April 5, 2008
Articulate, Specific Chelsea Clinton Cerebrally Campaigns for Mom in Huntington
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – A poised, relaxed former First Daughter spent approximately 75 minutes answering questions from Marshall University student and community members. Unlike many speakers on behalf of candidates, Chelsea Clinton delivered specific and technical answers, rather than simple generalities.
Calling President George Bush “fiscally irresponsible” for squandering a $5.6 trillion surplus into a $9 trillion debt, Ms. Clinton stated early in the forum that it matters how her mother would pay for proposed programs so her often statistical answers included accounting checks and balances.
Often swatting the Bush administration for not “enforcing [laws] they do not agree with,” Hillary Clinton’s daughter chided the current president for improperly configuring immigration quotas, not negotiating trade agreements, and for not allowing scrutiny of his application of the Patriot Act. Chelsea stressed that “immigration quotas should be updated annually” to correspond with the needs of business. She said the Bush administration has failed to “protect our workers” by negotiating new trade terms.
Chelsea Clinton detailed her mother’s proposals on both education and health care, including the differences from proposals of her competitor, Barek Obama.
Speaking to a crowd of 300 in the lobby of the Memorial Student Center, Clinton explained that her mom’s proposals would apply to both undergraduates and graduate students. She foresees the federal government stepping in with low interest student loans to replace the sometimes “predatory” practices of private companies. When he mom attended law school on government loans, she paid two percent interest and never more than 15% of her disposable income.
“Having the federal government get back into direct federal lending and enabling people to pay back their loans through income contingency repayment plans again will help ensure that all of our dreams are more assessable,” she said. “It’s also good for us as taxpayers because people are more likely to pay back their loans when they can pay them.”
The Democratic presidential candidate would double PEL grants, double education tax credits and expand eligibility for students to qualify for the PEL grant, particularly since tuition costs continue shooting upward. To eliminate government paperwork, she suggested that tax payers check a box on their income tax return that would trigger the credit; thus, saving the government money from the current lengthy application and approval process.
Her plan would also allow students who work in the public sector to receive credits on their student
loans.
She explained her mom’s health care plan would be modeled after the 250 insurance options available to federal employees. Sounding somewhat like West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin’s creation of the ACCESS WV program where uninsured individuals and small business to buy into to a state insurance plan, the 28-year-old polished, down-to-earth campaigner said her mom’s program would cover both dental and mental health and bring down insurance costs, in theory grounded on family income.
“You are more likely to die if you do not have health care. You are more likely not to have health care if you are a woman. You’re more likely to not have health care if you are African American or the bottom 25% of family income” Clinton said, adding that universal coverage is morally the right thing to do.
Unlike the West Virginia buy-in,, though, Hillary’s universal health plan would be based on a percentage of take home income. Making health insurance affordable for all U.S. citizens would also have a positive impact on the long term plans of hospitals.
Universal health insurance would “liberate our doctors and hospitals to take care of longer term [illnesses] again,” Chelsea explained. “Administrators, doctors and nurses … can not make future oriented decisions because they have to continue subsidizing care in emergency rooms,” due in part to the Bush administration’s “scaling back of medicaid,” Chelsea explained.. They want to be building capacity in exciting new areas” such as for the aging baby boomers and wellness programs. “It’s not just about making it affordable for each of us individually, this is important for our economy. GM or Ford have to spot their European or Japanese competitors $1,200, $1,500 , $1,700 in costs” due to the high cost of employee health insurance in the U.S.
Alluding to the vulnerability of her mostly uninsured college student audience, she matter of factly said, “I wish the uninsured today would never get hurt or get sick. At some point we all get sick, and we are a lot cheaper to treat if we go see a doctor than if we wind up in an emergency room with pneumonia. If we don’t start from universal insurance, insurance companies will continue to cherry pick who and what they cover. We won’t get down the costs on the health care provider side or the ongoing cost reductions we should see from insurance companies… [so for them] to take care of us ,we need to have universal health insurance. I’m proud that’s what my mom’s been fighting for.”
As the truckers protested fuel prices at the state capitol, Chelsea spoke of a “green vehicular” bond with automobile manufacturers in which the federal government would help fund research and investments into alternatives to the internal combustion engine.
“We know the technology exists to [manufacture] vehicles that bring 100 to 200 miles per gallon” in mileage. Her mom’s idea is to bring the cost of such vehicles down so they can be mass produced and shove the United States away from its dependency on foreign oil.
To reduce energy usage, Mrs. Clinton advocates “greening” federally owned buildings which would save government money and reduce energy usage. Clean coal technology would be part of the nation’s energy solution.
“We should absolutely be using coal,” Chelsea said, as well as other alternatives like wind, solar and nuclear energy.
Demonstrating an affable quality of quickly adapting intellectually to audience questions, the young woman did not stick to political correctness. She discussed that pay gap between men and women has increased during the term of the current occupant of the White House. Chelsea said her mom would support expanding the Americans with Disabilities Act and Hate Crime legislation to include mental illness , women in abusive situations and the transgendered.
Though cautioning the audience that she would not answer questions about her personal life, she did admit to not having seen “We Are Marshall,” which led to an impromptu presentation of the DVD to her by Mike Kirtner, president of Kindred Communications. “I’ll watch it tonight on my computer,” she said, adding that she thought both her mom and dad had watched and enjoyed the film.
While conjecturing she wished that this was the seven year of Al Gore’s presidency, the past and potentially future first daughter described Bush administration decisions as arbitrary, senseless, and not undergoing public scrutiny. For example, Chelsea explained that the administration’s fence around the U.S. / Mexican border would, as proposed, “virtually cut the University of Texas campus in half” with no oversight review or environmental impact study.
The crowd responded favorably when she told of her mother’s persistence in asking President Bush about his plans for withdrawing troops from Iraq.
“She was the first senator, not the first person running for President, to ask the White House and Pentagon what its plans were to end the war. They told they did not have to tell her. She said they would [tell her] after reminding the administration about “a funny thing called the Constitution” and as a member of the U.S. Senate Armed Service Committee they have to tell her. They talked about a lot of things, but planning to end the war was not one of them,” Chelsea said.
She continued, that President Bush “would like to bind the hands” of his successor to keep troops in Iraq. My mom was the first Senator to introduce legislation to remind the President through the Constitution that he cannot bind his successor. She’s still trying to get it passed by Congress, but she is standing up for the discretion of the next President.”
Insisting that “we don’t have too many data points” about aspect of the Iraq War, Chelsea’s mom has pledged to “immediately upon taking office to convene the joint chiefs of staff and her security advisor to begin planning to withdraw our troops, guarantee safe passage out for the 100,000 civilians in Iraq, and the more than 3,000 Iraqi’s who sided with us.” To illustrate the importance of assistance from Iraqi civilians she told of a recently retired Marine captain who served three tours of duty in Iraq. “He told Congress that he and his men never would have survived if not for the Iraqi translator. My mom’s been pushing the Bush administration [for refugee status of these Iraqi’s] and they have done nothing.”
By starting withdraw of troops within sixty days of taking office, Hillary Clinton believes this will force the Iraqi people to answer fundamental questions like “what do we want our country to look like” or how do they divide the oil revenues.. They still have not answered those questions. There’s no military solution to those questions…[yet] the theory of the surge a year and a half ago which my mother opposed” was to give the Iraqi people and the Iraqi cabinet time” to make the aforementioned decisions, Chelsea explained.
The candidate’s daughter outlined the need for developing diplomacy with Syria and Iran. “We should be talking to the Iranians and the Syrians so that we have a comprehensive Middle Eastern strategy to support a stable democratic Iraq.” A corollary would be the U.S. brokering a peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis. “We know that until there is peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians, there will not be peace or security in the Middle East or around the world.”
Chelsea called President Bush’s visit to Israel along with the secretary of state and vice president “seven years too late. Not only have we not done the job of building friends around the world, we have neglected those who are our closest friends and allies.”
Finally, Ms. Clinton acknowledged that the infrastructure of the U.S. has been neglected. The Minneapolis brige collapse is one example. She said her mom would redirect fund to restore this counrty’s aging infrastructure.
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Articulate, Specific Chelsea Clinton Cerebrally Campaigns for Mom in Huntington
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – A poised, relaxed former First Daughter spent approximately 75 minutes answering questions from Marshall University student and community members. Unlike many speakers on behalf of candidates, Chelsea Clinton delivered specific and technical answers, rather than simple generalities.
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Often swatting the Bush administration for not “enforcing [laws] they do not agree with,” Hillary Clinton’s daughter chided the current president for improperly configuring immigration quotas, not negotiating trade agreements, and for not allowing scrutiny of his application of the Patriot Act. Chelsea stressed that “immigration quotas should be updated annually” to correspond with the needs of business. She said the Bush administration has failed to “protect our workers” by negotiating new trade terms.
Chelsea Clinton detailed her mother’s proposals on both education and health care, including the differences from proposals of her competitor, Barek Obama.
 |
| Me and Chelsea Clinton |
“Having the federal government get back into direct federal lending and enabling people to pay back their loans through income contingency repayment plans again will help ensure that all of our dreams are more assessable,” she said. “It’s also good for us as taxpayers because people are more likely to pay back their loans when they can pay them.”
The Democratic presidential candidate would double PEL grants, double education tax credits and expand eligibility for students to qualify for the PEL grant, particularly since tuition costs continue shooting upward. To eliminate government paperwork, she suggested that tax payers check a box on their income tax return that would trigger the credit; thus, saving the government money from the current lengthy application and approval process.
Her plan would also allow students who work in the public sector to receive credits on their student
loans.
She explained her mom’s health care plan would be modeled after the 250 insurance options available to federal employees. Sounding somewhat like West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin’s creation of the ACCESS WV program where uninsured individuals and small business to buy into to a state insurance plan, the 28-year-old polished, down-to-earth campaigner said her mom’s program would cover both dental and mental health and bring down insurance costs, in theory grounded on family income.
“You are more likely to die if you do not have health care. You are more likely not to have health care if you are a woman. You’re more likely to not have health care if you are African American or the bottom 25% of family income” Clinton said, adding that universal coverage is morally the right thing to do.
Unlike the West Virginia buy-in,, though, Hillary’s universal health plan would be based on a percentage of take home income. Making health insurance affordable for all U.S. citizens would also have a positive impact on the long term plans of hospitals.
Universal health insurance would “liberate our doctors and hospitals to take care of longer term [illnesses] again,” Chelsea explained. “Administrators, doctors and nurses … can not make future oriented decisions because they have to continue subsidizing care in emergency rooms,” due in part to the Bush administration’s “scaling back of medicaid,” Chelsea explained.. They want to be building capacity in exciting new areas” such as for the aging baby boomers and wellness programs. “It’s not just about making it affordable for each of us individually, this is important for our economy. GM or Ford have to spot their European or Japanese competitors $1,200, $1,500 , $1,700 in costs” due to the high cost of employee health insurance in the U.S.
Alluding to the vulnerability of her mostly uninsured college student audience, she matter of factly said, “I wish the uninsured today would never get hurt or get sick. At some point we all get sick, and we are a lot cheaper to treat if we go see a doctor than if we wind up in an emergency room with pneumonia. If we don’t start from universal insurance, insurance companies will continue to cherry pick who and what they cover. We won’t get down the costs on the health care provider side or the ongoing cost reductions we should see from insurance companies… [so for them] to take care of us ,we need to have universal health insurance. I’m proud that’s what my mom’s been fighting for.”
As the truckers protested fuel prices at the state capitol, Chelsea spoke of a “green vehicular” bond with automobile manufacturers in which the federal government would help fund research and investments into alternatives to the internal combustion engine.
“We know the technology exists to [manufacture] vehicles that bring 100 to 200 miles per gallon” in mileage. Her mom’s idea is to bring the cost of such vehicles down so they can be mass produced and shove the United States away from its dependency on foreign oil.
To reduce energy usage, Mrs. Clinton advocates “greening” federally owned buildings which would save government money and reduce energy usage. Clean coal technology would be part of the nation’s energy solution.
“We should absolutely be using coal,” Chelsea said, as well as other alternatives like wind, solar and nuclear energy.
Demonstrating an affable quality of quickly adapting intellectually to audience questions, the young woman did not stick to political correctness. She discussed that pay gap between men and women has increased during the term of the current occupant of the White House. Chelsea said her mom would support expanding the Americans with Disabilities Act and Hate Crime legislation to include mental illness , women in abusive situations and the transgendered.
Though cautioning the audience that she would not answer questions about her personal life, she did admit to not having seen “We Are Marshall,” which led to an impromptu presentation of the DVD to her by Mike Kirtner, president of Kindred Communications. “I’ll watch it tonight on my computer,” she said, adding that she thought both her mom and dad had watched and enjoyed the film.
While conjecturing she wished that this was the seven year of Al Gore’s presidency, the past and potentially future first daughter described Bush administration decisions as arbitrary, senseless, and not undergoing public scrutiny. For example, Chelsea explained that the administration’s fence around the U.S. / Mexican border would, as proposed, “virtually cut the University of Texas campus in half” with no oversight review or environmental impact study.
The crowd responded favorably when she told of her mother’s persistence in asking President Bush about his plans for withdrawing troops from Iraq.
“She was the first senator, not the first person running for President, to ask the White House and Pentagon what its plans were to end the war. They told they did not have to tell her. She said they would [tell her] after reminding the administration about “a funny thing called the Constitution” and as a member of the U.S. Senate Armed Service Committee they have to tell her. They talked about a lot of things, but planning to end the war was not one of them,” Chelsea said.
She continued, that President Bush “would like to bind the hands” of his successor to keep troops in Iraq. My mom was the first Senator to introduce legislation to remind the President through the Constitution that he cannot bind his successor. She’s still trying to get it passed by Congress, but she is standing up for the discretion of the next President.”
Insisting that “we don’t have too many data points” about aspect of the Iraq War, Chelsea’s mom has pledged to “immediately upon taking office to convene the joint chiefs of staff and her security advisor to begin planning to withdraw our troops, guarantee safe passage out for the 100,000 civilians in Iraq, and the more than 3,000 Iraqi’s who sided with us.” To illustrate the importance of assistance from Iraqi civilians she told of a recently retired Marine captain who served three tours of duty in Iraq. “He told Congress that he and his men never would have survived if not for the Iraqi translator. My mom’s been pushing the Bush administration [for refugee status of these Iraqi’s] and they have done nothing.”
By starting withdraw of troops within sixty days of taking office, Hillary Clinton believes this will force the Iraqi people to answer fundamental questions like “what do we want our country to look like” or how do they divide the oil revenues.. They still have not answered those questions. There’s no military solution to those questions…[yet] the theory of the surge a year and a half ago which my mother opposed” was to give the Iraqi people and the Iraqi cabinet time” to make the aforementioned decisions, Chelsea explained.
The candidate’s daughter outlined the need for developing diplomacy with Syria and Iran. “We should be talking to the Iranians and the Syrians so that we have a comprehensive Middle Eastern strategy to support a stable democratic Iraq.” A corollary would be the U.S. brokering a peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis. “We know that until there is peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians, there will not be peace or security in the Middle East or around the world.”
Chelsea called President Bush’s visit to Israel along with the secretary of state and vice president “seven years too late. Not only have we not done the job of building friends around the world, we have neglected those who are our closest friends and allies.”
Finally, Ms. Clinton acknowledged that the infrastructure of the U.S. has been neglected. The Minneapolis brige collapse is one example. She said her mom would redirect fund to restore this counrty’s aging infrastructure.
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