MB Civic

What HAS Hillary Actually Done?
Original reporting by Rev. Ian Alterman
Editor, MB-Civic
January 16, 2008

One of the things I have found fairly consistently throughout both the blogosphere and many alternative media websites is an accusation, even from Democrats, that Senator Clinton has few if any real accomplishments; that she is “riding the coat-tails” of her husband’s presidency, and has not done much for New York State as one of its U.S. Senators. Many add that she is actually a “conservative in liberal clothing”; some even accuse her of being “Bush lite.”

With regard to specifics, her accusers harp mostly (though certainly not exclusively) on some of her work at Rose Law Firm (including for Wal-Mart (on whose board she sat) and Tyson Foods), her support for NAFTA and the WTO, her vote for the resolution that led to the war in Iraq, her vote for the resolution naming the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization, and a general association with her husband’s failed policies. For the most part, these are legitimate targets for criticism. However, there are a number of dynamics to these accusations that are inaccurate, and some that are downright disingenuous.

For example, regarding her husband’s presidency, many of her accusers want to have it both ways: on the one hand, she “did not get presidential experience by osmosis”; on the other, she is equally responsible for all of Mr. Clinton’s failed or questionable policies. And this latter has as added disingenuous aspect: she is associated with Mr. Clinton’s failed policies – but never with his successes. She is associated with NAFTA, but not with balancing the budget; with the WTO, but not with paying down the deficit; with “ending welfare as we know it,” but not with leaving a budget surplus of hundreds of billions of dollars or presiding over the longest economic boom in modern history. And so on.

Below is a list of many of Ms. Clinton’s accomplishments. The list is by no means exhaustive. As well, let me make clear that I am aware that she has also held (and continues to hold) questionable positions, made questionable decisions, voted questionably on certain Senate bills. I leave it to someone else to make that list.

Two final comments.

With regard to her alleged “conservatism,” as we will see, Ms. Clinton is actually one of the most liberal Senators in Congress. This is supported by the Almanac of American Politics, NARAL, the ACLU, Americans for Democratic Action, the League of Conservation Voters, National Journal, and Progressive Punch, among many others. As well, the American Conservative Union and the National Rifle Association both give her wildly failing grades (9 out of 100 in the case of the ACU; “F” in the case of the NRA). Some of her rankings are better than Senator Obama’s, some are equal; in only one case was Senator Obama ranked higher as a liberal.

Finally, there are two motifs that run throughout Ms. Clinton’s life; her work on behalf of children, and her work on behalf of the poor and disadvantaged. Yes, I know that will shock many of her accusers. It surprised me as well. But almost from the beginning, her efforts concentrated on these two areas.

The list is essentially chronological, broken down by various periods in her life. [N.B. My sources for the list were Wikipedia and a variety of other websites, including those for the organizations listed above, and those required for fact-checking the Wikipedia source.] I have editorialized as little as possible, except where it seemed helpful, or where further explication was required.

Law School

-Worked as research assistant on “Beyond the Best Interest of the Child,” a seminal work on child placement and custody.

-Worked on cases of child abuse at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

-Volunteered at New Haven Legal Services providing free legal advice to the poor.

-Worked at Marian Wright Edelman’s Washington Research Project; assigned to Senator Walter Mondale’s Subcommittee on Migratory Labor, researching migrant workers’ problems in housing, sanitation, health, education.

-Interned at Treuhaft, Walker & Burnstein, working on child custody cases. TWB was known for its left-leaning staff (two if its four partners were former CP members) and work (civil liberties, constitutional rights).

-Campaigned for George McGovern.

Post-Graduate

-One year at Yale Child Study Center, studying children and medicine. Published first scholarly paper (“Children Under the Law”) in Harvard Educational Review.

-Served as staff attorney for the Children’s Defense Fund, and consultant to the Carnegie Council on Children.

-During Watergate scandal, served as a member of the impeachment inquiry staff advising the House Committee on the Judiciary. It was the culmination of the work of this Committee that led directly to Nixon’s resignation.

Professional

-Joined Rose Law Firm in 1977. Worked on patent infringement and intellectual property cases, as well as doing pro bono work in child advocacy.

-Founded Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.

-Appointed by President Carter to the board of directors of Legal Services Corporation (1978 to 1981). First woman to chair the board. During her tenure, successfully battled Reagan’s attempts to reduce funding for LSC.

-First woman to become a full partner at Rose Law Firm (1979).

As First Lady of Arkansas

-Appointed by newly elected governor Bill Clinton to Rural Health Advisory Committee, where she successfully obtained federal funds to expand medical facilities in Arkansas’ poorest areas.

-Chaired the Arkansas Educational Standard Committee, working on reform of one of the worst educational systems in the country. Successfully implemented mandatory teacher testing, and state standards for curriculum and classroom size. Created the Arkansas Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youth, a preschool literacy and preparedness program.

-Chaired the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women in the Profession (1987 to 1991).

-Twice named by the National Law Review as one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America.

-Served on the boards of Arkansas Children’s Hospital Legal Services (1988-1992) and the Children’s Defense Fund (1986-1992).

-Served on the boards of TCBY (1985-1992), Wal-Mart (1986-1992, and Lafarge (1990-1992). First female member of Wal-Mart’s board. [N.B. She was added only after Sam Walton was pressured to add a woman.] During her tenure, she pushed successfully for the chain to adopt more environmentally-friendly practices. (However, she was silent about their anti-labor union practices.)

As First Lady of the U.S.

-Along with Senator Ted Kennedy, was a major force behind the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which provides state support for children whose parents are unable to provide them with health coverage.

-Promoted nationwide immunization against childhood illnesses.

-Successfully sought to increase research funding for prostate cancer and childhood asthma at the NIH.

-Was among the first to advocate strongly and vocally for investigations into what became known as Gulf War Syndrome.

-With Attorney General Janet Reno, created the Office on Violence Against Women at the Department of Justice.

-Initiated the (successfully passed) Adoption and Safe Families Act.

-Hosted White House conferences on Child Care, Early Childhood Development and Learning, Children and Adolescents, Teenagers, and Philanthropy.

-Traveled to 79 countries (breaking Pat Nixon’s record).

-Gave a speech at the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995), arguing forcefully against practices that abused women around the world, including in China itself, and resisting Chinese pressure to soften her remarks.

-Spoke out forcefully against the Taliban’s treatment of women in Afghanistan.

-Helped create Vital Voices, an international initiative promoting the participation of women in political processes throughout the world.

-Founding Chair of the Save America’s Treasures program, which matches federal funds to private donations for preserving and restoring historic items and sites.

-Headed the White House Millennium Council, which held monthly lectures discussing “future studies,” which became the first live simultaneous webcast from the White House.

As U.S. Senator from New York

-Has served on five Senate committees: Budget (2001-2002), Armed Services (2003-Present), Environment and Public Works (2001-Present), Health, Education, Labor and pensions (2001-Present), and Special Committee on Aging.

-Serves on the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (2001-Present).

-Helped secure $21.4 billion in funding for the World Trade Center site’s redevelopment.

-Took an early and leading role in investigating health issues facing 9/11 first responders, as well as pushing for additional funding for health and medical care for them.

-When The Patriot Act came up for renewal in 2005, she worked to address some of the civil liberties concerns with it before voting in favor of the compromise bill in March 2006 that had large majority support.

-Supported retaining and improving health benefits for veterans. Has been a consistently vocal and active advocate for veterans’ issues.

-Voted against the Bush tax cuts.

-Voted against the confirmation of John Roberts as Chief Justice of the United States.

-Voted against the nomination of Samuel Alito to the United States Supreme Court.

-Along with Senators Joe Lieberman and Evan Bayh, introduced the Family Entertainment Protection Act, intended to protect children from inappropriate content found in video games.

-Voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment that sought to prohibit same-sex marriage.

-Opposed the Iraq War troop surge of 2007 and supported a February 2007 non-binding Senate resolution against it.

-Voted in favor of the war spending bill that required President Bush to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq within a certain deadline; it passed almost completely along party lines, but was subsequently vetoed by President Bush.

-Voted against the compromise war funding bill that removed withdrawal deadlines but tied funding to progress benchmarks for the Iraqi government.

-Responded to General David Petraeus’s September 2007 Report to Congress on the Situation in Iraq by saying, “I think that the reports that you provide to us really require a willing suspension of disbelief.” Voted against the “Sense of the Senate” that supported Gen. Petraeus and criticized the MoveOn.org advertisement.

-Early and vocal proponent of the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales; launched an Internet campaign to gain petition signatures towards this end.

-High approval ratings for her job as senator within New York, reaching an all-time high of 72%-74% (including half of Republicans) in 2006; after a half year of campaigning, it was still 64%.

Various Ranking and Pollings

-In a May 2005 Gallup poll, 54% of respondents considered Senator Clinton a liberal, 30% considered her a moderate, and 9% considered her a conservative.

-National Journal’s 2004 study of roll-call votes assigned Senator Clinton a rating of 30 in the political spectrum, relative to the then-current Senate, with a rating of 1 being most liberal and 100 being most conservative.

-A 2004 analysis by political scientists Joshua D. Clinton of Princeton University, Simon Jackman and Doug Rivers of Stanford University found her to be likely the 6th to 8th most liberal Senator.

-The Almanac of American Politics rated her votes from 2003 through 2006 as liberal or conservative (with 100 as the highest rating) in three areas: Economic, Social, and Foreign. Averaged for the four years, the ratings are: Economic = 75 liberal, 23 conservative; Social = 83 liberal, 6 conservative; Foreign = 66 liberal, 30 conservative. Average = 75 liberal, 20 conservative.

-Through 2006, she has a lifetime 96% “Liberal Quotient” from Americans for Democratic Action.

-Progressive Punch gives her a 91.2% lifetime progressive rating, ranking her the 28th most progressive of current senators. [N.B. Progressive Punch looks at 14 categories. Senator Clinton and Senator Obama ranked equally or statistically equally in Aid to Less Advantaged People, at Home and Abroad; Housing; and Labor Rights. Senator Clinton ranked higher on Family Planning; Health Care; Human Rights and Civil Liberties; Justice for All: Civil and Criminal; and Making Government for Everyone, Not Just the Rich or Powerful. Senator Obama ranked higher in Education, Humanities and the Arts; Environment; Fair Taxation; Government Checks on Corporate Power; and War and Peace.]

-The American Civil Liberties Union has given her a 75% lifetime rating through September 2007. [N.B. Lower than Senator Obama.]

-NARAL Pro-Choice America consistently gave her a 100% pro-choice rating from 2002 to 2007. [N.B. Same as Senator Obama.]

-The League of Conservation Voters has given her a lifetime 90% pro-environment action rating through 2006. [N.B. Same as Senator Obama.]

-The American Conservative Union currently gives her a 9 (down from 12 in 2005; lower numbers meaning “less conservative”). [N.B. Senator Obama received an 8.]

-The National Rifle Association gave her an ‘F’ (failing) rating in 2006 for her stance on Second Amendment issues. [N.B. No data on Senator Obama.]