Subject: 1.23.15 CTR Weekend TPs
From: Burns Strider <[email-masked]>
To: CTRFriendsFamily <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 14:51:03 -0500
List-Id: <CTRFriendsFamily.americanbridge.org>

​Hi all,

Please find Correct The Record's weekend talking points package both
attached and below. Thanks!

*1.23.15 Weekend Package*

*1.      **Hillary Clinton: Energy and the Environment*

*2.      **Hillary Clinton: Tough on Terrorism*

*3.      **Hillary Clinton: A Lifetime Champion of the Middle Class*

*4.      **Hillary Clinton: Tops New National Poll*

*TALKING POINTS: HILLARY CLINTON ON ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT*

*“So to those who doubt the science of climate change and who lack faith in
American innovation, just tell them, look at the record and look at what’s
already happening across the United States … We are already advancing clean
energy solutions that can begin turning this tide and can make America the
clean energy superpower for the 21st century. We have the opportunity to
invest in the infrastructure of the future resilient enough to withstand
the effects of climate change we won’t be able to avoid...” – Hillary
Clinton remarks to the League of Conservation Voters, 12/1/14*

*MESSAGE:* Hillary Clinton recognizes the realities of climate change and
has fought to move to cleaner energy to create green jobs, boost our
economy and preserve the natural wonder of creation for the next generation.

   - *In the Senate, Hillary Clinton boosted alternative energy power and
   fought for clean energy solutions.*
      - Hillary Clinton voted for tax credits for electricity produced from
      renewable energy sources and proposed permanent tax credits for wind and
      solar production.
      - She proposed getting big oil companies to reinvest some of their
      excess profits toward developing smarter energy technologies like
      fuel-efficient cars and wind and solar power.
      - Senator Clinton repeatedly cosponsored the Clean Power Act to get
      power plants to reduce harmful air pollution.
      - She introduced legislation to make federal buildings more energy
      efficient.
      - Hillary cosponsored the Diesel Emissions Reductions Act to increase
      investment in technologies to reduce pollution from diesel-powered trucks.

   - *As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton prioritized the fight against
   climate change as a matter of foreign policy.*
      - Secretary Clinton appointed a Special Envoy for Climate Change to
      serve as an advisor on international climate change policy.
      - She established the Bureau of Energy Resources to channel the
      domestic energy boom to advance American interests around the world and
      address the threat of climate change posed by the world’s energy
      consumption. [combined two bullets from other two sets of TPs]
      - During Secretary Clinton’s tenure, the Bureau of Energy Resources
      helped European nations reduce their dependence on Russian gas, lessening
      Putin’s leverage over Ukraine and Europe’s energy supply.
   - *Secretary Clinton led the way through partnerships and developed
   incentives to encourage cooperation and progress toward reducing our
   footprint on the environment.*
      - Secretary Clinton helped negotiate an unprecedented agreement
      between all major economies to commit to curb carbon emissions
through 2020.
      - She promoted the development of clean energy projects in a regional
      partnership with countries in North, Central, and South America and the
      Caribbean through the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas.
      -   She signed an agreement with Brazil to strengthen cooperation as
      our countries work together to meet the grave challenge of global climate
      change.

   - She implemented 18 EcoPartnerships with China to collaborate on clean
      energy, sustainable development, and environmental issues.
      - She launched the U.S. Africa Clean Energy Finance Initiative to
      drive private sector investment into Africa’s clean energy sector.
      - Recognizing that dirty cookstoves kill nearly 2 million people a
      year and are harmful to the environment, Secretary Clinton took
action and
      launched the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves in order to save lives
      and protect our planet.

*TALKING POINTS: TOUGH ON TERRORISM*

*MESSAGE: **In a changing and unpredictable world, Hillary Clinton’s
leadership on issues of national security has kept America secure and
helped make the world a safer place.*

*KEY POINTS:*

·         As Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton worked through diplomatic
channels to help the United States fight terrorism and safeguard our
national security.

   - Secretary Clinton made the case for the raid to bring Osama bin Laden
      to justice.

   - Clinton built relationships with key players in the Middle East and
      funded counterterrorism training initiatives.

   - Through negotiations with Russia, Clinton successfully worked to
      reduce the number of nuclear missile launchers in the world.
   -
   - Clinton built and maintained a coalition to enact the toughest
      sanctions in Iran’s history in order to encourage Iran to abandon, or at
      least stall, its nuclear program.
   -
   - Clinton negotiated the Gaza cease-fire between Israelis and
      Palestinians, helping avert an all-out war in Gaza.
   -
   - Clinton played a role to end the war in Iraq and begin a transition to
      civilian society in Afghanistan.
   -
   - Clinton instituted new roles at the State Department to fight
      terrorism:

   - Clinton created the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism
         Communications to combat Al-Qaeda’s growing influence online.
         - Clinton established the Bureau of Counterterrorism to advance
         counterterrorism objectives and our national security.

o   Clinton identified and led on important issues which affect our
national security, such as the global empowerment of women and climate
change.

§  Clinton worked to empower women and girls around the world to
participate in their economies.  This helps make economies stronger and
more stable.

§  Clinton prioritized addressing climate change in her time at the
State Department.  Weather events caused by climate change can lead to
famine and destroyed infrastructure, which increase instability and unrest.

·         ·        Serving as a United States Senator representing New York
during September 11, 2001, Hillary Clinton made it a priority to urge the
pursuit of justice against Al Qaeda and improve our nation’s efforts to
combat terrorism.

*TALKING POINTS: HILLARY CLINTON: A LIFETIME CHAMPION OF THE MIDDLE CLASS*

*“With all due respect, it is not rich people who made America great. It is
the vast American middle class. It is the upward mobility of people who
thought they could do better than their parents.”*

*–Hillary Clinton*

*MESSAGE:* Hillary Clinton has dedicated her life to ensuring that
hardworking Americans can succeed.  In uncertain times, families need faith
that opportunity for their children and grandchildren is alive and well.
Hillary Clinton wants the American Dream to be a real possibility for every
child and every family across our nation.

 ·         *Hillary Clinton knows that tomorrow’s shared success starts
with today’s child*, and her dedication to children began long before she
ever entered public office. In fact, her first job out of law school was
for the newly-formed Children’s Defense Fund, an organization she would
later chair.

 ·         *Hillary Clinton has worked to expand access to early childhood
education for children of lower-income families.* As First Lady of
Arkansas, Hillary Clinton introduced her husband to the HIPPY program,
which expanded early childhood education to economically disadvantaged
children. In the Senate, Clinton partnered with Kit Bond in an effort to
expand voluntary full-day pre-K for children from low-income families.
Today, as part of the Too Small to Fail Initiative to improve the health
and well-being of children five and under, Hillary Clinton is working to
close the “word gap” for kids in low-income families who often have smaller
vocabularies than their classmates.

 ·         *Hillary Clinton has worked to increase health coverage for
millions of children in low-income and working families* through the State
Children’s Health Insurance Program, a program she helped created as First
Lady. In the Senate, Hillary Clinton looked for ways to strengthen the
program, introducing bills to allow states to expand it.

 ·         *Hillary Clinton’s record proves she believes that every
American should be able to earn an equal day’s pay for an equal day’s work.* As
a Senator, Hillary Clinton introduced the Paycheck Fairness Act and was an
original cosponsor of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

 ·         *In the Senate, Hillary Clinton supported increasing the minimum
wage* and voted repeatedly to protect and increase it. She was an original
cosponsor of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, and authored the 2006 and
2007 Standing with Minimum Wage Act to tie Congressional salary increases
to an increase in the minimum wage.

 ·         *As a Senator, Hillary Clinton supported progressive tax
policies* that required millionaires to pay their fair share. She opposed
tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and corporations in 2001 and 2003,
and she supported a variety of middle-class tax cuts, including tax credits
for student loan recipients, and keeping in place the tax cuts for those
who make under $250,000 a year.

o   Clinton has said “that inherited wealth and concentrated wealth is not
good for America,” and she has consistently voted against repealing the
estate tax on millionaires, doing so in 2001, 2002, and 2006.

 ·         *Hillary Clinton supported working families going through
difficult times through no fault of their own.* In the Senate, she was a
bipartisan leader on fighting to extend emergency unemployment benefits.

*BOTTOM LINE:* Leading the charge for equal pay for equal work, fighting to
increase  wages, strongly advocating for progressive tax policies and
access to education and healthcare to help middle-class families – Hillary
Clinton has fought for an America and a future where everyone can rise to
their potential.

*HILLARY CLINTON’S RECENT STATEMENTS ON THE MIDDLE CLASS*

*In her many public appearances over the past year, Hillary Clinton has
continued to advocate for the middle class by sharing her vision all over
the country:*

·         *In a speech to a women-focused event for Democrat Tom Wolf,
“Clinton focused on ‘hard-working families’ and restoring America’s luster
and a strong middle class with ‘a fresh start.’”* According to Politico,
Clinton “gave one of her strongest political speeches since her 2008
campaign ended in June 2008 as she headlined a women-focused event for
Democratic gubernatorial Tom Wolf in Pennsylvania. Clinton focused on
‘hard-working families’ and restoring America’s luster and a strong middle
class with ‘a fresh start,’ as well as women’s pay equity and her gauzy
first days as a new grandmother. For the first time in months, Clinton’s
public talk was neither a dry recitation of public policy nor a
self-reflection about her tenure as secretary of state.” [Politico
<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/10/pennsylvania-governor-race-2014-tom-wolf-hillary-clinton-111760.html#ixzz3Fkai9jLu>,
10/9/14]

·         *Clinton’s language at a women-focused event for Democrat Tom
Wolf was “some of her strongest about rebuilding the middle class.”* According
to Politico, “The remarks were some of her strongest about rebuilding the
middle class. They came after she was accused of being out of touch for her
comment in June about being ‘dead broke’ when she left the White House, and
for giving paid speeches at exorbitant prices.” [Politico
<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/10/pennsylvania-governor-race-2014-tom-wolf-hillary-clinton-111760.html#ixzz3Fkai9jLu>,
10/9/14]

·         *The theme of Clinton’s speech at an event for Pennsylvania
gubernatorial candidate Tom Wolf was working families.*According to
BuzzFeed, “The thread running through Clinton’s message here in
Pennsylvania, the state she won six years ago in a primary against Barack
Obama, was working families — a theme she teased repeatedly throughout her
speech with populist undertones, mentions of her granddaughter, and stories
about her own trips as a child to Scranton, where Clinton’s father, Hugh,
was born to a working-class immigrant family.” [BuzzFeed
<http://www.buzzfeed.com/rubycramer/hillary-clinton-finds-her-message#ukknyi>,
9/9/14]

·         *In Pennsylvania, Clinton criticized the power of corporations,
siding with middle-class families.* According to the Wall Street Journal,
“Though she and her husband have raised more than $1 billion from U.S.
companies and corporate officials over the last two decades*, *Mrs. Clinton
signaled that she sided with everyday families struggling to pay bills and
keep afloat. Corporations, she said, ‘seem to have all the rights, but none
of the responsibilities of people …’ She decried practices that pay women
less than men for the same work and took aim at politicians who’ve
belittled women’s rights. ‘A 20th century economy will not work for
21st century
families,’ she said.” [Wall Street Journal
<http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/10/09/hillary-clinton-blends-family-stories-populist-attacks-at-pennsylvania-rally/>,
9/9/14]

·         *Hillary Clinton’s speeches are revealing a theme that she would
fight to restore and re-open the middle class. *According to TPM, “The
notion of ‘upward mobility’ was central to Clinton's message to the New
American audience in May. She described it as ‘time-tested wisdom’ that was
‘at the heart of what I believe is the basic bargain of America.’… Here is
how Clinton described that basic bargain of America, as she sees it, in
May: ‘No matter who you are or where you come from, if you work hard and
play by the rules, you’ll have the opportunity to build a good life for
yourself and your family.’" [TPM
<http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/hillary-clinton-2016-economic-message>,
9/22/14]

·         *Hillary Clinton’s speeches are revealing a theme that she can
address income inequality and gender inequality. *According to TPM, “So
income inequality has been a big part of the message. But it's also been
married to inequality between the sexes. At both the New American and CAP
events, the same factoid made an appearance: That three-quarters of jobs
that rely on tips -- like ‘waiters, bartenders and hairstylists’ as she
said on both occasions -- are held by women…. And she said Thursday that
these issues should be used to mobilize voters -- in the 2014 midterms and
moving forward.” [TPM
<http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/hillary-clinton-2016-economic-message>,
9/22/14]

·         *In recent speeches, Clinton has taken a tougher stance on big
business, likely in “an effort to find the balance between populism and her
familiar centrism” she may need in 2016, according to Reuters. *According
to Reuters, “Long viewed as an ally by Wall Street, likely 2016
presidential contender Hillary Clinton has increasingly been taking banks
and big business to task while on the campaign trail for Democrats across
the country.… This is a change of tone for the former New York senator, who
faced criticism for her Wall Street ties as recently as September, after
appearing with Goldman Sachs (GS.N) chief executive Lloyd Blankfein. Allies
and analysts see it as an effort to find the balance between populism and
her familiar centrism that Clinton may need in order to broaden her appeal
in a potential 2016 Democratic primary contest.” [Reuters
<http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/02/us-usa-elections-clinton-idUSKBN0IM0ED20141102>,
11/2/14]

·         *During a New Hampshire midterm event, Clinton discussed
expanding economic opportunity and raising the minimum wage. *According to
the Boston Globe, “Clinton spoke in New Hampshire about expanding economic
opportunity, raising the minimum wage, and protecting women’s rights. She
acknowledged that, across the country, there is ‘a lot of anxiety and
insecurity.’ But the former secretary of state and US senator from New York
struck a hopeful note: She bookended her remarks talking about her new
granddaughter and said seeing another generation in the family focuses the
mind on what’s important. Clinton said she and her husband were raised to
believe the American Dream was within your reach if you worked hard. ‘You
should not,’ Clinton told a packed gymnasium, ‘have to be the grandchild of
a governor or a senator or a former secretary of state or a former
president to believe that the American Dream is in your reach.’” [Boston
Globe
<http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/11/02/hillary-clinton-campaign-with-jeanne-shaheen-maggie-hassan-new-hampshire/rNXPdVMI3umCS97hOY5ytK/story.html>,
11/2/14]

·         *In midterm campaign appearances, Clinton has been echoing
populist notes. *According to Bloomberg, Clinton “has been sounding more
populist notes of late as a campaign-trail advocate for Democratic
candidates who are on the ballot next week. That's an important turn as she
contemplates a run for president in 2016 because Clinton's biggest weakness
among Democrats, and some Republicans, is the perception that she's too
close to Wall Street and corporate America…. And the more anti-corporate
tone is pleasing to the ears of liberals who have pined for Senator
Elizabeth Warren, a scourge of Wall Street banks, to challenge Clinton for
the Democratic nomination. And, they say, it's a message Clinton can use
against Republicans because many in the GOP have turned wary of Wall Street
and big corporations since the 2008 financial crash.” [Bloomberg
<http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2014-10-27/clinton-trickledone-economics-has-failed>,
10/27/14]

·         *During a midterm appearance in New York, Clinton clarified
earlier comments about companies and job creation, while maintaining the
same theme: “Clinton’s for the little guy.” *According to Bloomberg, “Days
after Republicans feasted on her claim that corporations don't create jobs,
Hillary Clinton tried Monday to ‘be absolutely clear about what I've been
saying for a couple of decades.’ ‘So-called trickle-down economics has
failed,’ Clinton said as she stumped for Representative Sean Patrick
Maloney in New York. ‘Our economy grows when businesses and entrepreneurs
create good-paying jobs here in an America where workers and families are
empowered to build from the bottom up and the middle out–not when we hand
out tax breaks for corporations that outsource jobs or stash their profits
overseas.’ While campaigning Friday for Massachusetts gubernatorial
candidate Martha Coakley, Clinton created a stir–and drew criticism from
Republicans–by saying, ‘Don’t let anybody tell you that it’s corporations
and businesses that create jobs.’…The cleaned-up message, though, hits at
the same theme: Clinton's for the little guy.” [Bloomberg
<http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2014-10-27/clinton-trickledone-economics-has-failed>,
10/27/14]

·         *While campaigning for Democrats in the midterm election, Clinton
frequently tells voters that “everyone deserves a second chance, a third
chance.” *According to a CNN, an investigation into Clinton’s most common
lines on the trail found that Clinton frequently tells voters, "‘Everyone
deserves a second chance, a third chance...’ Clinton has focused a great
deal on economic populism on the stump, an issue other Democrats thinking
about seeking the presidency in 2016 have started to tweak Clinton on.
‘Everyone deserves a second chance, a third chance to keep going and to
make something of themselves,’ Clinton said in Iowa earlier this year.
‘That was one of the most important lessons of my life.’ Clinton usually
uses the line to encourage compassion from a crowd, and to show that she
has compassion, too.” [CNN
<http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/28/politics/clinton-midterm-lines/>, 10/28/14]

·         *In a San Francisco speech, Clinton revealed some of what may be
her economic message: “Who’s on your side?” *According to the Washington
Post, “Here in San Francisco on Monday, Clinton gave a spirited call to
arms to Democrats as she road-tested what is likely to be her economic
message if she runs again. The November midterms, she said, come down ‘to a
simple question: Who’s on your side?’ She sounded close to her party’s
populist marrow when she decried the erosion of economic security for many
working Americans, and a long way from her tone-deaf remark earlier this
year about being ‘dead broke’ when she and Bill Clinton left the White
House in 2000. ‘It’s time to elect leaders who will fight for everyone to
get a fair shot at the American dream,’ Hillary Clinton said.” [Washington
Post
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/hillary-clinton-is-a-bright-spot-on-a-gloomy-democratic-election-landscape/2014/10/20/f86cb1b6-5862-11e4-bd61-346aee66ba29_story.html>,
10/21/14]

·         *Hillary Clinton’s speeches are revealing a theme that she could
finish the economic recovery begun by Obama. *According to TPM, “Clinton
seems to have a handle of the line she wants to toe: Obama saved us from
worse economic struggles (as his defenders have been saying for years), but
the work isn't over. Implicit, of course, is that she -- if she runs --
would finish the job. ‘We haven't seen a full recovery from the economic
crash,’ Clinton said Thursday at CAP. ‘When the president came in, he
deserves an enormous amount of credit for staunching the bleeding and
preventing a further deterioration and getting us out of that ditch we were
in. But we know unless we change our policies, a lot of the benefits are
not going to be broadly shared.’ ‘It's not just about more jobs for more
people and better paying jobs,’ she said. ‘It's making sure that the people
themselves get to keep those benefits and build that future back that they
are so desperate to see for themselves.’" [TPM
<http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/hillary-clinton-2016-economic-message>,
9/22/14]

·         *In an interview with PBS, Hillary **said*
<http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/hillary-clinton-talks-hard-choices-battle-scars/#.U6t-JXR93NI.twitter>
*:* “Bill and I have had terrific opportunities, both of us…have worked
hard, but we’ve been grateful for everything that we’ve been able to
achieve, and sadly that’s just not true for most Americans today…It’s
important that we all try to figure out what we’re going to do, and that’s
what I’ve done my entire life, fighting for a higher minimum wage, or
family leave…equal pay for equal work…I think my record speaks for itself.”

·         *At a speech at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Hillary **said*
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nswp_KBBjdM>*:* “At the end of the day,
we’re all on the same team. We’re on the American team. And we’ve got to do
a better job of getting our economy growing again and producing results and
renewing the American Dream so that Americans feel that they have a stake
in the future and that the economy and the political system is not stacked
against them, because that will erode the trust that is at the basis of our
democracy.”

*TALKING POINTS: HILLARY CLINTON TOPS NEW NATIONAL POLL*

*BACKGROUND*:* A new **ABC News/Washington Post poll*
<http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2015/01/historys-a-positive-for-clinton-not-so-for-bush-or-romney/>*
conducted
January 12-15, 2015 finds that Hillary Clinton leads each of the top
potential GOP candidates in hypothetical matchups.*

*THE POLL:*

-          According to the poll, Hillary beats all other potential GOP
contenders polled by double digits.

 -          In head-to-head matchups, Clinton leads Jeb Bush 54%-41%, Mitt
Romney 55%-40%, Chris Christie 53%-40%, Rand Paul 54%-41%, and Mike
Huckabee 56%-39%.

*THE BIG PICTURE:*

·         Hillary Clinton continues to connect with Democrats, Independents
and Americans of all backgrounds who are hungry for her experience and
vision. Because of Hillary Clinton’s years of public service, her strong
record as a leader, and her commitment to being a voice to the voiceless,
she has the support of so many Americans.

 ·         This latest poll is in line with what others polls and pundits
have been showing for months – that Hillary Clinton has unprecedented
support behind her, despite the onslaught of Republican attacks against her.

o   Clinton is extremely popular among Democrats: an NBC/Marist poll
<http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/hillary-clinton-beats-joe-biden-hypothetical-2016-matchup>
 from July 7-13, 2014  puts her favorability/unfavorability rating in Iowa
at 89 percent/6 percent; in New Hampshire it’s even higher, at
94 percent/4 percent.

o   In polls conducted this summer in Ohio
<http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/ohio/release-detail?ReleaseID=2066>
, New Jersey
<http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/new-jersey/release-detail?ReleaseID=2068>
 and Florida
<http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/07/24/clinton-polling-well-in-key-presidential-battleground/>,
Hillary Clinton had commanding leads over potential 2016 GOP contenders.

o   According to a Quinnipiac press release
<http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/ohio/release-detail?ReleaseID=2066>
on
the Ohio poll, "Secretary Clinton, on the other hand, is almost everyone's
favorite candidate.”

o   Regarding the New Jersey poll, a Quinnipiac official stated
<http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/08/hillary_clinton_leads_christie_for_president_in_nj_poll_finds.html>,
“As Gov. Christopher Christie traipses around the nation, his presidential
potential seems alive, but former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the
adopted girl next door, easily beats him in his home state.”

o   Based on the Florida poll, CNN reported
<http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/07/24/clinton-polling-well-in-key-presidential-battleground/>
that
“Hillary Clinton is the clear 2016 frontrunner in the nation's largest
presidential battleground state.”