San Angelo Reacts to Hillary 2016

 

A single mother, a senior citizen woman who works in a community garden, a pair of brothers starting their first business together, a stay-at-home mom returning to the workforce, a couple expecting their first baby, a college student preparing for her career, and a gay couple planning their summer wedding are all getting ready for what’s left of 2015 in Hillary Clinton’s YouTube campaign announcement for president in 2016.

 “I’m getting ready to do something too, I’m running for President,” Clinton says in the video that made its debut on Sunday. “American’s have fought their way back from tough economic times, but the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top. Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion. But, you can do more than just get by; you can get ahead and stay ahead, because when families are strong, America is strong. So, I’m hitting the road to earn your vote, because it’s your time, and I hope that you’ll join me on this journey.”

 

The Clintons’ are a couple drenched in controversy over the many years they’ve spent under a political microscope, in the public eye. Who can forget the scandal involving Monica Lewinsky, when Hillary’s husband, Bill, who was then the 42nd U.S. President at the time, had an inappropriate relationship with her when she was an intern? That ordeal resulted in his impeachment, which was overturned by Senate.

More recently, Hillary was swept up in controversy concerning the Benghazi attacks during her term as Secretary of State. Critics charged that she did little to protect her consulate staff and covered up the terrorist attack upon them on Sept. 11, 2012. A U.S. Ambassador was murdered there just under two months from Obama's re-election. 

All turmoil aside, both Hillary and Bill Clinton have remained active in the role of public service, and seem to be American favorites, whether you love them or love to hate them.

We asked San Angelo's opinion of Hillary Clinton’s second run for President, and here’s how people responded.

 “I think her successes are remarkable and outstanding, especially for a woman. I think she’s extremely driven and very productive, and is goal oriented. I think history has shown that,” said Councilwoman Charlotte Farmer of SMD 6. “When she has a project or an aim in mind she sets a goal for it, and mostly achieves it. I don’t approve of all of her choices.

"I do not approve of her handling of the Benghazi," Farmer continued. "I do not approve of every decision that she has made, and I’m going all the way back to when her husband was in office, how certain things (information) was destroyed. I don’t approve of her finding loopholes in the law that allows her to claim that some things are private and not public, when it is certainly public information that she has been working and disclosing public affairs that she has been working on. But, that does show how very resourceful and how intelligent she is. I don’t approve of it, but she is very a remarkable, smart woman.”

Tom Bankston, President of the Tom Green Democratic Club of San Angelo was optimistic. “I’m absolutely enthused," he said. "It’s fantastic, and we knew it was coming, it was high time. We will be trying to support her efforts and educating the public about the issues that confront us. We will really have a lot of issues placing the middle class and the Republican Party approach in economics that don’t help the middle class out. Reaganomics from back in the day have been working quite to the benefit of the upper crust, and not the lower crust, so to speak. So, we will be trying to do some education on the issues. Her long and devoted public service and many roles in the government make her a driving force.”

Mayor Dwain Morrison spoke plainly. “I would just have to say that I am not a Clinton supporter, be it Bill or Hillary or Chelsea or any of the rest of them. Marco Rubio would not be a bad candidate. I like Ted Cruz, he can’t win, he’s too radical, but I like Ted Cruz. I’m curious to see who the Republicans are going to put up, but I’m definitely not a Clinton supporter.”

While visiting a local food establishment, LIVE! spoke with fellow patrons waiting on their to-go orders. They were all asked their opinion of Clinton's announcement, and reactions were mixed, and voiced without hesitation.

“I didn’t even know, I’m glad you told me,” said one middle-aged woman. “I think she’s great. A woman for president; it’s about time. So long man’s world,” she said shaking her fist in the air. “Maybe women will get the affordable health care back that we deserve, like Planned Parenthood, I still can’t believe the funding was cut for that. For too long men have decided what we can and cannot do with our bodies.”

Another patron, a man dressed in fatigues, was less enthusiastic. “Are you kidding me?" he said. "Is she gonna make all of her presidential emails personal and private when she gets into office too? Bring on another candidate. No way will she get my vote.”

“Who really cares, they are all bought and paid for in the end,” grumbled a college-aged student as he carried his order out.

Over at the drink station, an older gentleman filled his cup. “I wonder if [former Texas Governor] Rick Perry will run. She tried back in ’08…didn’t she learn her lesson?”

“America has needed the strength of a woman since the '60,” an older woman close by snapped back.  “I will vote for her, we need a real leader in office, one that is educated and really understands the issues, not a fool like Perry.”

“Classic here,” the man responded. “Republican verses Democrat,” he said as he shrugged his shoulders and laughed.

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It would be great to have a woman in the Whitehouse. But is Hillary the best we can do? Do we really want another arrogant president that is above the law?

I still have the yard sign from her first time out. It will be out again.

It is past time for those Democrats who showed up to elect President Obama to get out there and support democratic candidates. Register to vote, now! Before they make it a requirement that we show an income of $1million to get a voting card. Don't think it could happen? Look at the restrictions they've put in place so far! The America I grew up in required a poll tax! My parents actually budgeted for it!

We have too many male tea-party suck-ups itching to send us back to the feudal age. They want to gut social security. Many young people think it won't be there for them. Well, stay home & don't vote, and it will come to pass for you.

These guys in congress now forgot who gave them birth, cleaned their messes, fed them, and taught them how to use a fork. Unfortunately, they don't seem to have any qualms about sticking it in their momma's backs, using any excuse they can.

They can't get along because our president is black, and they don't seem to mind sending the country into an economic tail spin because of it. Do we really want more of this?

Hillary has the experience and the respect around the world to set this country on a better path. You don't get balance by continuing to lean to the right.

For those of you who throw up her mistakes against her, run for president, there is no arguing with perfection!

jdgt, Tue, 04/14/2015 - 13:14

Anyone else notice anything about the democrats in TX? (I think they're STUPIDER than the rest of the democrats in the country)... Only cause everything is bigger in Texas!

Stick your Hillary sign up in your yard. I'll cover it in TP, along with the rest of your trailer house mansion.

Both serve the same master, money. Do you think any politician has your best interests at heart? Both Republicans and Democrats are only interested in staying in office and expanding their power. Hillary Clinton vs Generic Republican? I'd pass on both.

I'm a guy who is a Viet-Nam era veteran.
I'm a guy who does not hide behind his initials.
I am your neighbor.
I do not live in a trailer house mansion, but if I did, I have the same rights to put out a yard sign in support of Hillary or anyone else, just like a lot of my neighbors do and not expect you to TP it.
Put up your own sign.
Live, and let live, neighbor.

Seriously? She's not thest best choice as a woman, if that's your decision point, or a dem, or a leader. The only thing she is best at is being power and money hungry.

Hillary or otherwise, we need another Dem in the White House. We have made great strides over the last 7 years, and need to keep the momentum going. All the GOP is good for is closed-mindedness, bombing stuff, undermining the president, and making up 'facts' as they go. Looking at you Ted Cruz!

jdgt, Wed, 04/15/2015 - 10:41

Perhaps I'm a victim of mainstream media... or something. But what great strides, exactly, are you referring to? Obamacare? Illegal immigration? The complete _ _ _ _ery that Obama has turned the war into? I'm confused. I've yet to see a single positive thing come from having a democrat in the hot seat.

We need to keep going forward, and if its between her or any of the Tea Party extremist, Hillary it is.

Not sure what ____ery of the war you are referring to, but most recently there is this:

"America should be used to Democratic presidents outperforming Republicans by now. While no administration is perfect, President Obama has staked strong claims for liberal values and policies that prove things Republicans have to pretend never happened.

1. Proved trickle-down economics are wrong, again
You don’t hear it mentioned often enough, but 2014 was the best year of job creation in this century. This is a key point, because it’s the first full year in which Obama’s economic policies really took hold. Most of the Bush tax breaks on the rich ended in 2013. And in 2014, new taxes on the wealthy and corporations kicked in to help 16 million Americans gain health insurance. The result was a job market like we haven’t seen since the’90s. As they did in 1993, Republicans claimed that asking the rich to pay a bit more would destroy the economy. So, of course, the opposite happened. It’s almost as if some tax hikes on the wealthy are good for the economy! But if Republicans admitted that, they’d have to give up their entire reason for existing, which is to comfort the most comfortable.

2. Proved we can expand health insurance coverage and shrink the deficit.
America’s long-term debt problems are largely built on conservatives’ unwillingness to do what every other advanced nation in the world does — insure everyone. As a result, we pay more and get worse results than almost every industrialized country in the world. Obamacare has shown that we can increase coverage dramatically while cutting more than $600 billion from long-term debt projections. Republicans have finally gotten honest in their new budget and admitted that their alternative to Obamacare is… nothing. They’ve got nothing because Obamacare was their alternative, and every prediction they’ve made about it has been wrong. Health spending is at a 50-year low, businesses aren’t dumping employees’ coverage, hospitals are performing better, and policy cancelations were likely lower than they were before the law. Meanwhile, Obama has been even more successful at shrinking the deficit as a percentage of GDP than even Bill Clinton.

3. Proved that the government can kick-start a clean-energy revolution.
When it comes to fighting climate change, President Obama has done more than anyone on Earth. Beyond the regulations he set in his first term, which are quickly reducing our dependency on dirty energy, the stimulus launched the clean-energy technological revolution this nation needed. Republicans started calling the stimulus “failed” before it even became law. And that kind of message discipline — plus half a billion dollars in ads that smeared the bill — scared Democrats from bragging about it. But now that we’ve experienced the first year of economic growth where carbon emissions didn’t increase in 40 years, maybe they should.

4. Proved we can regulate Wall Street without killing the stock market.
Good news! Bankers are complaining about being regulated too much. Despite this “over-regulation,” we’re seeing constant stock market records. Meanwhile, the memory of the costs of under-regulation — 8 million jobs and trillions in wealth — continues to fade. Democrats have become newly proud of the Dodd-Frank law now that they see how desperate Republicans are to gut it. The success in keeping the economic engine of the rich purring should not dissuade those on the left. Instead, they should continue to fight against the persistent dangers to our economy that come from ridiculous executive compensation schemes, stock buybacks, and high-frequency trading.

5. Proved that we should give diplomacy a chance.
The Bush administration left America facing a newly nuclear-armed North Korea, an Iran building nuclear centrifuges, and a wrecked Iraq, run by a propped-up sectarian strongman with no interest in reconciliation. Democrats were likely naive in assuming this Tower of Babel of foreign policy disasters could be kept from crumbling. The Obama administration’s effort to re-engage the world may seem foolhardy now — but what was the alternative? More confrontational Republican alternatives would have guaranteed nothing but more American lives lost. Syria is a disaster. Libya proved that regime change is never simple. Putin is emboldened or frantically flailing, depending on your point of view. But as a result of re-engagement with our allies and a Medvedev-led Russia, sanctions brought Iran to the negotiating table. We’re closer than ever to a nuclear deal that could prevent another, still more disastrous war. And even if it fails, at least we tried not to repeat the catastrophes of the past.

Source: http://www.nationalmemo.com/5-obama-successes-republicans-have-to-pretend-never-happened/

Furthermore, here is a quick list for you to review from back in 2012. Granted, not all of these are huge strides or even that great, but it’s a start. I will provide a link to the details of each entry below.

1. Passed Health Care Reform
2. Passed the Stimulus
3. Passed Wall Street Reform
4. Ended the War in Iraq
5. Began Drawdown of War in Afghanistan
6. Eliminated Osama bin laden
7. Turned Around U.S. Auto Industry
8. Recapitalized Banks
9. Repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
10. Toppled Moammar Gaddafi
11. Told Mubarak to Go
12. Reversed Bush Torture Policies
13. Improved America’s Image Abroad
14. Kicked Banks Out of Federal Student Loan Program, Expanded Pell Grant Spending
15. Created Race to the Top
16. Boosted Fuel Efficiency Standards
17. Coordinated International Response to Financial Crisis
18. Passed Mini Stimuli
19. Began Asia “Pivot”
20. Increased Support for Veterans
21. Tightened Sanctions on Iran
22. Created Conditions to Begin Closing Dirtiest Power Plants
23. Passed Credit Card Reforms
24. Eliminated Catch-22 in Pay Equality Laws
25. Protected Two Liberal Seats on the U.S. Supreme Court
26. Improved Food Safety System
27. Achieved New START Treaty
28. Expanded National Service
29. Expanded Wilderness and Watershed Protection
30. Gave the FDA Power to Regulate Tobacco
31. Pushed Federal Agencies to Be Green Leaders
32. Passed Fair Sentencing Act
33. Trimmed and Reoriented Missile Defense
34. Began Post-Post-9/11 Military Builddown
35. Let Space Shuttle Die and Killed Planned Moon Mission
36. Invested Heavily in Renewable Technology
37. Crafting Next-Generation School Tests
38. Cracked Down on Bad For-Profit Colleges
39. Improved School Nutrition
40. Expanded Hate Crimes Protections
41. Avoided Scandal
42. Brokered Agreement for Speedy Compensation to Victims of Gulf Oil Spill
43. Created Recovery.gov
44. Pushed Broadband Coverage
45. Expanded Health Coverage for Children
46. Recognized the Dangers of Carbon Dioxide
47. Expanded Stem Cell Research
48. Provided Payment to Wronged Minority Farmers
49. Helped South Sudan Declare Independence
50. Killed the F-22

Source: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/march_april_2012/features/obamas_top_50_accomplishments035755.php?page=all

Added bonus – Here is another site with a list of 291 of Obama’s accomplishments (date unknown): http://pleasecutthecrap.com/obama-accomplishments/

I hope that helps you a little JD. :)

Masaru, Wed, 04/15/2015 - 19:35

Obama isn't getting a third term? I've heard nothing from locals but talk about Obama trying to take over the government and get a third term. We really have to do this election thing AGAIN?

Oh, well. Might not be a bad idea. If elected, she would be the first woman president... Maybe San Angelo could use a female mayor. Maybe even a female police chief.

Masaru, please don't forget that Obama is still going to take their guns too. Any day now...still waiting.

Masaru, Thu, 04/16/2015 - 11:54

Where are these pale-faced coolies we were promised when Pr. Soetoro (PBUH) was supposed to finally dissolve the government and declare himself God-king emporer of the world? Or declare himself to be the 13th Imam, or whatever it was. Hmm... Maybe I need to stop watching so much FOX news.

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