Politicians From Chicago

"As secretary of state, Clinton kept her home-brew email server — from which foreign intelligence agencies could hack top secret information — so she could shield the influence peddling that helped make the Clintons several fortunes.The Clintons weren't skilled merchants. They weren't traders or manufacturers. The Clintons never produced anything tangible. They had no science, patents or devices to make them millions upon millions of dollars.All they had to sell, really, was influence."

"Why is Sen. Clinton, the spouse of the great influence-peddler, being nominated in the first place?"

"Say what you will about the Clintons, you cannot acquit them of having played the race card several times in both directions and of having done so in the most vulgar and unscrupulous fashion. Anyone who thinks that this equals "change" is a fool, and an easily fooled fool at that."

"What has she done in her life? She was a lousy senator. She was horrible. Look at all the things that are going on in the Middle East, all because of what she did. Benghazi, she lied to us. She's a f---ing liar. She's a political hack. That's all she is. She's done nothing."

"When in public, Hillary smiles and acts graciously. As soon as the cameras are gone, her angry personality, nastiness, and imperiousness become evident … Hillary Clinton can make Richard Nixon look like Mahatma Gandhi."

"Because Defense Secretary Robert Gates was openly cool to the drum beats for war on Libya, Clinton took over and choreographed the NATO ouster of... Muammar al-Gaddafi, long after he had given up his mass destruction weaponry and was working to re-kindle relations with the U.S. government and global energy corporations. Libya is now in a disastrous warlord state-of-chaos... Time and again, Hillary Clinton’s belligerence exceeded that of Obama’s Secretaries of Defense. From her seat on the Senate Armed Services Committee to her tenure at the State Department, Hillary Clinton sought to prove that she could be just as tough as the militaristic civilian men whose circle she entered. Throughout her four years it was Generalissima Clinton, expanding the American Empire at large. Here is some of what the candid camera of history will show about her record:"

"Trump says very scary things—deporting immigrants, massive militarism and, you know, ignoring the climate. Well, Hillary, unfortunately, has a track record for doing all of those things. So, the terrible things that we expect from Donald Trump, we've actually already seen from Hillary Clinton."

"On a couple of occasions in the last weeks, I just said some things that weren‘t in keeping with what I knew to be the case and what I had written about in my book. And you know, I‘m embarrassed by it. I‘m very sorry I said it. I have said that, you know, it just didn‘t jive with what I had written about and knew to be the truth."

"I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base.... There was no greeting ceremony and we were basically told to run to our cars. That is what happened."

"In 2015, Trump launched his own campaign for President with another racist lie. He described Mexican immigrants as rapists and criminals. And he accused the Mexican government of actively sending them across the border. None of that is true. Oh, and by the way, Mexico’s not paying for his wall either. If it ever gets built, you can be sure that American taxpayers will be stuck with the bill. Since then, there’s been a steady stream of bigotry."

"They have done so much day in and day out and I want to thank all my friends and family, particularly my mother, who was born before women could vote, and is watching her daughter on this stage tonight."

"We used to say in the White House that if a place is too dangerous, too small or too poor, send the First Lady."

"Well, throughout his career and this campaign, Donald Trump has shown us exactly who he is. We should believe him. When Trump was getting his start in business, he was sued by the Justice Department for refusing to rent apartments to black and Latino tenants. Three years later, the Justice Department took Trump back to court because he hadn’t changed. The pattern continued through the decades."

"Someone detached from reality should never be in charge of making decisions that are as real as they come."

"Shame on you, Barack Obama!"

"Lifting whole passages from someone else's speeches is not change you can believe in. It's change you can Xerox."

"Trump’s lack of knowledge or experience or solutions would be bad enough. But what he’s doing here is more sinister. Trump is reinforcing harmful stereotypes and offering a dog whistle to his most hateful supporters. It’s a disturbing preview of what kind of President he’d be."

"It's not us making this charge. It's the media."

"It's time that we move from good words to good works, from sound bites to sound solutions."

"Donald Trump misses so much. He doesn’t see the success of black leaders in every field… The vibrancy of black-owned businesses…Or the strength of the black church… He doesn’t see the excellence of historically black colleges and universities or the pride of black parents watching their children thrive… And he certainly doesn’t have any solutions to take on the reality of systemic racism and create more equity and opportunity in communities of color. It takes a lot of nerve to ask people he’s ignored and mistreated for decades, "What do you have to lose?" The answer is everything!"

"A man with a long history of racial discrimination, who traffics in dark conspiracy theories drawn from the pages of supermarket tabloids and the far reaches of the internet, should never run our government or command our military. If he doesn’t respect respect all Americans, he can’t serve all Americans! ... There’s no other Donald Trump. This is it."

"Some people will say that his bluster and bigotry is just over-heated campaign rhetoric – an outrageous person saying outrageous things for attention. But look at the policies Trump has proposed. They would put prejudice into practice. And don’t be distracted by his latest attempts to muddy the waters. He may have some new people putting new words in his mouth… but we know where he stands. He would form a deportation force to round up millions of immigrants and kick them out of the country."

"This is the president that looked in the soul of Putin [see George W. Bush's quote above], and I could have told him, he was a KGB agent. By definition he doesn't have a soul. I mean, this is a waste of time, right? This is nonsense, but this is the world we're living in right now."

"So nice to be a fashion icon in my day."

"I’m running for President to build an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top. And based on what we know from the Trump campaign, he wants America to work for him and his friends, at the expense of everyone else."

"You know, there's a great saying in Texas — you've all heard it — all hat and no cattle. Well, after seven years of George Bush, we need a lot less hat and a lot more cattle."

"Along came the Republicans, trickle-down economics — one of the worst ideas since snake oil — was put back into place. And we ended up with the great recession. President Obama had to rescue the economy. And I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves for doing that."

"The clean power plan is something that Senator Sanders has said he would delay implementing, which makes absolutely no sense. We need to implement all of the president’s executive actions and quickly move to make a bridge from coal to natural gas to clean energy. That is the way we will keep the lights on while we are transitioning to a clean energy future. And when I talk about resilience, I think that is an area we can get Republican support on."

"It did take a Clinton to clean up after the first Bush, and I think it might take another one to clean up after the second Bush."

"I think there are a lot of great ideas out in America, and I want you to have a say in your government. And that means we have to get unaccountable money out of our politics, overturn Citizens United, and expand voting rights, not restrict them."

"I believe that in America, if you can dream it, you should be able to build it."

"Between the Republicans trying to repeal the first chance we’ve ever had to get to , and Senator Sanders wanting to throw us into a contentious debate over single-payer, I think the smart approach is build on and protect the Affordable Care Act. Make it work. Reduce the cost."

"I supported the president’s moves. I helped to implement some of them leading up to the announcements when I was secretary of state, expanding travel opportunities, remittances. And I certainly told the president toward the end of my time that I hoped he would be able to move toward diplomatic relations and to make more of an impact by building up the relationship. And there are no better ambassadors for freedom, democracy and economic opportunity than . So the more that we can have that kind of movement back and forth, the more likely we are to be able to move Cuba toward greater freedom, greater respect for rights. ... I do think meeting with dissidents, meeting with people who have been voices, tribunes of freedom and opportunity is important."

"The Cuban people deserve to have their human rights respected and upheld, they deserve to be able to move towards democracy where they pick their own leads. And I think both Castros have to be considered authoritarian and dictatorial because they are not freely chosen by the people that are in Cuba. I hope someday there will be leaders who are chosen by the Cuban people, and I hope that democracy will be deeply rooted in Cuban soil and that the people of Cuba will have every opportunity to fulfill their own dreams in their own country. That is my hope."

"The Congress must give authority to Puerto Rico to restructure its debts. Just like it has enabled states and cities to restructure their debt. And it’s a grave injustice for the Congress, led by the Republicans to be refusing to enact that opportunity within the bankruptcy law. ... Puerto Ricans are citizen of America. They deserve to be treated as citizens and to be given the opportunity to get back on their feet economically."

"If the values are that you oppress people, you disappear people, you imprison people or even kill people for expressing their opinions, for expressing freedom of speech, that is not the kind of revolution of values that I ever want to see anywhere."

"The man of Hope, Barack Obama. America is stronger because of President Obama's leadership, and I'm better because of his friendship."

"I want to thank Bernie Sanders. Bernie, your campaign inspired millions of Americans, particularly the young people who threw their hearts and souls into our primary. You've put economic and social justice issues front and center, where they belong. And to all of your supporters here and around the country: I want you to know, I've heard you. Your cause is our cause. Our country needs your ideas, energy, and passion. That's the only way we can turn our progressive platform into real change for America. We wrote it together – now let's go out there and make it happen together."

"My friends, we've come to Philadelphia – the birthplace of our nation – because what happened in this city 240 years ago still has something to teach us today. We all know the story. But we usually focus on how it turned out - and not enough on how close that story came to never being written at all. When representatives from 13 unruly colonies met just down the road from here, some wanted to stick with the King. Some wanted to stick it to the king, and go their own way. The revolution hung in the balance. Then somehow they began listening to each other … compromising … finding common purpose. And by the time they left Philadelphia, they had begun to see themselves as one nation. That's what made it possible to stand up to a King. That took courage. They had courage. Our Founders embraced the enduring truth that we are stronger together. America is once again at a moment of reckoning. Powerful forces are threatening to pull us apart. Bonds of trust and respect are fraying. And just as with our founders, there are no guarantees. It truly is up to us. We have to decide whether we all will work together so we all can rise together."

"Now we are clear-eyed about what our country is up against. But we are not afraid. We will rise to the challenge, just as we always have. We will not build a wall. Instead, we will build an economy where everyone who wants a good paying job can get one. And we'll build a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants who are already contributing to our economy! We will not ban a religion. We will work with all Americans and our allies to fight and defeat terrorism."

"Just look at the strengths we bring as Americans to meet these challenges. We have the most dynamic and diverse people in the world. We have the most tolerant and generous young people we've ever had. We have the most powerful military. The most innovative entrepreneurs. The most enduring values."

"Freedom and equality, justice and opportunity. We should be so proud that these words are associated with us. I have to tell you, as your Secretary of State, I went to 112 countries, and when people hear those words – they hear America."

"Don't let anyone tell you that our country is weak. We're not. Don't let anyone tell you we don't have what it takes. We do. And most of all, don't believe anyone who says: “I alone can fix it.”"

"Americans don't say: “I alone can fix it.” We say: “We'll fix it together.”"

"Our Founders fought a revolution and wrote a Constitution so America would never be a nation where one person had all the power. Two hundred and forty years later, we still put our faith in each other."

"None of us can raise a family, build a business, heal a community or lift a country totally alone. America needs every one of us to lend our energy, our talents, our ambition to making our nation better and stronger. I believe that with all my heart. That's why “Stronger Together” is not just a lesson from our history. It's not just a slogan for our campaign. It's a guiding principle for the country we've always been and the future we're going to build. A country where the economy works for everyone, not just those at the top. Where you can get a good job and send your kids to a good school, no matter what zip code you live in. A country where all our children can dream, and those dreams are within reach. Where families are strong… communities are safe… And yes, love trumps hate. That's the country we're fighting for. That's the future we're working toward."

"My job titles only tell you what I've done. They don't tell you why."

"The truth is, through all these years of public service, the “service” part has always come easier to me than the “public” part."

"My mother, Dorothy, was abandoned by her parents as a young girl. She ended up on her own at 14, working as a house maid. She was saved by the kindness of others. Her first grade teacher saw she had nothing to eat at lunch, and brought extra food to share. The lesson she passed on to me years later stuck with me: No one gets through life alone. We have to look out for each other and lift each other up."

"My dad used to say, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."