Hillary Clinton: ‘Today Is Not a Day for Politics’
Source: theAtlantic.com
Hillary Clinton: ‘Today Is Not a Day for Politics’
Following the massacre in Orlando, the presumptive Democratic nominee seemed to step into a presidential role.
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Tony Dejak / AP
Priscilla Alvarez 3:27 PM ET Politics
Hillary Clinton was already set to host a rally in Cleveland on Monday. But after this weekend’s massacre in Orlando—which claimed the lives of 50 people, including the gunman—she took the stage without any background music or other festivities typical of this kind of event. In contrast to Donald Trump’s appearances early in the day, Clinton appeared calm and resolute. As she addressed everything from national security to LGBT rights, she seemed like she was stepping into a role. She seemed presidential.
“Today is not a day for politics,” Clinton began. “On Sunday, Americans woke up to a nightmare that’s become mind numbingly familiar—another act of terrorism in a place no one expected.” The attack was the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. While the investigation is still ongoing, Clinton laid out an approach to defeat ISIS, called for tighter gun restrictions, and offered solidarity to the LGBT community.
Shortly before Clinton’s speech, President Obama said the Orlando shooter, who pledged allegiance to ISIS, appeared to be inspired by “extremist information” online. There is no indication the attack was part of a larger plot, he added. In her remarks, Clinton said “identifying and stopping lone wolves a top priority,” along with working in partnership with other countries. “The Orlando terrorist may be dead, but the virus that poisoned his mind remains very much alive,” she said.
Clinton went on to reiterate the need for tighter gun-control measures. “It’s essential that we stop terrorists from getting the tools they need to carry out the attacks, and that is especially true when it comes to assault weapons like those used in Orlando and San Bernardino,” she said.
Read more: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/06/hillary-clinton-orlando-mass-shooting/486860/
Also, Yesterday--Pres Obama and Hillary Clinton cancelled what was to be their first joint campaign rally which was to be held in Green Bay WI on Wednesday.
Clinton Didn’t Mention Trump Once During Her Orlando Remarks. She Knew She Didn’t Have To.
By Josh Voorhees
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Hillary Clinton speaks to supporters at the Cleveland Industrial Innovation Center on June 13, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Angelo Merendino/Getty Images
Earlier this month, Hillary Clinton used what her campaign billed as a major foreign policy speech to launch a blistering attack on Donald Trump. On Monday, one day after the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, many expected the same from her planned remarks in Cleveland. But instead of firing another broadside against her opponent, Clinton spent the time talking about her actual policies.
Josh Voorhees Josh Voorhees
Josh Voorhees is a Slate senior writer. He lives in Iowa City.
That, it stands to reason, was intentional. Notably, Clinton never invoked Trump’s name during her address, instead declaring that, “Today is not a day for politics.” But the presumptive Republican nominee was absent in name only as Clinton took a number of unsubtle jabs at Trump’s Islamophobic rhetoric and his calls to ban Muslims from entering the country as she made the case for her own proposals. “Millions of peace-loving Muslims live, work, and raise their families across America,” Clinton said. “So we should be intensifying contacts in those communities, not scapegoating or isolating them.”
Clinton laid out a multi-part plan to prevent future attacks from ISIS-inspired “lone wolf” terrorists, as the evidence suggests Orlando gunman Omar Mateen was. The former secretary of state called for creating an “intelligence surge” to help identify potential terrorists and counter ISIS propaganda, building greater relationships with U.S. Muslim communities, banning the sale of assault weapons, and barring those on the government’s terror watch-list from purchasing a firearm. It was an imperfect plan, but it was a largely coherent one—which made it all the more noteworthy compared to whatever you want to call the rambling mess of hate-filled contradictions Trump offered hours later during his own Orlando speech.
Clinton also continued to make a play for Trump-skeptical Republicans by calling for unity and bipartisanship, much as she did in San Diego earlier this month when she was attacking Trump more directly. “I remember how it felt on the day after 9/11—and I bet many of you do as well. Americans from all walks of life rallied together with a sense of common purpose on September the 12th. And in the days and weeks and months that followed we had each other's backs,” she said. “I was a senator from New York, there was a Republican president, a Republican governor, and a Republican mayor. We did not attack each other.”.....................
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