August 16, 2016

WFP Endorses Hillary Clinton

With the support of 68% of our membership and the backing of our national board, we’re announcing the Working Families Party’s endorsement of Hillary Clinton for President.

WFP was an early, enthusiastic supporter of Senator Bernie Sanders’ campaign. He demonstrated the deep hunger of millions of Americans for a “political revolution” — a radical restoration of democracy and participation, an end to the oligarchic power of a wealthy elite, and a new era of economic, racial and climate justice.

But elections are about choices. And when we wake up on November 9th, either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump will have been elected President. We choose Secretary Clinton, as Bernie did. We make this announcement knowing we’ll need to work to hold her accountable to her campaign’s promises. But we need to elect her first. Here’s why:

First, because we need to not merely defeat Trump — we need to repudiate him and everything he represents. Donald Trump is the most dangerous figure in mainstream American politics since George Wallace. A Trump victory would not only put an unqualified, know-nothing, narcissistic, authoritarian jerk in the White House, it would empower the most malignant tendencies in American society. He offers up a phony, racist populism. He mocks the disabled. He stokes fear and incites hatred of immigrants, Muslims, and women. His rhetoric has generated violence.

We believe that a multi-racial, progressive and genuinely game-changing populism can win back some of his voters over time, especially independents, and that’s a task for the next decade. The task of the next 84 days is to sweep Trump — and Trumpism — off the stage once and for all.

Second, because Secretary Clinton has announced good policies on many issues that are deeply important to the lives and fortunes of the middle-class, working-class and poor:
  • Public Financing of Elections and Voting Rights. Clinton calls not just for tossing Citizens United but also for the creation of publicly financed elections. Not just restoration of the Voting Rights Act, but also automatic voter registration. There’s no chance of saving our democracy without these reforms.
  • Tuition-Free Higher Education. Clinton has adopted the bulk of Sanders’ free college proposal, and that’s something to be enthusiastic about. This will surely be a huge fight for the next two years.
  • Jobs and Infrastructure. Clinton has called for enormous (and overdue) investment in public spending on clean energy and infrastructure. Trump favors tax cuts for the rich and the fraud known as trickle down.
  • Mass Incarceration. Clinton calls for ending private prisons. For alternatives to incarceration (mostly drug treatment). For reducing mandatory minimums.
But it’s not just the policy proposals. It’s the enormous power of appointments, and not merely the Supreme Court.

The National Labor Relations Board and Department of Labor can make it harder or easier for workers to form unions, and for gig economy workers to obtain rights in the workplace. The EPA makes critical choices about how clean our water should be, and whether we will fight climate change for real. People facing foreclosure need advocates at HUD. 401(k) account holders need serious regulators atTreasury and the SEC.

This is not to say that Hillary Clinton is perfect. She’s not. No candidate is. The truth is, if she becomes President Clinton, she will only be as good as we — social movements, unions, progressive activists and organizations — make her. History is clear on this. LBJ’s achievements on civil rights and the safety net expansion were unimaginable without the civil rights movement; FDR’s New Deal would have been impossible without the mobilization of millions of unemployed and industrial workers. It’s up to us to set the stage for the future we want to see.

Even if a President Clinton were able to pass all of her policy proposals, it wouldn’t be enough to create the world we want to live in. We have to go much deeper than what the Democratic Party or modern capitalism currently allow. We have to change the rules of the game on the economy, on our democracy and on the planet. In the end we need to change the very questions we ask about what we owe each other and what our history really is. Fundamentally, we need to change the balance of power in the society so that the burdens and blessings of the land are truly shared.


Hillary for America
August 16, 2016

Hillary Clinton Statement on Endorsement of the Working Families Party

Today, after receiving the endorsement of the Working Families Party, Hillary Clinton issued the following statement:

“I am honored to have earned the endorsement of the Working Families Party.

“Working families are the engine behind our economy, the heart of our democracy, and the core of what makes America great.  But today, it’s too hard for working people to get ahead and stay ahead.

“That’s why the Working Families Party is so important.  For almost two decades, they have fought to make our economy fairer and our country stronger. They’ve fought to raise the minimum wage in states and cities across the country; combat climate change and create new, good-paying jobs in clean energy and energy efficiency; and train and elect trailblazing progressive leaders.

“As President, I’ll stand with working families like I have my entire career.  We’ll build an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top, and finally make the minimum wage a living wage.  We’ll overturn Citizens United and protect every American’s right to vote, not every corporation's right to buy elections. We’ll end the era of mass incarceration and replace the school-to-prison pipeline with a cradle-to-college and career pipeline.  We’ll make sure every American can afford a college education and tackle our country’s student debt crisis.  And we’ll finally enact policies that support how families actually live and work today—with paid family leave, affordable childcare, and equal pay for women.

“Together, we’ll fight every day for working families—because we know when families are strong, America is strong.”


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For Immediate Release, August 16, 2016