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Rose Siding

(32,623 posts)
Thu Apr 28, 2016, 10:52 PM Apr 2016

A millennial's Quick Startup Guide to Hillary

This is a great piece. As I read it, one thing occurred to me repeatedly. Hillary Clinton is consistent. Her methods for success were learned and established early and they have served her well.

At the end of Brendan Steidle's blog post is an extensive list of Hillary's accomplishments, some of which I was unfamiliar with. In case anyone asks.

I haven't read Bernstein's book and I really enjoyed the excerpts Brendan included.

..........Hillary was elected Student Body President at Wellesley College in 1968—after a three week campaign that saw her knocking door-to-door in every single dorm on campus. As president, she focused on making change happen, rather than making enemies: “Part of her skill was finding a careful middle ground that brought progress without engendering unnecessary enmity,” her biographer Carl Bernstein wrote. "Fellow students, even those uncomfortable with her politics, were drawn to Hillary’s natural warmth, humor, and obvious ability to get the job done. There was something both generous and gracious about her character that made people like being around her. She possessed a seemingly unselfish ability to praise others, recognize their personal concerns, remember meaningful details about their lives.”

What did she get done?

At Hillary’s insistence, a summer Upward Bound program for inner-city children was initiated on campus, antiwar activities were conducted in college facilities, the skirt rule had been rescinded, grades were given on a pass-fail basis, parietal rules were a thing of the past, interdisciplinary majors were permitted for the first time. —Carl Bernstein, 'A Woman in Charge'
Just a pause here—to explain parietal rules. Wellesley was a woman's college—one of the seven sister colleges that were made to mirror the all-male Ivy League schools of the day. As a woman’s college of its time, men were not allowed in dorm rooms. Hillary helped put an end to that.

She has always been the opposite of Bernie Sanders.

The biggest difference between her and so many others in politics today? One that was there from the beginning: a “willingness to participate in the drudgery of government rather than simply direct policy from Olympian heights," Bernstein explained. "She attended committee meetings, became involved in the minutiae (of finding a better system for the return of library books, for instance), and studied every aspect of the Wellesley curriculum in developing a successful plan to reduce the number of required courses.”

As a fellow student said of her at the time: “she was more interested in the process of achieving victory than in taking a philosophical position that could not lead anywhere.” Is there any better way of contrasting her with Bernie Sanders?

The death of Martin Luther King, Jr. was a test of leadership for Hillary.

One of her most significant moments as student body president at Wellesley came in April 1968—when Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated:

Hearing the news, she stormed into a dorm room, shaking and shouting. She threw her book bag against the wall. One witness said she screamed, “I can’t stand it anymore! I can’t take it!”…King was perhaps the man she admired most in the country, if not the world. She had met him in 1962, shaken his hand, sat spellbound as he preached, twice. —Carl Bernstein, 'A Woman in Charge'
It was just two months after her election as president—and the town exploded. Students threatened to go on hunger strikes if Wellesley didn’t hire more black faculty and admit more black students. Other students planned on shutting down the school.

Instead, Hillary put herself forward as a mediator between students and the administration—in search of a solution. With her leadership, a solution was struck: the college promised to recruit more minority students and faculty. Wellesley even committed to pushing other employers in the region to create better living conditions and job opportunities for minorities.

Hillary has been studying how to make government more effective for the poor since she was an undergraduate.

What did she study as an undergrad? Her thesis was on the effectiveness of public programs. She went to the same kind of impoverished neighborhoods of Chicago that Obama would one day organize in—speaking to community leaders to see if Lyndon Johnson’s anti-poverty programs were on the right track. Her conclusion? They weren’t. The programs put too much on the shoulders of community members without providing enough federal resources to get the job done. As part of the project, she interviewed Saul Alinsky, the famed organizer—gaining his trust and even a job offer.

................so much more..................

http://www.armisticedesigns.com/blog/2016/4/21/the-quick-startup-guide-to-hillary


15 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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A millennial's Quick Startup Guide to Hillary (Original Post) Rose Siding Apr 2016 OP
“she was more interested in the process of achieving victory than in taking a philosophical position puffy socks Apr 2016 #1
Oh, man, I'm still reading. Look how prescient- Rose Siding Apr 2016 #3
"All they can do is keep trying again and again and again." puffy socks Apr 2016 #6
Message auto-removed Name removed Apr 2016 #7
K&R, very good article, she has worked to help others for so long Thinkingabout Apr 2016 #2
In her early 30s she went to battle with Reagan twice. And won Rose Siding Apr 2016 #4
"She once served as "best person" in a friend's wedding—and wore a tuxedo." Rose Siding Apr 2016 #5
That is so cool all american girl Apr 2016 #13
I recall after Obama beat Hillary... yallerdawg Apr 2016 #8
thank you, Rose~ Cha Apr 2016 #9
I liked especially... Eisenhower_Repub Apr 2016 #10
Love this – thank you!!! sarae Apr 2016 #11
Excellent read. Thanks for sharing. SharonClark Apr 2016 #12
Wow! I really want this person as my President!! Her Sister Apr 2016 #14
That is the only sane conclusion Rose Siding Apr 2016 #15
 

puffy socks

(1,473 posts)
1. “she was more interested in the process of achieving victory than in taking a philosophical position
Thu Apr 28, 2016, 11:00 PM
Apr 2016

that could not lead anywhere.”

That about sums it up. Why is this so hard to understand?

We've had a universal health care bill introduced every year since 1993 There it stays in the committee. It wont move . The GOP wont ever allow it and we haven't given Dems enough seats to get it done.
The bill's sponsors were some of the same politicians Bernie's camp calls sell outs. Pelosi, Frank, Schumer for example.

Rose Siding

(32,623 posts)
3. Oh, man, I'm still reading. Look how prescient-
Thu Apr 28, 2016, 11:09 PM
Apr 2016

This was a paragraph in her commencement speech. It fits today for one of her biggest challenges and we're watching her live it right now.

Trust: “Trust. This is one word that when I asked the class at our rehearsal what it was they wanted me to say for them, everyone came up to me and said 'Talk about trust, talk about the lack of trust both for us and the way we feel about others. Talk about the trust bust.' What can you say about it? What can you say about a feeling that permeates a generation and that perhaps is not even understood by those who are distrusted? All they can do is keep trying again and again and again. There's that wonderful line in 'East Coker' by Eliot about there's only the trying, again and again and again; to win again what we've lost before.”


Gives me chills. She's doing that right now.
 

puffy socks

(1,473 posts)
6. "All they can do is keep trying again and again and again."
Thu Apr 28, 2016, 11:37 PM
Apr 2016

Yes that fits perfectly. It takes so much patience over so much time to get enough people together enmasse to change things.

Response to puffy socks (Reply #1)

Thinkingabout

(30,058 posts)
2. K&R, very good article, she has worked to help others for so long
Thu Apr 28, 2016, 11:04 PM
Apr 2016

She does not know any other way. Her work is not complete yet. She gives of her time and herself, a progressive who gets things done.

Rose Siding

(32,623 posts)
4. In her early 30s she went to battle with Reagan twice. And won
Thu Apr 28, 2016, 11:19 PM
Apr 2016

on behalf of the Legal Services Corporation to which President Carter had appointed her to chair. "The organization served the poor and downtrodden—those who by no fault of their own couldn't afford an attorney". She rallied Dems in Congress to oppose Reagan and triple the funding.

What were the other candidates doing in their 30s again?

all american girl

(1,788 posts)
13. That is so cool
Fri Apr 29, 2016, 10:29 AM
Apr 2016

My mom's cousin...what does that make her to me? was the best man at my friends' wedding...she wore a tux...this is a woman who is my mom's age...She was always the coolest person.

yallerdawg

(16,104 posts)
8. I recall after Obama beat Hillary...
Thu Apr 28, 2016, 11:51 PM
Apr 2016

I read both his books - and it was a reassuring revelation!

When this primary season began over a year ago, I had never heard ideas about Hillary expressed like here outside of the most repulsive Republican websites and talk radio.

I hope Bernie supporters are open-minded and curious, and understand they have been subjected to the most horrendous character assassination and false narrative ever perpetrated.

sarae

(3,284 posts)
11. Love this – thank you!!!
Fri Apr 29, 2016, 08:19 AM
Apr 2016

So important to list her accomplishments, since so many people want to ignore them...gonna save this.

<3 the photo, too!

 

Her Sister

(6,444 posts)
14. Wow! I really want this person as my President!!
Fri Apr 29, 2016, 12:08 PM
Apr 2016

I want this mind, this brain, this personality type, this woman as my President!

HRC #45

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