursday during the MSNBC and Telemundo town-hall-style event in Las Vegas for the Democratic Presidential contenders.

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/02/19/latinos-in-nevada-cheer-hillary-clintons-responses-on-immigration/?_r=0

The audience was diverse, reflecting the population of Nevada, with many Latinos and immigrants whose faces have rarely been seen in ealier televised town halls.

At one point, a woman from the audience told Senator Bernie Sanders, when he was onstage, that she was an American citizen, but her Mexican husband of many years had been deported and prohibited from returning to the United States for 10 years. She was referring to provisions in a 1996 law that bar immigrants who have been in the country illegally from returning when they are deported or leave voluntarily, for at least three years and in most cases for 10 years.

Mr. Sanders responded vaguely saying that his policies would avoid separating families.

Later, when it was her turn in front of the audience, Mrs. Clinton went back to the question, clearlly familiar with the legal bars, saying she would repeal them. When pressed by a moderator, Jose Diaz-Balart of Telemundo, Mrs. Clinton said she would send two bills to Congress to make sure the bars were canceled. A point of law, which would probably be obscure to most Americans, had painful meaning for immigrants at this forum who had seen family members deported, and they cheered her response.

[livetohike]

1. She is amazing. Plus her education and experience has an attorney gives her

the edge in attention to details. That's lacking in Sanders*.

[BlueMTexpat]

5. This is absolutely the point.

I believe that she would have given the same or a similar answer even if she had gone first.

Anyone going into that town hall expecting that Latinos would not want details on immigration policy certainly did not know the issues closest to Latinos' hearts in Nevada or, for that matter, anywhere else in the US with significant Latino populations.

[femmedem]

2. she may have had time to research it between hearing Sanders' question

and going on stage herself. I don't know if she was able to receive messages from staff.

I don't doubt that she has a good grasp of policy details. I am saying she was given an unfair advantage by having more time to consider the question, having been able to listen to Bernie's portion of the town hall.

[yallerdawg]

3. They flipped a coin for first or last - I know, ironic.

I would never interpret it as an "unfair advantage."

It's not like she should be sequestered in a sound-proof box somewhere!

Coincidentally, Sanders has gone first in each of these "town halls." So he is always freshest and first in bed that night, and there have been some late night finishes to these events.

It's not like people mellow as it gets later. Moderators, audiences, or candidate.

[femmedem]

6. All fair points.

Btw, I didn't mean that it was unfair that he went first, although I know that's been bandied about. I was referring to her being able to listen in as she waited. And yup, I'd be all about getting an extra hour sleep or two if I were either one of the candidates!

[BlueMTexpat]

4. Possibly, but

if you read the rest of the article at the link, it is very likely that she had already anticipated such a question and would have given the same or a similar response even if she had been asked the question first. Comprehensive immigration reform is an issue on which she is very passionate. There are several other issues close to her heart that she could equally have discussed in such detail.

One does not just trot out detailed, coherent, and cogent answers about obscure legal bars and remedies for them in the tiny amount of time she would have had to research, distill, and prepare her answer between Bernie's being asked the question and her own response.

This would also also have meant that she would have missed hearing other parts of Bernie's town hall. She's too hands-on to have done that.

She is simply the best comprehensively qualified Dem candidate. She literally will be able to hit the office of President running from Day 1.

[BlueMTexpat]

7. She would literally have had to

speedread, distill the most salient points of the legislation (no simple matter anytime), and combine them in a coherent and cogent manner in VERY little time. Even that would have been amazing.

The fact is that she really knows her stuff. Period.

[misterhighwasted]

9. "The fact is that she really knows her stuff. Period."

She is a remarkable person, isn't she.

[BlueMTexpat]

10. That is why I am supporting her.

[Lucinda]

13. She has been talking about this for a while now. This article is from last May

http://thinkprogress.org/immigration/2015/05/06/3655540/hillary-clinton-immigration-remarks-nevada/

Hillary Clinton’s Immigration Policy Could Be Very Different From Obama’s. Here’s How.
BY ESTHER YU-HSI LEE MAY 6, 2015 2:14 PM


"...
“The biggest thing for me was that she recognized that the three to ten-year bar was a barrier for me,” Gamez said, referring to the number of years that immigrants face not being able to reenter the United States when they violate immigration laws. “This was the first time someone asked me about it. … [Immigration] has been a hot topic since former President] George W. Bush and nothing has happened.”..."

[femmedem]

16. Thanks! I didn't know that. n/t

[stopbush]

15. ??? Seriously?

She would have to research it? On what? Wikipedia? She's standing backstage not knowing what questions are going to be thrown at her, but she has time to quickly get research done on ONE question that was asked of Bernie? Hmm? Did she have time to quickly research every question asked of Bernie?

Let's stipulate for the sake of argument that she did. What good would it do her? The topic might not come up at all during her segment. But let's say it did come up, or that Hillary knew it would come up. Why would she risk tossing out a bunch of quickly researched information on live TV if she was not prepared to drill down into that info when asked follow up questions? That's the kind of prep work somebody does when they're going to a foreign country where they don't know the language, so they memorize a few catch phrases that they think will get them by like "where's the men's room," which work fine until the person they ask uses a bunch of words to answer that the person asking hasn't learned. Then, it's confusion. It's the kind of prep work the lame-ass college student does preparing for a final, where they learn enough to fumble through the multiple choice questions but draw a blank when the instructor puts an essay question on the test.

Hillary has an incredible grasp of policy details on a YUGE range of subjects. You need to accept that as a Bernie supporter or you will always be playing catch-up with Hillary.

[femmedem]

18. I do believe that she has an amazing grasp of policy details.

And I would delete my comment except that now it has garnered so many replies, most of them a polite exchange of information.

ETA: I also apologize, in particular, for posting that in the Hillary Group. I hadn't noticed what group I was in.

[stopbush]

19. No problem. I encourage you to hang out in the Hillary Group.

It's the only place on DU these days offering a positive and - more-important - OBJECTIVE look at Hillary.

[Iliyah]

8. Even if HRC was first and answered the question, it would be said

that she had prior notice of the question. So there you have it. Its never the fact that HRC knows what she is talking about.

[BlueMTexpat]

12. Hillary simply

can do no right in the eyes of too many who should know better.

[dr60omg]

11. There are facts and there are also things like affirmation bias

Sanders has been at the forefront of immigration reform. That is why Congressman Raul Griljalva stands in solidarity with him. To see people like Gutierrez (who is Puerto Rican and has supported Rahm Emanuel over Chuy) and the Castro brothers (you know a VP contender and both are basically DLC centrists) ... I thought it was absurd to have Diaz Balart you know the Cuban (as in refugee although he is from Ft Lauderdale) who is related to two Republican congressmen (one is now retired and is the nephew of Fidel Castro) attempt to conflate the issues we live with out west with Miami is just very sad. Again I am grateful for people like Flores, Carmona and Grijalva
I also remember the bill which was mentioned and why Sanders voted against the bill because the SPLC said it was akin to slavery and LULAC (one of the large Xican@ Latino Mexican organizations was also against the legislation. To say he was vague betrays the reality of what has transpired. He is pro immigration.
Let me remind you of what happened in Honduras (I can go further back even to Pinochet) and what Mrs. Clinton said to refugee children who made their way across Mexico on top of the train known as the Beast (remember Nicaragua and Mexico had taken in refugees) and what did Mrs. Clinton do? Send children back to certain death.

Maybe we were listening to two different town halls but to think of her as someone who celebrates Xican@s, LatinosX, Hispanics etc is a space where reality betrays her rhetoric.

[BlueMTexpat]

14. This is the Hillary Clinton Group.

This is the ONE FORUM on DU where you simply cannot post diatribes against Hillary.

Everywhere else on DU has anti-Hillary feeding frenzy daily.

You are NOT welcome here.

Please go away and buh-bye from me. You made it to my Ignore List on your very first post. Congratulations!

[Cha]

17. No he hasn't .. sanders voted against an important immigration law and Hillary voted for it.

sanders doesn't know policy Hillary does. sanders talks in soundbytes.. Hillary knows what she's talking about.

Yes you're Blocked.