Republican candidates have it backwards on the Cuba embargo.
Democratic presidential candidate, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton calls on Congress to end the trade embargo the U.S. has imposed against Cuba since 1962, Friday, July 31, 2015, during a campaign stop at Florida International University in Miami. (AP Photo/Gaston De Cardenas)
Democratic U.S presidential candidate Hillary Clinton makes a speech on Cuban relations at Florida International University in Miami, Florida July 31, 2015. Clinton on Friday called for the U.S. Congress to end the U.S. economic embargo in Cuba and said she would make it easier for Americans to travel to the Communist-led island if she were president. REUTERS/Joe Skipper
Democratic U.S presidential candidate Hillary Clinton (R) is introduced by Frank O. Mora, director of the Latin American and Caribbean Center at Florida International University, before her speech on Cuban relations in Miami, Florida July 31, 2015. Clinton on Friday called for the U.S. Congress to end the U.S. economic embargo in Cuba and said she would make it easier for Americans to travel to the Communist-led island if she were president. REUTERS/Joe Skipper
The Briefing
Factsheets
With Cuba, A Choice Between Forward And Backward
In Miami, Hillary Clinton will lay out her forward-looking strategy of engagement with Cuba, drawing a sharp comparison with Republican candidates’ efforts to continue failed Cold War policies.
Simply put, Republicans refuse to learn the lessons of the past or pay attention to what’s worked and what hasn’t. Why would we continue policies that have accomplished absolutely nothing? Fifty-four years of isolationism has strengthened the Castro regime’s grip on power, not crippled it. It’s time to start empowering the Cuban people, not the Castros.
In 2009, the US began relaxing some policies toward Cuba, and we’re already witnessing the benefits. Since then, we’ve seen a boom in Cuban entrepreneurship that validates the power of engagement and direct exposure to American free-market capitalism.
As President, Hillary Clinton will continue to use engagement and American leadership to build on this progress. She will take advantage of our enhanced presence to advance our values and interests, engage with those who support change in Cuba, address human rights abuses, and restore our influence in the region.
So the choice is clear. We can chart a different path forward in Cuba, betting on American influence to lift up the Cuban people with free-market principles and access. Or we can turn back the progress we’ve made in favor of failed isolationism, and leave both our foreign policy and the Cuban people imprisoned by the past.
Across the spectrum, people are ready for a new chapter in the relationship between the United States and Cuba:
According to Pew, 72% of Americans – and 59% of Republicans – support ending the trade embargo with Cuba.
According to Univision, among Cuban-Americans, 40% are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports normalization, compared to only 26% who are against it, and an overwhelming majority of Cubans in Cuba support normalization
HEADLINE: GOP House member files bill to end U.S. embargo on Cuba [USA Today, 7/28/15]
But Republican presidential candidates continue to support the failed policies of yesterday. Check out how their backwards rhetoric squares with reality:
GOP Rhetoric
Reality
Marco Rubio: “Mr. Obama’s new Cuba policy is a victory for oppressive governments the world over and will have real, negative consequences for the American people.”
Moving past the inflammatory rhetoric, Marco Rubio has simply got this dead wrong. Normalizing relations with Cuba isn’t a victory for Castro – it’s a threat. The victory for the Castro regime has been five decades of isolationism and embargo that have strengthened their grip of power while giving them a scapegoat for all the island’s woes. Growing and modernizing the Cuban economy will empower its people. And engagement with Cuba benefits Americans as well, through increased trade and opportunities to visit family.
Jeb Bush: “We’re not a step closer to freedom in Cuba because of the actions the president’s taking.”
Starting in 2009, the United States set out to make it easier for Cuban Americans to visit Cuba, support private businesses, and send money to family members. Since then, the number of annual visits by Cuban Americans has doubled and the number of Cubans employed by small businesses has surpassed 400,000, demonstrating the benefits and power of engagement. And lifting the embargo fully and ensuring access to 21st century technology would further empower the Cuban people to assert their independence from the Castro regime.
Scott Walker: “There’s a reason why we had the policy in the first place. I haven’t seen solid enough evidence to make me believe there’s been a noticeable change to change the policy this country’s had through administrations in both parties.”
Believe it or not, Scott Walker’s assessment of the situation is dead-on – there hasn’t been a noticeable change in Cuba’s policy. That’s exactly the point. There was in fact “a reason we had the policy in the first place” and the reason was because we hoped it would cripple the Castro regime. It has not. It defies logic to continue a policy that’s hurt the Cuban people and been at best, futile, and at worst, counterproductive in respect to its intended goals.
Rick Perry: “‘This is a regime that has been incredibly onerous to the people of Cuba […] I’m not sure you’re ever going to change the culture of Cuba until Castro is dead and gone.”
Like Walker (and the majority of the GOP field), Perry wants to continue a policy that he admits has failed – and in his case, he seems to concede that there is no hope for success in the future. The isolation of Cuba has long placed burden on the Cuban people, without anything to show for it. It’s time to lift the embargo, take away the Castro’s excuse for its failures, and engage the people of Cuba with American leadership.
Jeb Bush: “Obama’s rush to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba is wrong.”
Rush? We’ve been pursuing the same failed strategy of isolationism toward Cuba for fifty-four years. It’s high time to acknowledge that it hasn’t worked, and move forwar
Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, former Governor Jeb Bush (R-FL), Dr. Ben Carson, former Governor Martin O’Malley (D-MD), and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) spoke at the National Urban League conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Good morning. Good morning. Wow. This is a great way to start my day. And I’m delighted to be here with you. I want to thank Marc for not only the introduction, but all of his work over the years. I have been a fan of Marc’s since he was mayor of New Orleans. He did great work there — and he’s doing great work at the National Urban League. So thank you, Marc. And we’re all thinking, as I hope we do every year, about New Orleans as we near the 10th anniversary of Katrina. Something like that should never be allowed to happen in the United States of America again. So we have to keep learning the lessons and re-pledging our commitment.
I want to thank everyone for welcoming me here today. I want to give a shout-out to your national chairman of the board Michael Neidorff; also, backstage I saw a longtime friend of mine, Congressman Alcee Hastings; and Alexis Herman, who served in my husband’s administration; and Tony West, who served in President Obama’s administration. There’s a veritable hall of fame here for this event. And I can never come to a National Urban League gathering without mentioning my lifelong friend Vernon Jordan. He may not be here today, but he’s with us in spirit because of his deep love and commitment to this organization.
It’s also close to my heart. Over the years, I’ve gotten the chance to work with you, learn from you. I’ve pored over your State of Black America reports, I’ve spoken at your conferences, but most importantly, I’ve seen how you change people’s lives.
The theme of this conference — “Saving Our Cities: Education, Jobs and Justice” — speaks to the important work that you’ve been doing for decades. I know that you help black entrepreneurs get start-up capital. I know you help people find jobs. I know you give families financial counseling so they can achieve their dreams of buying a home or sending their kids to college. And you make sure parents have the tools to take care of their kids’ health. That’s the kind of day-to-day commitment that makes such a difference. As you help prepare young people for college and work in a world that can sometimes make them feel that they’re not very important, you make sure they know just how precious and powerful they really are.
This vital work has been my work too. My first job out of law school wasn’t at some big law firm; it was with the Children’s Defense Fund, started by Marian Wright Edelman. That first summer after I graduated, I went door to door for kids shut out of school and denied the education they deserve. I also began a lifelong concern by working with the CDF to try to figure out what we did with kids caught up in the juvenile and adult prison systems. As First Lady, I helped create the Children’s Health Insurance Program. You were an ally in doing that. As Senator, I championed small businesses owned by women and people of color, because that’s where a lot of the jobs in America come from. I fought to raise the minimum wage — because no one who works hard in America should have to raise their kids in poverty.
These issues — your issues — are deeply personal to me. So I’m here early on this morning, first and foremost, to say thank you. But I’m also here to talk about the future — because the work you have been doing is more important than ever, and I’m going to keep doing that work right alongside you.
Now, I would love nothing more than to stay and have a conversation for hours, going into depth about every single issue that we are worried about, but you have a full slate of speakers that will follow me. So let me make three points about the work we need to do together.
First: The opportunity gap that America is facing is not just about economic inequality. It is about racial inequality. Now, that may seem obvious to you, but it bears underscoring because some of the evidence that backs it up would come as a shock to many Americans. Like how African Americans are nearly three times as likely as whites to be denied a mortgage. Or how, in 2013, the median wealth for white families was more than $134,000 — but for African American families, it was just $11,000.
A lot of people don’t realize that our schools are more segregated today than they were in 1968. Or even that African Americans are sentenced to longer prison terms than white people for the same crimes. Or that political operatives are trying every trick in the book to prevent African Americans from voting.
And listen to this one, because as somebody who started with the Children’s Defense Fund and who now is the proud and delighted grandmother of a 10-month-old granddaughter — African American children are 500 percent — 500 percent — more likely to die from asthma than white kids. Now, I studied and advocated and introduced legislation to close health disparities. I knew how severe they were, but 500 percent?
So all of this points to an unavoidable conclusion: race. Race still plays a significant role in determining who gets ahead in America and who gets left behind. And yes, while that’s partly a legacy of discrimination that stretches back to the start of our nation, it is also because of discrimination that is still ongoing.
I’m not saying anything you don’t already know. You understand this better than I do — better than anyone. But I want to say it anyway. Because I’m planning to be President, and anyone who seeks that office has a responsibility to say it. And more than that, to grapple with the systemic inequities that so many Americans face. Anyone who asks for your vote should try their hardest to see things as they actually are, not just as we want them to be. So I want you to know I see it and I hear you. And the racial disparity you work hard every day to overcome go against everything I believe in, and everything I want to help America achieve.
The second point is this: This is not just about statistics, as damning as they can be. This is about Americans doing some soul-searching and holding ourselves to account. This is about all of us looking into our hearts, examining our assumptions and fears, and asking ourselves: What more can I do in my life to counter hate and injustice? How can I make our country a better, fairer place?
Let me be clear: I think all of us need to do that kind of introspection. But those of us who have not experienced systemic racial inequities — we have an extra obligation. We need to do a better job of listening when people talk about the seen and unseen barriers they face every day. We need to practice humility, rather than assume that our experiences are everyone’s experiences. And yes, we need to try, as best we can, to walk in one another’s shoes — to imagine what it would be like to sit our son down and have “the talk,” or if people followed us around stores, or locked their car doors when we walked past.
That empathy — that’s what makes it possible for people from every background, every race, every religion, to come together as one nation. That’s the kind of generosity of spirit that makes a country like America endure. And given what we’ve seen and experienced over the last two years, this is an urgent call for people to search their own hearts and minds.
Here’s my third point: We’ve arrived at a moment when all these challenges are in sharp relief, and we have to seize it. Too many times now, Americans have come together, in shock and horror, to process a violent, senseless tragedy. Like Trayvon Martin, shot to death not in some empty, desolate street somewhere, but in a gated community. He wasn’t a stranger, he had family there. Or Sandra Bland, a college-educated young woman who knew her rights, who didn’t do anything wrong, but still ended up dying in a jail cell. Together, we’ve mourned Tamir Rice and Eric Garner, Walter Scott and Freddie Gray, and most recently, Sam Dubose. These names are emblazoned on our hearts. We’ve seen their faces, we’ve heard their grieving families. We’ve seen a massacre in Charleston, and black churches set on fire — today, in 2015.
But thankfully, tragedy is not all we have seen. Yes, the Confederate battle flag came down finally in South Carolina. The families of the Charleston victims reached out with extraordinary grace to the man who killed their loved ones. And President Obama delivered a eulogy that sounded as though it had come straight from angels, ending with Amazing Grace. Young people have taken to the streets, dignified and determined, urging us to affirm the basic fact that black lives matter. And because of people across this country sharing their stories with courage and strength, a growing number of Americans are realizing what many of you have been saying for a long time — we can’t go on like this; we are better than this; things must change.
Now, it’s up to us to build on that momentum, and we all have to do our part — but those of us who strive to lead have a special responsibility.
I’m very pleased that many presidential candidates will be here today to address you. It is a signal that the work you’ve been doing — laboring in the vineyards for decades — is getting the political attention it deserves. But the real test of a candidate’s commitment is not whether we come to speak at your national conference, as important as that is. It’s whether we’re still around after the cameras are gone and the votes are counted. It’s whether our positions live up to our rhetoric.
And too often we see a mismatch between what some candidates say in venues like this, and what they actually do when they’re elected. I don’t think you can credibly say that everyone has a “right to rise” and then say you’re for phasing out Medicare or for repealing Obamacare. People can’t rise if they can’t afford health care. They can’t rise if the minimum wage is too low to live on. They can’t rise if their governor makes it harder for them to get a college education. And you cannot seriously talk about the right to rise and support laws that deny the right to vote.
So yes, what people say matters, but what they do matters more. Americans, especially today, deserve leaders who will face inequity, race and justice issues in all their complexity head on — who won’t just concede that there are barriers holding people back, who will do instead what it takes to tear those barriers down, once and for all.
I will never stop working on issues of equality and opportunity, race and justice. That is a promise. I’ve done it my entire adult life. I will always be in your corner. Because issues like these — they are why I’m running for president. They are why I got involved in public service in the first place — to tear down the barriers that hold people back from developing their talents and achieving their dreams.
I’m asking you to hold me accountable, to hold all of us accountable. Because the work that you’re doing must lead to action. And you deserve leaders who not only get that, but who will work hard every day to make our country a better place — to make it live up to its potential and to provide the opportunities for every single child in this country to live up to his or her God-given potential.
Yes, I do have this 10-month-old grandchild now, and I’ve got to tell you — those of you who already have reached this incredible, transformational point in your lives understand this — there is nothing like it to focus you on the present. When Bill and I are with Charlotte, doing our best to babysit — the phones are off, the TV is off; we’re just focused on this miracle of life. And we’re the kind of grandparents, I’ll confess, that when she learns to clap her hands we give her a standing ovation. But you see, it’s not just about our granddaughter, is it? We, of course, will do everything we can to make sure she has all the opportunities she should — as a citizen of this country, as a child of God, as a person who has the right to go as far as her hard work and talent will take her. But that’s not enough. I don’t want that just for my granddaughter. I’m the granddaughter of a factory worker who worked from the time he was a teenager to the time he retired in the Scranton lace mills. I know how blessed I’ve been, and opportunities that I had that others with just as much talent did not.
So let us tear down the barriers so no matter whose child you are or grandchild you are, you too will have the same chance. I’m proud to be your ally. I’m committed to being your partner. I will keep fighting right alongside you, today and always, to make the United States of America a country where all men and women, all boys and girls, are treated as they deserve to be — as equals. I know we can do this. I know the path ahead is not easy. But I’m absolutely convinced that we will once again join hands and make a difference for those young people who not only need a path, but need the love and embrace of a grateful nation for the contributions they each will make to a better future for us all.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton waves as she is introduced before speaking to the National Urban League, Friday, July 31, 2015, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks before the National Urban League, Friday, July 31, 2015, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Here is a response, an important one, that you can use to counter those who keep insisting that Hillary has a “trustworthiness” problem. From The Briefing. Here is a little peek.
Hillary Clinton traveled to Ft. Lauderdale and Miami where she spoke at the National Urban League and delivered remarks on the need to end the embargo on Cuba.
Here’s what people are saying:
2015 National Urban League Conference
14. BuzzFeed: Hillary Wins The Only Standing Ovation From An Obama Crowd
Clinton was undoubtedly the candidate folks at the annual convention had wanted to see most. She got the loudest welcoming applause, the most people clamoring for a brief audience with her, and the most widespread approval by members of the Urban League, who gave her speech the morning’s only standing ovation.
I have said it before. Years of blogging have taught me that many people do not read. They see headlines and ingest that (which is my big issue with the New York Times never emphatically apologizing to Hillary for their dastardly header of July 23).
The difference between seeing and reading is similar to the difference between hearing and listening. Those for whom reading is just too much of a pain in the butt have a service which will digest the news for them and serve up the morning pablum. (In fairness, yes I do know that some people simply do not have time to read as much as they would like to, and I hope this is a boon to them.)
theSkimm is the daily e-mail newsletter that gives you everything you need to start your day. We do the reading for you – across subject lines and party lines – and break it down with fresh editorial content.
We read. You Skimm.
It is not a newsfeed that finds stories of interest to you. It is a site that reads the stories for you, puts it in a food processor, and makes a smoothie. Sounds peachy.
Today they “skimm’d” Hillary. Here’s the “skimm.” Some say it reads like a job interview (and she is, in fact, applying for a job). To me it reads a lot like her old MySpace page from 2008.
Fmr. US Sec. of State Hillary Clinton is the frontrunner in a small group of Dems that want you to give them the top job at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave — an address she knows well as a former First Lady. Get to know your candidate here. Note: ALL candidates have been offered the chance to Guest Skimm. Opinions are of the candidate, not theSkimm.
Clearly Hillary wisely cooperated with this entry, and it is just another social media website. This particular entry resembles her own site The Briefing. But as the election cycle evolves, it is probably yet another site Hillary folks will want to keep an eye on because it is not at all clear exactly how fair and objective the “skimming” will be.
In the interest of trusting but verifying, Hillary watchers, you can sign up here for Skimm to receive their latest takes on the stories you need to know about in the morning. I am giving this a “we’ll see.”
Yesterday, Hillary was at a private fundraiser in Scranton that was closed to the press.
A young Hillary Rodham Clinton supporter holds two U.S. flags on Wednesday, July 29, 2015, in the Green Ridge section of Scranton, Pa., where Clinton spoke during a private fundraiser at the home of long time supporter Virginia McGregor on Wednesday, July 29, 2015. ( Butch Comegys / The Scranton Times-Tribune via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT
Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton walks with her brother Hugh Rodham during a private fundraiser at the home of long time supporter Virginia McGregor in the Green Ridge section of Scranton, Pa., on Wednesday, July 29, 2015. The event was closed to the media. (Butch Comegys /The Times & Tribune via AP) WILKES BARRE TIMES-LEADER OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
Presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton gestures with a smile after speaking during a private fundraiser at the home of long time supporter Virginia McGregor in the Green Ridge section of Scranton, Pa., on Wednesday, July 29, 2015. The event was closed to the media. (Butch Comegys /The Times & Tribune via AP) WILKES BARRE TIMES-LEADER OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
Following her Town Hall in Nashua yesterday, Hillary was on the stump at a couple of farms in New Hampshire.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton picks out fresh corn during a visit to Dimond Hill Farm in Hopkinton, New Hampshire July 28, 2015. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks to a crowd at the Beech Hill Farm during a campaign stop Tuesday, July 28, 2015, in Hopkinton, N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton gets fresh tomatoes at Dimond Hill Farm between campaign stops Tuesday, July 28, 2015, in Hopkinton, N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton talks with Jane Presby owner of Dimond Hill Farm during stop Tuesday, July 28, 2015, in Hopkinton, N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton talks with Jane Presby owner of Dimond Hill Farm as she picks corn Tuesday, July 28, 2015, in Hopkinton, N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton picks out tomatoes with owner Jane Presby (L) during a visit to Dimond Hill Farm in Hopkinton, New Hampshire July 28, 2015. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton visits Dimond Hill Farm in Hopkinton, New Hampshire July 28, 2015. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton (L) listens as she is introduced during a campaign stop at Beech Hill Farm in Hopkinton, New Hampshire July 28, 2015. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton greets voters during a campaign stop at Beech Hill Farm in Hopkinton, New Hampshire July 28, 2015. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
At a Town Hall in Nashua NH today, Hillary addressed a variety of topics from the economy to women’s equity to climate change. As always, those too young to vote captured her special attention.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks during a campaign stop, Tuesday, July 28, 2015, in Nashua, N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during a town hall campaign stop in Nashua, New Hampshire July 28, 2015. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton takes a question from the audience during a town hall campaign stop in Nashua, New Hampshire July 28, 2015. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton answers a question from the audience during a town hall campaign stop in Nashua, New Hampshire July 28, 2015. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton reacts to the show of hands in the audience with questions during a town hall campaign stop in Nashua, New Hampshire July 28, 2015. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton gives a thumbs up at the conclusion of a town hall campaign stop in Nashua, New Hampshire July 28, 2015. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton hugs ten year-old Emily Wall, after Wall asked to shake the hand of the first female President of the United States, during town hall campaign event in Nashua, New Hampshire July 28, 2015. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton walks away after answering questions from reporters following a town hall campaign stop in Nashua, New Hampshire July 28, 2015. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
At a recent campaign event in New Hampshire, a charmingly precocious little boy really put the former Secretary of State on the spot, asking, “What do you think is the most important part of life, like out of all the things in life? Such as, health care, um, education, and all that stuff—what do you think is the most important?”
Bravo, young man! Clinton herself was impressed. “What a great question,” she said, shaking the budding journalist’s hand. “I think we have either a future philosopher or a theologian…”
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton talks to reporters following a town hall campaign stop in Nashua, New Hampshire July 28, 2015. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Rather than issue the apology they should have and that she is owed, the New York Times has chosen instead to publish this shabby, third-rate excuse for its unethical treatment of Hillary Clinton.
The emphasis is mine. Passive voice was my dissertation topic. Its usefulness in disguising the agent of an action is acquired early by native speakers. Ten-year-olds are fluent in passive voice. Parents are proficient in seeing through the ruses of this usage and in changing the line of questioning as are teachers, vice principals in charge of discipline, and police detectives.
School children get detention when the subterfuge emerges. The New York Times got attention as did, unjustly, Hillary Clinton. She was never implicated as a party to the alleged mishandling and changing the narrative from active to passive voice muddies the waters rather than making that fact crystal clear. They exploited Hillary Clinton’s name to generate online traffic and sell papers smearing her in the process. Using this pathetic correction to excuse themselves does nothing in the way of the Times shouldering responsibility for their biased, reprehensible, and equivocal treatment of Hillary.
On Friday afternoon, The Times wrote a new article, including the inspectors’ finding and the change in the description of the referral, as well as Mrs. Clinton’s response that she was confident her emails did not contain classified information. The original article, however, was not altered online until Saturday morning to take account of the change in description of the referral from “criminal” to “security.” Editors should have added a correction sooner to note that change.
(Again, the emphasis here is mine.) Actually, no. What the Timesshould have done as soon as the errors were discovered was to apologize loudly and in bold on the front page. Own up, as children learn to do, and make it as public as was the initial, faulty report on Hillary Clinton’s actions and assault on her character. This obscure play by play, a Greek apologia, does nothing to redress clear journalistic malpractice and falls far short of what the Times should have done.
You got it wrong, NYTimes! Make that very plain to American voters. Apologize!
Dean Baquet
Executive Editor
The New York Times
620 Eighth Avenue
New York, New York
July 28, 2015
Dear Mr. Baquet:
I am writing to officially register our campaign’s grave concern with the Times’ publication of an inaccurate report related to Hillary Clinton and her email use.
I appreciate the fact that both you and the Public Editor have sought to publicly explain how this error could have been made. But we remain perplexed by the Times’ slowness to acknowledge its errors after the fact, and some of the shaky justifications that Times’ editors have made. We feel it important to outline these concerns with you directly so that they may be properly addressed and so our campaign can continue to have a productive working relationship with the Times.
I feel obliged to put into context just how egregious an error this story was. The New York Times is arguably the most important news outlet in the world and it rushed to put an erroneous story on the front page charging that a major candidate for President of the United States was the target of a criminal referral to federal law enforcement. Literally hundreds of outlets followed your story, creating a firestorm that had a deep impact that cannot be unwound. This problem was compounded by the fact that the Times took an inexplicable, let alone indefensible, delay in correcting the story and removing “criminal” from the headline and text of the story.
To review the facts, as the Times itself has acknowledged through multiple corrections, the paper’s reporting was false in several key respects: first, contrary to what the Times stated, Mrs. Clinton is not the target of a criminal referral made by the State Department’s and Intelligence Community’s Inspectors General, and second, the referral in question was not of a criminal nature at all.
Just as disturbing as the errors themselves is the Times’ apparent abandonment of standard journalistic practices in the course of its reporting on this story.
First, the seriousness of the allegations that the Times rushed to report last Thursday evening demanded far more care and due diligence than the Times exhibited prior to this article’s publication.
The Times’ readers rightfully expect the paper to adhere to the most rigorous journalistic standards. To state the obvious, it is hard to imagine a situation more fitting for those standards to be applied than when a newspaper is preparing to allege that a major party candidate for President of the United States is the target of a criminal referral received by federal law enforcement.
This allegation, however, was reported hastily and without affording the campaign adequate opportunity to respond. It was not even mentioned by your reporter when our campaign was first contacted late Thursday afternoon. Initially, it was stated as reporting only on a memo – provided to Congress by the Inspectors General from the State Department and Intelligence Community – that raised the possibility of classified material traversing Secretary Clinton’s email system. This memo — which was subsequently released publicly — did not reference a criminal referral at all. It was not until late Thursday night – at 8:36 pm – that your paper hurriedly followed up with our staff to explain that it had received a separate tip that the Inspectors General had additionally made a criminal referral to the Justice Department concerning Clinton’s email use. Our staff indicated that we had no knowledge of any such referral – understandably, of course, since none actually existed – and further indicated that, for a variety of reasons, the reporter’s allegation seemed implausible. Our campaign declined any immediate comment, but asked for additional time to attempt to investigate the allegation raised. In response, it was indicated that the campaign “had time,” suggesting the publication of the report was not imminent.
Despite the late hour, our campaign quickly conferred and confirmed that we had no knowledge whatsoever of any criminal referral involving the Secretary. At 10:36 pm, our staff attempted to reach your reporters on the phone to reiterate this fact and ensure the paper would not be going forward with any such report. There was no answer. At 10:54 pm, our staff again attempted calling. Again, no answer. Minutes later, we received a call back. We sought to confirm that no story was imminent and were shocked at the reply: the story had just published on the Times’ website.
This was, to put it mildly, an egregious breach of the process that should occur when a major newspaper like the Times is pursuing a story of this magnitude. Not only did the Times fail to engage in a proper discussion with the campaign ahead of publication; given the exceedingly short window of time between when the Times received the tip and rushed to publish, it hardly seems possible that the Times conducted sufficient deliberations within its own ranks before going ahead with the story.
Second, in its rush to publish what it clearly viewed as a major scoop, the Times relied on questionable sourcing and went ahead without bothering to seek corroborating evidence that could have supported its allegation.
In our conversations with the Times reporters, it was clear that they had not personally reviewed the IG’s referral that they falsely described as both criminal and focused on Hillary Clinton. Instead, they relied on unnamed sources that characterized the referral as such. However, it is not at all clear that those sources had directly seen the referral, either. This should have represented too many “degrees of separation” for any newspaper to consider it reliable sourcing, least of all The New York Times.
Times’ editors have attempted to explain these errors by claiming the fault for the misreporting resided with a Justice Department official whom other news outlets cited as confirming the Times’ report after the fact. This suggestion does not add up. It is our understanding that this Justice Department official was not the original source of the Times’ tip. Moreover, notwithstanding the official’s inaccurate characterization of the referral as criminal in nature, this official does not appear to have told the Times that Mrs. Clinton was the target of that referral, as the paper falsely reported in its original story.
This raises the question of what other sources the Times may have relied on for its initial report. It clearly was not either of the referring officials – that is, the Inspectors General of either the State Department or intelligence agencies – since the Times’ sources apparently lacked firsthand knowledge of the referral documents. It also seems unlikely the source could have been anyone affiliated with those offices, as it defies logic that anyone so closely involved could have so severely garbled the description of the referral.
Of course, the identity of the Times’ sources would be deserving of far less scrutiny if the underlying information had been confirmed as true. However, the Times appears to have performed little, if any, work to corroborate the accuracy of its sources’ characterizations of the IG’s referral. Key details went uninvestigated in the Times’ race to publish these erroneous allegations against Mrs. Clinton. For instance, high in the Times’ initial story, the reporters acknowledged they had no knowledge of whether or not the documents that the Times claimed were mishandled by Mrs. Clinton contained any classified markings. In Mrs. Clinton’s case, none of the emails at issue were marked. This fact was quickly acknowledged by the IC inspector general’s office within hours of the Times’ report, but it was somehow left unaddressed in the initial story.
Even after the Times’ reporting was revealed to be false, the Times incomprehensibly delayed the issuance of a full and true correction.
Our campaign first sought changes from the Times as soon as the initial story was published. Recognizing the implausibility that Mrs. Clinton herself could be the subject of any criminal probe, we immediately challenged the story’s opening line, which said the referral sought an investigation into Mrs. Clinton specifically for the mishandling of classified materials. In response, the Times’ reporters admitted that they themselves had never seen the IG’s referral, and so acknowledged the possibility that the paper was overstating what it directly knew when it portrayed the potential investigation as centering on Mrs. Clinton. It corrected the lead sentence accordingly.
The speed with which the Times conceded that it could not defend its lead citing Mrs. Clinton as the referral’s target raises questions about what inspired its confidence in the first place to frame the story that way. More importantly, the Times’ change was not denoted in the form of a correction. Rather, it was performed quietly, overnight, without any accompanying note to readers. This was troubling in its lack of transparency and risks causing the Times to appear like it is trying to whitewash its misreporting. A correction should have been posted promptly that night.
Regardless, even after this change, a second error remained in the story: the characterization of the referral as criminal at all. By Friday morning, multiple members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (who had been briefed by the Inspectors General) challenged this portrayal—and ultimately, so did the Department of Justice itself. Only then did the Times finally print a correction acknowledging its misstatement of the nature of the referral to the Justice Department.
Of course, the correction, coming as it did on a Friday afternoon, was destined to reach a fraction of those who read the Times’ original, erroneous report. As the Huffington Post observed:
“…it’s unlikely that the same audience will see the updated version unless the paper were to send out a second breaking news email with its latest revisions. The Clinton story also appeared [on] the front page of Friday’s print edition.”
Most maddening of all, even after the correction fixed the description of the referral within the story, a headline remained on the front page of the Times’ website that read, “Criminal Inquiry is Sought in Clinton Email Account.” It was not until even later in the evening that the word “criminal” was finally dropped from the headline and an updated correction was issued to the story. The lateness of this second correction, however, prevented it from appearing in the paper the following morning. We simply do not understand how that was allowed to occur.
Lastly, the Times’ official explanations for the misreporting is profoundly unsettling.
In a statement to the Times’ public editor, you said that the errors in the Times’ story Thursday night were “unavoidable.” This is hard to accept. As noted above, the Justice Department official that incorrectly confirmed the Times’ initial reports for other outlets does not appear to have been the initial source for the Times. Moreover, it is precisely because some individuals may provide erroneous information that it is important for the Times to sift the good information from the bad, and where there is doubt, insist on additional evidence. The Times was under no obligation to go forward on a story containing such explosive allegations coming only from sources who refused to be named. If nothing else, the Times could have allowed the campaign more time to understand the allegation being engaged. Unfortunately, the Times chose to take none of these steps.
In closing, I wish to emphasize our genuine wish to have a constructive relationship with The New York Times. But we also are extremely troubled by the events that went into this erroneous report, and will be looking forward to discussing our concerns related to this incident so we can have confidence that it is not repeated in the future.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Palmieri
Communications Director
Hillary for America
Cc: Margaret Sullivan,
Public Editor
New York Times
When asked, whether by the campaign or by poll-takers, media outlets, or even by friends, why they support Hillary Clinton for President, many people, I have noticed, have a ready short answer while I have been flummoxed. How to have a simple answer when the reasons are so many, so complex, and so deeply rooted in a long history has escaped me. Today the light came on, and surprisingly, it is the same simple answer with which I argued for her nomination in 2008. She always has a plan.
If Hillary argues in favor of a policy, she always has a plan behind the argument. It is always sensible, well thought out, thorough, and surprisingly clear and simple for everyone to understand.
Yesterday, she unveiled her plan to combat climate change. Below is her email with an informative video and a way for you to sign onto her effort along with a fact sheet issued by her campaign.
From this day forward I do have a short answer to that question – the same one I had in 2008. I could even make it my hashtag: #HillaryHasaPlan. Of course the long answer would incorporate a great deal more, but this is my short one: Hillary has a plan!
Friend —
Climate change is one of the most urgent problems facing our nation and our world. Tonight, I’m proud to announce the first steps of an ambitious plan to combat it and help make America a clean energy superpower.
Too many Republicans in this race deny the very existence of this global threat by reminding you that they’re not scientists. Well, I may not be a scientist, but I’m a grandmother with two eyes and a brain. That’s all it takes to know that we must immediately address climate change, one of the defining challenges of our time. I hope you’ll stand with me to do just that.
Watch the video, then add your name to join me in the fight against climate change:
Hillary Clinton announced two bold national goals that she will set as president to combat climate change, create jobs, protect the health of American families and communities, and make the United States the world’s clean energy superpower:
The United States will have more than half a billion solar panels installed across the country by the end of Hillary Clinton’s first term.
The United States will generate enough clean renewable energy to power every home in America within ten years of Hillary Clinton taking office.
The next decade will be decisive for our transition to a clean energy economy and our ability to meet the global climate crisis. The two goals Clinton announced are part of a comprehensive energy and climate agenda that she will lay out over the coming months.
By achieving these goals we will:
Expand the amount of installed solar capacity to 140 gigawatts by the end of 2020, a 700% increase from current levels. That is the equivalent of having rooftop solar systems on over 25 million homes.
Add more power generation capacity to the grid than during any decade in American history, from a combination of wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, and other forms of renewable electricity.
Prevent thousands of premature deaths and tens of thousands of asthma attacks each year, meet our national and international climate targets, and move our economy along a path towards deep decarbonization by 2050.
How will we achieve these goals? Through a clean energy challenge to unleash American innovation.
First, Hillary Clinton will make it a top priority to fight efforts to roll back the Clean Power Plan. The Clean Power Plan is a crucial tool in our national strategy to reduce carbon pollution, level the playing field for and increase the deployment of renewable energy, and build a clean energy future. In the face of attacks from climate change deniers, we will need a champion in the White House to defend it and implement it effectively.
But smart federal standards set the floor, not the ceiling. We can and must go further.
Hillary Clinton will launch a Clean Energy Challenge that forms a new partnership with states, cities, and rural communities that are ready to lead on clean energy. She will outline this Challenge in detail in the coming weeks, and it will include:
Climate Action Competition: Competitive grants and other market-based incentives to empower states to exceed federal carbon pollution standards and accelerate clean energy deployment.
Solar X-Prize: Awards for communities that successfully cut the red tape that slows rooftop solar installation times and increases costs for businesses and consumers.
Transforming the Grid: Work with states, cities and rural communities to strengthen grid reliability and resilience, increase consumer choice and improve customer value.
Rural Leadership: Expand the Rural Utilities Service and other successful USDA programs to help provide clean, reliable, and affordable energy, not just to rural Americans but to the rest of the country as well.
As part of the Clean Energy Challenge, Clinton will ensure that every part of the federal government is working in concert to help Americans build a clean energy future. This includes:
Transmission Investment: Ensure the federal government is a partner, not an obstacle, in getting low-cost wind and other renewable energy to market.
Solar Access: Overcome barriers that prevent low-income and other households from using solar energy to reduce their monthly energy bills.
Tax Incentives: Fight to extend federal clean energy incentives and make them more cost effective both for taxpayers and clean energy producers.
Public Lands and Infrastructure: Expand renewable energy on public lands, federal buildings, and federally-funded infrastructure, including an initiative to significantly increase hydropower generation from existing dams across the US.
Innovation: Increase public investment in clean energy R&D, including in storage technology, designed materials, advanced nuclear, and carbon capture and sequestration. Expand successful innovation initiatives, like ARPA-e, and cut those that fail to deliver results.
But this is only part of a comprehensive energy and climate agenda.
This is just the beginning of the energy and climate strategy that Hillary will present over the coming months, including ways in which the Clean Energy Challenge will improve the efficiency of our buildings and modernize our transportation system, as well as major initiatives in the following areas:
Energy and Climate Security: Reduce the amount of oil consumed in the United States and around the world, guard against energy supply disruptions, and make our communities, our infrastructure, and our financial markets more resilient to climate-related risks.
Modernizing North American Infrastructure: Improve the safety and security of existing energy infrastructure and align new infrastructure we build with the clean energy economy we are seeking to create.
Safe and Responsible Production: Ensure that fossil fuel production taking place today is safe and responsible, that taxpayers get a fair deal for development on public lands, and that areas that are too sensitive for energy production are taken off the table.
Coal Communities: Protect the health and retirement security of coalfield workers and their families and provide economic opportunities for those that kept the lights on and factories running for more than a century.
Collaborative Stewardship: Renew our shared commitment to the conservation of our disappearing lands, waters, and wildlife, to the preservation of our history and culture, and to expanding access to the outdoors for all Americans.
Hillary Clinton is a proven fighter against the threat of climate change.
As Secretary of State, Clinton built an unprecedented global effort to combat climate change, making it a key U.S. foreign policy priority. She appointed the first Special Envoy for Climate Change to make the issue a top priority in U.S. diplomacy. She led the creation of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition global initiative and with President Obama achieved the key diplomatic breakthrough that yielded the 2009 UN Copenhagen Accord, the first international climate agreement in which major developing countries like China, India, and Brazil committed to reduce their GHG pollution.
As Senator, Clinton advanced initiatives to protect the American people from the threat of climate change and unleash the full potential of America’s clean energy economy. She introduced the Strategic Energy Fund Act and co-sponsored and supported legislation to extend the Wind, Solar and Ethanol Tax Credits. She championed the Clean Power Act to reduce harmful industrial pollutants and was part of a bipartisan coalition to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil drilling.
Hillary was in Des Moines today where, on the heels of unveiling her plan. she toured the Des Moines Area Rapid Transit Central Station.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton tours the Des Moines Area Rapid Transit Central Station with general manager Elizabeth Presutti and building superintendent Keith Welch, left, Monday, July 27, 2015, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton looks on as she is introduced to speak about her renewable energy plan, Monday, July 27, 2015, at the Des Moines Area Rapid Transit Central Station in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton (C) tours the geothermal system during a visit to the LEED Platinum certified DART Central Station in Des Moines, Iowa July 27, 2015. General Manager Elizabeth Presutti (L) and Building Superintendent Keith Welch (R) conduct the tour. REUTERS/Scott Morgan
Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton tours the geothermal system during a visit to the LEED Platinum certified DART Central Station in Des Moines, Iowa July 27, 2015. REUTERS/Scott Morgan
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton tours the Des Moines Area Rapid Transit Central Station, Monday, July 27, 2015, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton tours the Des Moines Area Rapid Transit Central Station with building superintendent Keith Welch, Monday, July 27, 2015, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton talks to the media, Monday, July 27, 2015, at the Des Moines Area Rapid Transit Central Station in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton tours the Des Moines Area Rapid Transit Central Station with general manager Elizabeth Presutti, left, and building superintendent Keith Welch, Monday, July 27, 2015, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act in Iowa today, Hillary turned her Twitter account over to Sara who spent the day with Hillary and tweeted the story of her family including her disabled son Adam and his service dog Turbo.
Sara: Thanks for sharing your story with us on #ADA25. Your work every day – as a mom, nurse, and advocate – is an inspiration to us all. -H
Hillary also addressed her plans for environmental policy. She spoke at a campaign event at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa and attended a house party.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton smiles as she enters a campaign event Sunday, July 26, 2015, at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton talks to supporters during a campaign event Sunday, July 26, 2015, at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Dale Todd and his son Adam listen to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton speak during a campaign event Sunday, July 26, 2015, at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton’s ring is seen as she speaks at a campaign event, Sunday, July 26, 2015, at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton reacts as she is introduced to speak at a campaign event, Sunday, July 26, 2015, at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
This evening, her campaign staff posted a video explaining her position on climate change and the environment.
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Hillary because…
She would NEVER have allowed social safety nets to be "on the table."
Read the unclassified ARB Report on Benghazi here.
@U.S. Senate: Time to ratify LOST!
"... ratify the Law of the Sea Convention, which has provided the international framework for exploring these new opportunities in the Arctic. We abide by the international law that undergirds the convention, but we think the United States should be a member, because the convention sets down the rules of the road that protect freedom of navigation, provide maritime security, serve the interests of every nation that relies on sea lanes for commerce and trade, and also sets the framework for exploration for the natural resources that may be present in the Arctic." -HRC, 06-03-12, Tromso Norway
"I deeply resent those who attack our country, the generosity of our people and the leadership of our president in trying to respond to historically disastrous conditions after the earthquake." - HRC 01-26-10
Good Advice!
“You can’t keep snakes in your backyard and expect them only to bite your neighbors. Eventually those snakes are going to turn on whoever has them in the backyard.” HRC
Hillary! Leadership we need!
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"What I have always found is that when it comes to foreign policy, it is important to remember that politics stops at the water's edge." -HRC 11-04-10
What a difference one woman can make!
"...whether it’s here, in the absolute best embassy in the world, or whether it’s in Washington, or whether it’s elsewhere, what a difference one woman can make. And that woman is right here, the woman who needs no introduction, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton." 07.05.10 - Unidentified speaker, Embassy Yerevan
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"So, ladies and gentlemen, I give you your Secretary of State, and perhaps the most respected person on the world stage today, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton." - Jon Huntsman 05-23-2010
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“When people attack you, you always have to remember that a lot of what others say about you has a lot more to do about them than you.” – Hillary Rodham Clinton