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In reply to the discussion: ****Official Hillary Launch Thread**** It was FANTASTIC! [View all]freshwest
(53,661 posts)274. Youtube has it now:
Last edited Sun Jun 14, 2015, 02:09 AM - Edit history (1)
Hillary Clinton Delivers First 2016 Presidential Campaign Speech [FULL]
Published on Jun 13, 2015
Two months after announcing her presidential candidacy, Hillary Clinton holds the first official rally of her campaign Saturday, on Roosevelt Island in New York City.
At first rally, Hillary Clinton gives rationale for 2016 quest New York (CNN) Hillary Clinton took the stage on New York City's Roosevelt Island Saturday, looking to offer hundreds of supporters her answer to the question that has dogged her presidential campaign through its first two months: Why?
The Democratic frontrunner in the 2016 race used the stirring geography of the narrow island in New York City's East River to make a case for new economic policies designed to benefit the middle class -- and present herself as the candidate to make them happen.
"Prosperity can't be just for CEOs and hedge fund managers," Clinton told the crowd. "Democracy can't be just for billionaires and corporations. Prosperity and democracy are part of your basic bargain, too. You brought our country back. Now it's time, your time, to secure the gains and move ahead. And you know what? America can't succeed unless you succeed."
The rally marks Clinton's departure from the low-key and carefully choreographed small roundtable events that she's held in the first states to vote in the presidential nominating contest -- Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada -- since announcing her candidacy in April.
RELATED: In kicking off campaign, Hillary to emphasize more Rodham, less Clinton
Supporters began lining up at 6:30 a.m. for a rally that wouldn't begin until four hours later. Media flocked onto the narrow island, with 550 journalists requesting credentials.
And Clinton's aides welcomed the attention, billing the rally as the real launch of her campaign -- and of the case she'll make to voters for the next year and a half.
"This will be a new moment. We have had the spring training, now it is opening day," campaign chairman John Podesta told CNN. "I think, for us, this is an opportunity to lay out really the operating manual for where she wants to take the country."
Clinton's speech was not a detailed rollout of the policies that she'll advance over the course of the campaign. Instead, the former secretary of state previewed a list of critical policy issues while unveiling the specifics of how she'd tackle those issues over the course of the summer.
Saturday's event was also a chance for Clinton to introduce herself to a large media audience. The former first lady is nearly universally known, but aides hope she will be able to present herself in a different, softer light.
"She is a well-known figure but when you're asking the American people to support you as president, even if it is for the second time, there is no skipping of steps," said Jennifer Palmieri, the campaign's communications director. "If you want to understand Hillary Clinton, and what has motivated her career of fighting for kids and families, her mother is a big part of the story."
In that effort, the entire day will focus on Clinton. Although both Bill and Chelsea Clinton attended -- the first time either will appear at a campaign event -- they will not be the focus and are not expected to speak.
Some of Clinton's high-profile supporters flocked to the city for Saturday's rally, too.
Kasim Reed, mayor of Atlanta, told CNN that he decided to attend the event because he wants to "stand with Secretary Clinton."
"I think that people have really been waiting for this aspect of the campaign to begin," Reed said. "There is an enormous amount of pent up energy to get on with the campaign and go on our and making the case to folks why she should be the 45th president."
But well-known New York Democratic figures weren't treating Clinton as their party's presumptive nominee.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio didn't attend the rally in his own backyard, saying he's waiting for Clinton to present a "larger vision" for tackling income inequality.
RELATED: Hillary Clinton channels Roosevelts in first campaign rally
Republicans, looking to seize on the media attention around Clinton's event, bused supporters north from Washington on Saturday morning, with many leaving at 5:45 a.m. They handed out information about Clinton, including red sunglasses that say "Stop Clinton" and "Shady."
GOP presidential contenders, meanwhile, offered pre-buttals before Clinton even took the stage.
"Hillary Clinton's re-launch of her campaign doesn't change that her views are out-of-touch with mainstream America," Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said in a statement.
The campaign rally was largely organized by Greg Hale, a long-time Clinton aide, who grew up in DeQueen, Arkansas, and met the Clintons when he was young. He started doing advance work for Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign and is the Clintons' go-to person for staging events like Saturday's.
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You are soooo lucky to be there. What doesn't Kill Ya Makes You Stronger
misterhighwasted
Jun 2015
#7
I wonder how many people realize how amazing this woman is to us women who grew up
nolabear
Jun 2015
#40
Incredible Credentials..No one is even in the same league with Hillary in 2016
misterhighwasted
Jun 2015
#45
Woohoo! Yay! And I thought her story of her mother was powerful - had no idea of her history!
freshwest
Jun 2015
#276
Made me laugh too. I wondered about that red shirt until I though about the logo.
nolabear
Jun 2015
#58
How adorable for a newbie to show up in this of all threads to school us on oratory. Makin' friends.
Hekate
Jun 2015
#216
Amazing how fast they make friends here, too! We are such an embracing and friendly bunch!
Hekate
Jun 2015
#291
You even started an OP on this topic....how many times are you going to tell us you don't like her
MADem
Jun 2015
#281
Hillary Clinton: "People are beginning to think about their future again" tweet pic
riversedge
Jun 2015
#77
Your Hillary quote is absolutely awesome, btw. "I will not be channeling my husband."
Hekate
Jun 2015
#295
Very important- was bummed when I saw a video of Bern in Wisconsin ignoring women's issues there.
bettyellen
Jun 2015
#109
As a therapist I've heard Hillary's mother's story again and again. SOMEONE cared.
nolabear
Jun 2015
#93
I'm so glad she's laying out all she's done for so many. People need to be reminded.
nolabear
Jun 2015
#99
"America can't succeed unless you succeed. That is why I am running for president of the United Sta
riversedge
Jun 2015
#102
Great post and so glad you brought up the other side. Everyone running now and
R B Garr
Jun 2015
#286
Really important to me to hear this- we gotta shut down the attack on women.
bettyellen
Jun 2015
#142
I can just picture Brit Hume's constipated look when he discusses this speech on Fox
aint_no_life_nowhere
Jun 2015
#122
Did i name names? No. Did i reply to a post about the same subject. Yes.
misterhighwasted
Jun 2015
#231
Kinda glad the stinkers showed up in the same spot today. Theres a lot more on my Ignore list
misterhighwasted
Jun 2015
#253
It made me think of the different point of view some have to "another Clinton" - likening it to a
bettyellen
Jun 2015
#197
"My hair won't go white in the White House. I've been coloring it for years!" LOL
livetohike
Jun 2015
#153
The song playing right now is Fighters by Kris Allen, AI winner and a native Arkansan.
Metric System
Jun 2015
#163
Yeah, I noticed that too... stopping and allowing pictures with her and everything...
boston bean
Jun 2015
#185
I saw a headline yesterday that Cruz whined about how hard it was running for President
Starry Messenger
Jun 2015
#217
Nice crowd, more millennials and men than I expected but NYC is pretty unique in its diversity.
bettyellen
Jun 2015
#191
Help! I live in the California time zone and I need a rerun! Anybody got the link?
Hekate
Jun 2015
#221
Many thanks! CSPAN is also supposed to have it on at 12:30 PST, so I think I've got it covered now
Hekate
Jun 2015
#271
It is almost 1:30 ET and she is still shacking hands (says cspan)--they just cut it off .
riversedge
Jun 2015
#228
At 32:23 in the video, my wife (yellow shirt) and I are top right in the stands.
brooklynite
Jun 2015
#307