As the race towards president gets more and more heated, Hillary Clinton’s statements have been receiving quite a lot of scrutiny. Throughout the debates her performance has been extremely mixed: her tactics and public presence may seem powerful, but her statements are receiving quite a bit of criticism.
At one point in her debating, Hillary Clinton made a statement that she was never part of the “establishment.” According to Hillary Clinton, she has never been swayed from her views by her ties to Wall Street and various corporations. Clinton seems to be making these statements to challenge the popularly held view that Bernie Sanders is more authentic and less political than she is.
However, it turns out that there is a ready answer to Clinton’s defiant challenge for detractors to “name one time I changed due to Wall Street Money.” A discussion between Senator Elizabeth Warren and Bill Moyers back in 2004 highlights one time when this is exactly what happened: Back in 2004, Hillary Clinton’s involvement with a bankruptcy regulation bill highlighted exactly where her loyalties lie.
The bill first appeared when Hillary Clinton was First Lady. It essentially was a bill that would make it more difficult for people to claim bankruptcy when they found themselves in a difficult financial situation. It was championed by credit companies because it would allow them to continue to make profits from destitute people who could otherwise declare bankruptcy to escape the situation. When President Bill Clinton vetoed this bill, Hillary Clinton proudly claimed that she was responsible for the bill failing to pass.
However, just a few years later, everything changed when Hillary Clinton became senator. The bill trying to prevent impoverished people from declaring bankruptcy was resurrected. That time, Hillary Clinton chose to vote in favor of the bill. According to Senator Warren, “She has taken money from [the credit companies], and more to the point, she worries about them as a constituency.” However, Hillary Clinton’s autobiography claims that she supported people with financial troubles and influenced her husband to veto the bill, completely ignoring her later switch in allegiance to the credit card companies.
This is just one example of the many shifting changes in Hillary Clinton’s supposedly strong political views. Most politicians slightly compromise on their core goals due to the pressures of their job and the changing views of their constituency, but it s quite worrisome that Hillary Clinton abruptly changes her opinions entirely, seemingly for financial benefit. Due to knowledge of Hillary Clinton’s past, her debate performances are not attracting as many voters as she has hoped for, and her national lead has dropped to a mere 2%, instead of the massive lead Democrats originally assumed she would have.
Instead of aligning with Hillary Clinton, Senator Warren seems poised to support Bernie Sanders. They share many policies, so some have begun to suggest that Senator Warren would be an ideal running mate for Sanders’ Vice Presidential candidate, if he is nominated as the Democratic party’s candidate. Though nothing is definite at this time, it seems like a logical and wise choice, if she continues to flawlessly counteract false claims.