Clinton Outlines Platform at Pacific Palisades Fundraiser

By STEVEN HERBERT

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton outlined her campaign themes today at the first three Southern California fundraisers for her bid for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination.

Clinton continued discussing her commitment “to being a champion for everyday Americans,” an aide said, echoing a comment she made in the video released April 12 announcing her candidacy.

Clinton also outlined “the four fights that are the focus of her campaign -- building the economy of tomorrow, not yesterday; strengthening families and communities; fixing our dysfunctional political system; protecting our country from threats,” the aide said.

The ticket price for each event was $2,700 per person, the maximum individual contribution for a candidate seeking his or her party’s nomination under federal law.

The events were designed to build the “Hillstarters” program, where people are asked to raise $27,000 for the campaign. Anyone raising $27,000 or more was designated as a co-host of the event.

Approximately 100 people joined Clinton at the Westwood home of Cathy and Len Unger to begin the day of fundraising, the aide said.

A noontime fundraiser at the Pacific Palisades home of television producer Steven Bochco and his wife Dayna drew approximately 270 people, the aide said. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California, was a co-host.

Approximately 450 people attended the final event at the Beverly Hills home of billionaire media giant Haim Saban.

The event was co-hosted by Casey Wasserman, the chairman and CEO of the Wasserman Media Group, a sports, entertainment and lifestyle marketing and management firm, and his wife Laura.

Before today’s final fundraiser, a rally was held at Will Rogers Memorial Park, across from the Beverly Hills Hotel, to urge Clinton to oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Opponents of the trade agreement claim it will continue the trend of exporting millions of high-paying jobs to low-wage countries, reduce wages for 90 percent of American workers, lower food safety and environmental standards, and increase human rights abuses.

“The TPP would be a disaster for Latinos across the Americas,” said Arturo Carmona, executive director of Presente.org, which seeks to advance Latino power and create winning campaigns that amplify Latino voices.

“Free trade agreements have destroyed the economies of many Latin American countries, driving our communities north in search of work into America to face xenophobic and anti-immigrant sentiments.”

The rally drew more than 200 people, organizers said. The Beverly Hills Police Department did not provide a crowd estimate.

The Obama administration says the partnership will boost economic growth by increasing American exports, support the creation and retention of American jobs, and promote innovation. The partnership consists of the United States, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Vietnam and Singapore.

Clinton’s traveling spokesman Nick Merrill told The New York Times last month that “Hillary Clinton believes that any new trade measure has to pass two tests. First, it should put us in a position to protect American workers, raise wages and create more good jobs at home.

“Second, it must also strengthen our national security. We should be willing to walk away from any outcome that falls short of these tests. The goal is greater prosperity and security for American families, not trade for trade’s sake.”

Clinton “will be watching closely to see what is being done to crack down on currency manipulation, improve labor rights, protect the environment and health, promote transparency, and open new opportunities for our small businesses to export overseas,” Merrill told The Times.

“As she warned in her book, ‘Hard Choices,’ we shouldn’t be giving special rights to corporations at the expense of workers and consumers.”

Clinton’s only major announced opponent for the Democratic nomination, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, said on the Senate floor last month that “allowing the Trans-Pacific Partnership to be passed will make it easier for more companies to shut down operations in the United States and move to Vietnam and that is wrong.”

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, told reporters in Iowa Wednesday he opposes “fast tracking” the agreement.

“Fast track means nobody’s paying attention,” Huckabee said. “The last time we really fast-tracked something was Obamacare and that’s when we passed it and then we would know what’s in it.

“Why would we ever want to again believe that the government fast- tracking something without thoroughly understanding the implications is the best way to go? It may be a great trade agreement, but it needs to be very thoroughly examined to make sure that it’s not going to put Americans out of work.”

Clinton was also scheduled today to meet with donors to the Priorities USA Action super PAC, The New York Times reported, citing information from two people familiar with her schedule.

A super PAC is a political action committee that may raise and spend unlimited amounts of money, including from corporations and unions, to campaign independently for candidates for federal office.

The report that Clinton would seek super PAC contributions prompted the head of a group supporting changes to the campaign finance system to call on her to offer “a bold, detailed plan to to address the public’s belief that our elections are for sale to the highest bidder.”

“Vague platitudes are no longer enough,” said David Donnelly, president and CEO of Every Voice.

There was no immediate response to an email sent tonight to the Clinton campaign seeking a response.

Clinton came to the Southland in the middle of a three-day California fundraising swing.

She was in San Francisco Wednesday and is scheduled to return to Northern California Friday for a fundraiser at the Portola Valley home of eBay CEO John Donahoe and his wife Eileen, a former ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

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City News Service

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