Subject: MUST READ: Howard Dean Endorses Hillary
From: Burns Strider <[email-masked]>
To: CTRFriendsFamily <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 07:56:32 -0500
List-Id: <CTRFriendsFamily.americanbridge.org>

*Politico: Howard Dean: “I’m Ready for Hillary”
<http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/12/howard-dean-ready-for-hillary-113444.html#.VIgsdvldWSp>*

By Howard Dean

December 10, 2014

Hillary Clinton is by far the most qualified person in the United States to
serve as President. If she runs, I will support her. I have known Hillary
for almost twenty-five years. We first met when I was the governor of
Vermont and she was the First Lady, giving us the opportunity to work
together in various capacities, particularly on expanding health care
access. During those years, I have learned that she is one of the most
conscientious and competent people I have ever met. She has an enormous
capacity to analyze and solve problems. She has a work ethic that drives
her to persist until the job is done and done right. And she has a record
in the Senate of successfully working with both sides of our very combative
political spectrum in order to accomplish goals that improve the lives of
ordinary Americans

One of the most important reasons I am supporting her is because Secretary
Clinton understands the institutional requirements of the Supreme Court.
More than 73 percent of Americans think the Supreme Court is no longer a
fair arbitrator and is influenced by political considerations. I am one of
those 73 percent. This Court has repeatedly made decisions that have harmed
our country for the sake of extending a political and ideological agenda
that is far outside the mainstream of American traditions—on issues like
campaign finance, voting rights, the rights of women, and religious freedom.

America needs a thoughtful President who will appoint judges and justices
who will stand up for the Constitution and the law instead of catering to
the dictates of those who fund the right-wing Federalist Society. I am
confident that Hillary Clinton will provide that leadership.

As secretary of state, Hillary Clinton built up a strong record of working
effectively with our partners and allies to deal with challenges to global
peace. In her four years as Secretary of State, she traveled nearly a
million miles and visited with foreign leaders in 112 countries to address
common problems from terrorism to overcoming the oppression of women to
global warming. She has the experience and knowledge required to protect
American national security in a time of new challenges that threaten peace
and prosperity, including the menace that is ISIL. Secretary Clinton’s work
serving President Obama has earned the respect of any thinking
American—including Republicans—both inside the Beltway and around the
country.

Finally, although the statistics suggest the economy is improving, over 60%
of Americans aren’t feeling good about their own situation. Nearly all of
the gains in the past fifteen years have bypassed the vast majority of
Americans, while the holdings of the top 20% have increased dramatically.
This is a fundamental disparity that will be the greatest challenge our
next President must tackle—how to reestablish a commitment to all of us to
restore the opportunity to live and achieve the American Dream.

Hillary Clinton will not shrink from this challenge. In the coming months,
I expect her to lay out her plans to attack income inequality and help
rebuild the middle class. She knows how to sell a broad range of Americans
on these policies, and has shown how to stand up against extremist economic
policies.

America needs a President who will focus on the next hundred years, not one
who hopes to turn the clock back by a hundred years. I am sure I will have
disagreements with her as she focuses on getting Americans back to work and
rebuilding an America that works for all of us. I value and respect her
enough that whatever differences may exist will be minimal compared to the
tasks we really need to do for the good of restoring our country. We need a
mature, seasoned, thoughtful leader at a time when maturity and
thoughtfulness are increasingly rare commodities in Washington, D.C.

If I have the opportunity, I will cast my vote for Hillary Clinton for
President.