Hillary Clinton Works to Lure Liberals

As long time readers know, back in 2008 this blog backed Barrack Obama over Hillary Clinton.  Seven years later I find myself leaning toward supporting Hillary Clinton.  Yes, I like much of what Elizabeth Warren has to say, especially her message on equality of economic opportunity.  But, ultimately, elections involve backing someone that you think can win even if that candidate isn't your dream candidate.   And it is worth noting that Hillary has changed her position on certain issues important to me. Now, as Hillary proceeds with her campaign, part of her mission is to lure back voters who saw her as insufficiently liberal or out of step on various issues.  A piece in Huffington Post looks at Hillary's efforts on this front.  Here are highlights:

As a presidential candidate in 2008, she opposed gay marriage, equivocated on granting driver's licenses to people who were living in the U.S. illegally and endured heavy criticism from rival Barack Obama over her stance on campaign finance.

During the opening week of her second presidential campaign, Clinton showed she had retooled her positions to line up with the views of progressive Democrats. On Monday, she called for a constitutional amendment that would limit "unaccountable money" in politics. Days later, she said through her campaign that she supports same-sex marriage being recognized as a constitutional right in a pending Supreme Court case. After that, her campaign said she now supports state policies awarding licenses to people in the country illegally.

Such do-overs are part of an effort by Clinton to rectify past missteps and assure the liberal wing of her party that in 2016, she will be change they've been waiting for. 

While Clinton enters the race in a dominant position, she faces skepticism from some Democrats who question her commitment to tackling income inequality.  "Equal opportunity and upward mobility have been very central to her political ideals from the start," said Robert Reich, who was President Bill Clinton's labor secretary and has known Hillary Clinton since college. "I just don't know how courageous she will be in fighting for them."

Clinton devoted the first week of her campaign trying to put such concerns to rest. . . . Aides spent much of the first 72 hours reaching out to union leaders, party officials and other interest groups. But for some who have met with her campaign staff, they wonder not about whether Clinton will tack to the left, but how far her proposals will go.

So far, at least a few are encouraged. At her opening event in Iowa, Clinton took on CEOs and hedge fund managers, saying the "deck is still stacked in favor of those already at the top."

At the Statehouse, her support for universal pre-K earned some of the biggest applause from Democratic lawmakers, according to people in the room.

Clinton is not in the clear with liberals yet.  

Liberal organizations say they plan to continue their push to draft Warren, and Democrats in early voting states say Clinton has work to do if she wants to be assured of winning the nomination.

Her decision to accept political donations from lobbyists — something Obama refused — may undercut her efforts to change the campaign finance system. Obama's push for a trade pact with 11 Pacific nations will put Clinton between the centrist wing of her party and union leaders who oppose the deal. On Friday, her campaign said she would be "watching closely" efforts to negotiate a final agreement.