H4A News Clips 7.5.15

From:aphillips@hillaryclinton.com To: aphillips@hillaryclinton.com BCC: HRCRapid@hillaryclinton.com Date: 2015-07-05 09:58 Subject: H4A News Clips 7.5.15

*H4A News Clips* *July 5, 2015* *TODAY’S KEY STORIES..................................................................................... **5* Hillary Clinton Reassures Gay Youth in Viral Facebook Photo // NYT // Liam Stack – July 4, 2015 5 Hillary Clinton Accuses China of Hacking U.S. Computers // Reuters – July 4, 2015.................. 6 *SOCIAL MEDIA................................................................................................. **8* Dan Merica (7/4/15, 6:43 AM) - Many ppl in Gorham seem genuinely impressed HRC is traveling this far north for the 4th in NH, say they haven't had many 2016 visits......................................................... 8 Bill Clinton (7/4/15, 9:24 AM) - 239 years later, the United States of America is still in the future business. Happy Independence Day everyone! #4thofjuly...................................................................... 8 *HRC NATIONAL COVERAGE............................................................................. **8* Protesters Challenge Hillary Clinton During Parade in New Hampshire // NYT // Maggie Haberman – July 4, 2015...................................................................................................................................... 8 Clinton, Bush struggle to shed dynasty labels during holiday parades in N.H. // WaPo // Philip Rucker & Ed O’Keefe – July 4, 2015............................................................................................................ 9 Clinton campaign gives new meaning to the term ‘rope line’ at New Hampshire parade // WaPo // Vanessa Williams – July 4, 2015......................................................................................................... 12 Bernie and Hillary's holiday weekend // Politico // Annie Karni & Jonathan Topaz – July 4, 2015 13 Clinton goes after a Bush in New Hampshire // CNN // Dan Merica – July 4, 2015................... 15 Clinton campaign corrals media // Dan Merica // CNN – July 4, 2015...................................... 17 Who Clinton was looking for in New Hampshire // CNN // Cassie Spodak – July 4, 2015........... 19 Clinton has strong words on Chinese hacking // CNN // Dan Merica & Mariano Castillo – July 5, 2015 20 Hillary Clinton Reporters Kept Behind Moving Rope Line At New Hampshire Parade // ABC News // Liz Kreutz – July 4, 2015............................................................................................................. 21 Clinton defends progressive record as campaigns hit Independence Day // The Guardian // Jana Kasperkevic – July 4, 2015....................................................................................................................... 22 Hillary Clinton Says She Will Be Better Friend than Obama to Israel // Jewish Press // Tzvi Ben-Gedalyahu – July 4, 2015.......................................................................................................................... 24 From Clinton, a multi-generational message in N.H. // Boston Globe // Monica Disare – July 4, 2015 25 Hillary Clinton Comments On Viral ‘Humans of New York’ Photo // TIME // Dan Stewart – July 4, 2015 27 Hillary Clinton Has The Top Comment On This Heartbreaking “Humans Of New York” Photo // Buzzfeed // David Mack – July 4, 2015.................................................................................................... 28 Hillary Clinton accuses China of 'stealing US secrets' // BBC – July 4, 2015............................. 28 Union chief defends Hillary amid Bernie Sanders uprising // New York Post // Geoff Earle – July 4, 2015 29 Clinton, Chafee celebrate Fourth of July in the Granite State // WMUR9 // Kristen Carosa – July 4, 2015 30 Hillary Clinton tells supporters in Virginia that ‘love triumphed’ in gay marriage // Sentinel Republic // Alan Binder – July 4, 2015............................................................................................................ 30 Hillary Clinton shrugs off heckler while GOP candidates meet voters in New Hampshire, Iowa for Fourth of July campaigning // NY Daily News // Dennis Slattery – July 4, 2015..................................... 32 Clinton hears cheers and jeers // New Hampshire Union Leader // John Koziol – July 4, 2015. 33 *OTHER DEMOCRATS NATIONAL COVERAGE................................................. **34* *DECLARED................................................................................................. **34* *O’MALLEY............................................................................................... **34* Sanders, O’Malley race to be the Clinton alternative // WaPo // John Wagner – July 4, 2015... 34 Martin O’Malley finishes three-day tour in Clinton, Iowa // WQAD8 // Caroline Reinwald – July 4, 2015 37 *SANDERS................................................................................................ **38* Bernie Sanders Outpaces Martin O’Malley as Hillary Clinton Alternative // WSJ // Peter Nicholas and Colleen Mccain Nelson - July 5, 2015................................................................................................. 38 Sanders snags key endorsement in New Hampshire // CNN // Cassie Spodak – July 4, 2015.... 40 Bernie Sanders Gains on Clinton in Early-State Polls, Hits Iowa Patriotic Parade Circuit // Slate // Beth Ethier – July 4, 2015....................................................................................................................... 41 Sanders encouraged by Iowa crowds, rising polls // Des Moines Register // Kevin Hardy – July 4, 2015 42 ‘Feel the Bern’: Activists spearhead Bernie Sanders social push // MSNBC // Eric Levitz – July 4, 2015 44 Our Bernie Sanders moment: This July 4, remember only true independence and revolution ever brings change // Salon // Patrick L. Smith – July 4, 2015.................................................................. 47 The Times Doctrine on Bernie Sanders // HuffPo // David Bromwich – July 4, 2015................. 51 Bernie Sanders Sets A 2016 Record By Drawing A Huge Overflow Crowd In Iowa // Politicus // Jason Easley – July 4, 2015.......................................................................................................................... 54 How Bernie Sanders threatens to derail Hillary’s coronation // NY Post // Michael Goodwin – July 5, 2015............................................................................................................................................ 55 *WEBB...................................................................................................... **58* Jim Webb Announces Presidential Bid; Only Democratic Candidate Opposed To Marriage Equality // On Top // Carlos Santoscoy – July 4, 2015......................................................................................... 58 *CHAFEE................................................................................................... **59* Chafee's campaign leaves some NH Democrats a bit puzzled // Miami Herald // Michelle R. Smith – July 4, 2015..................................................................................................................................... 59 *UNDECLARED............................................................................................ **60* *BIDEN...................................................................................................... **60* The Joe Biden (mini-)boom // Pittsburgh Post-Gazette // David M. Shribman – July 5, 2015.. 60 *GOP................................................................................................................. **63* *DECLARED................................................................................................. **63* *BUSH....................................................................................................... **63* Indignant Jeb Bush Says He Takes Donald Trump’s Remarks Personally // NYT // Patrick Healy – July 4, 2015............................................................................................................................................ 63 Bush: ‘Absolutely’ offended by Trump’s comments on Mexicans // WaPo // Ed O’Keefe – July 4, 2015 64 Jeb Bush: Trump comments meant 'to draw attention' // CNN // Ashley Killough – July 5, 2015 65 Jeb Bush’s Giving Totaled 1.5% of Income From 2007 to 2013 // The Bell Jar – July 5, 2015..... 67 Jeb Bush, Married To Mexican, Denounces Donald Trump, Takes 'Ugly' Remarks About Immigrants Personally // International Business Times // Elizabeth Whitman – July 4, 2015.................... 68 Polls Show Jeb Bush In Good Standing To Win The GOP Nomination // Inquisitr – July 5, 2015 69 *RUBIO...................................................................................................... **70* Trump fires back at Rubio after ICE says suspected killer was deported 5 times // Washington Times // Kellan Howell – July 4, 2015........................................................................................................... 70 Trump hammers Rubio: ‘Zero credibility,’ ‘outright lies’ to sell amnesty // Breitbart News // Matthew Boyle – July 4, 2015.......................................................................................................................... 71 *PAUL........................................................................................................ **74* Don’t dismiss Rand Paul’s tax plan // Dallas News // Scott Burns – July 4, 2015...................... 74 *CRUZ........................................................................................................ **76* Ted Cruz: ‘Asinine’ to pull reruns of ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’ // WaPo // Katie Zezima – July 4, 2015 76 GOP presidential candidate Cruz wasn’t always ‘Ted’ // Star-Telegram // Maria Recio & Anna M. Tinsley – July 4, 2015................................................................................................................................. 77 Cruz defends Trump: ‘Washington cartel’ doesn’t want illegal immigration debate // Washington Times // Kellan Howell – July 4, 2015................................................................................................. 79 Ted Cruz Calls For US To Quit UN Human Rights Council After Vote Condemning Israel // International Business Times // Mark Hanrahan – July 4, 2015.................................................................. 80 Ted Cruz Is Right to Call for Retention Elections for the Supreme Court // National Review //Andrrew C. McCarthy – July 4, 2015....................................................................................................... 80 *CHRISTIE................................................................................................ **83* Christie slams Obama on Iran, hedges on breaking nuclear deal // Politico // Ben Schreckinger – July 4, 2015........................................................................................................................................... 83 Christie Won’t Pledge to Undo Iran Deal // TIME // Zeke J Miller – July 4, 2015..................... 84 Christie makes nice on the trail in New Hampshire // USA Today // Bob Jordan – July 4, 2015 85 Chris Christie: King of the 2016 long shots // Burlington County Times // Jonathan Bernstein – July 4, 2015........................................................................................................................................... 87 Green Pressure Applied Against Christie on Cap and Trade as He Enters Presidential Fray // The Blaze // Kevin Mooney – July 4, 2015................................................................................................ 88 Christie campaign surges ahead on road to failure // Las Vegas Sun // Jonathan Bernstein – July 4, 2015 91 In N.H., Christie says he’s ‘Telling It Like It Is’ // Boston Globe // James Pindell – July 4, 2015 92 Here's Chris Christie's big problem in a nutshell // Business Insider // Brett Logiurato – July 4, 2015 94 Christie enters the race: Swinging for the fence // North Jersey // Matthew Hale – July 4, 2015 96 For Chris Christie, Freedom Means Nothing Left to Lose as New Jersey Voters Want Him to Resign // Politicus // Sarah Jones – July 4, 2015................................................................................................ 98 *PERRY..................................................................................................... **99* New Hampshire Republicans Not Ruling Perry Out // Texas Tribune // Abby Livingston – July 4, 2015 99 Report: Perry Emerges as Trump's Biggest Critic Among GOP Rivals // Newsmax // Todd Beamon – July 4, 2015................................................................................................................................... 101 *GRAHAM............................................................................................... **102* Republican presidential candidate Lindsey Graham has a stark warning for the US // Business Insider // Maxwell Tani – July 4, 2015................................................................................................ 102 Graham sees 'perfect storm' from terror // Union Leader // Dan Tuohy – July 4, 2015............ 103 *HUCKABEE........................................................................................... **104* Mike Huckabee Vows To Prosecute Attacks Against Gay Marriage Opponents As Hate Crimes // On Top - July 4, 2015............................................................................................................................... 104 *FIORINA................................................................................................ **105* Lt. governor offers support to Fiorina // Journal Gazette // Niki Kelly & Brian Francisco – July 5, 2015 105 *JINDAL.................................................................................................. **106* Bobby Jindal: The son of immigrants and new champion of the tough-on-immigrants crowd // WaPo // Janell Ross – July 4, 2015.............................................................................................................. 106 Bobby Jindal expresses optimism about his future in Iowa // Des Moines Register // Maya Kliger – July 4, 2015................................................................................................................................... 110 Jindal poses with gun at campaign stop, met with online mockery // Statesman // July 4, 2015 111 Bobby Jindal’s former media director brands him ‘anti-gay’ and ‘destructive’ // Pink News // Nick Duffy – July 4, 2015................................................................................................................................ 111 Bobby Jindal Sued Over Anti-Gay Executive Order // Edge Media Network // John Reilly – July 4, 2015 112 Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal governs via cellphone // The Advocate // Mark Ballard & Marsha Shuler – July 4, 2015................................................................................................................................... 113 *TRUMP................................................................................................... **116* Mitt Romney Criticizes Donald Trump for Comments on Mexican Immigrants // NYT // Maggie Haberman – July 4, 2015......................................................................................................................... 116 NASCAR is the latest brand to dump Donald Trump // AP // July 4, 2015.............................. 116 GOP worries about Donald Trump fallout // CNN // Chris Moody – July 4, 2015..................... 117 Trump stands by statements on Mexican illegal immigrants, surprised by backlash // Fox News – July 4, 2015.......................................................................................................................................... 119 Trump comes up top in 'poll of polls' of Republican voters - despite growing backlash over his anti-immigrant comments // Daily Mail // Christopher Brennan – July 4, 2015............................................. 120 Republicans cast into turmoil as Donald Trump rides the populist surge // Telegraph // Philip Sherwell – July 5, 2015................................................................................................................................ 121 Donald Trump Immigration: Panama Leaves Miss Universe Pageant, Protesting Offensive Comments About Mexicans // International Business Times // Elizabeth Whitman – July 4, 2015.................... 124 Fox Panelist Rips Trump: ‘Negotiate with Mexico? He Can’t Even Negotiate with Macy’s!’ // Mediaite // Josh Feldman - July 4, 2015....................................................................................................... 124 Donald Trump's contracts with the city protected under the First Amendment, civil liberties lawyer says // New York Daily News // Erin Durkin & Celeste Katz – July 4, 2015........................................ 125 Trump Says Comments on Mexicans Have Hurt Business // Bloomberg // Ben Brody – July 4, 2015 127 *UNDECLARED........................................................................................... **127* *WALKER................................................................................................ **127* Walker to drop open records restrictions in Wisconsin // The Hill // Mark Hensch – July 4, 2015 127 To Celebrate the Fourth, Scott Walker's GOP Declares Secrecy // HuffPo // Mary Bottari – July 4, 2015 128 Scott Walker, Republican leaders remove open records restrictions from Wisconsin budget // The Capital Times // Jason Joyce – July 4, 2015..................................................................................... 132 Wisconsin Open Records Law: Gov Scott Walker, Likely 2016 Candidate, Backtracks On Attempts To Limit Public Access To Records // International Business Times - Clark Mindock – July 4, 2015...... 133 Democrats underestimate Scott Walker at their own peril // Burlington County Times // Gene Lyons – July 5, 2015................................................................................................................................... 134 Politics of immigration take root in Walker's hometown // Journal Sentinel // Mary Spicuzza – July 5, 2015.......................................................................................................................................... 136 *KASICH.................................................................................................. **142* For Ohio Gov. John Kasich, "Win with Jeb and John" has a nice -- even plausible – ring // Cleveland // Thomas Suddes – July 5, 2015............................................................................................. 142 Ohio education officials: Kasich vetoes likely mean less funding for some school districts // Hudson Hub Times // Marc Kovac – July 5, 2015...................................................................................... 143 *OTHER................................................................................................... **145* New Hampshire Voters Bemoan Size of G.O.P. Field // NYT // Patrick Healy & Maggie Haberman – July 4, 2015................................................................................................................................... 145 Sleepover at Mitt's: Christie, Rubio bunk with Romney at N.H. retreat // CNN // Cassie Spodak – July 4, 2015.......................................................................................................................................... 148 ObamaCare win turns up heat on GOP presidential field // The Hill // Peter Sullivan and Sarah Ferris – July 4, 2015................................................................................................................................... 149 The GOP’s pathetic crybaby agenda: Trump, Scalia and the whiny, paranoid new face of the right // Salon // Bill Curry – July 5, 2015....................................................................................................... 152 *OTHER 2016 NEWS........................................................................................ **158* Facing a Selfie Election, Presidential Hopefuls Grin and Bear It // NYT // Jeremy W. Peters and & Ashley Parker – July 4, 2015........................................................................................................... 159 Voters are shifting to Democrats, flashing a warning for Republicans // WaPo // Dan Balz - July 4, 2015 161 Presidential candidates campaign in July Fourth parades // AP // Kathleen Ronayne – July 4, 2015 164 Presidential hopefuls discuss patriotism on July 4th // Des Moines Register – July 4, 2015.... 166 Candidates do holiday march through New Hampshire // USA Today // David Jackson – July 4, 2015 171 *OPINIONS/EDITORIALS/BLOGS.................................................................... **172* Wirthman: Hillary Clinton's everyday feminism // The Denver Post // Lisa Wirthman – July 4, 2015 172 Editorial: Hillary Clinton’s emails erode transparency claim // The Des Moines Register – July 4, 2015 175 Fair pay for hard work is not just happy talk // The Columbus Dispatch // E.J. Dionne – July 5, 2015 175 Hillary Clinton takes the knocks but keeps on trucking // Sydney Morning Herald // Annabel Crabb – July 4, 2015................................................................................................................................... 177 Emotional decisions and Hillary Clinton's presidential bid (Your letters) // Syracuse // Max Malikow – July 4, 2015................................................................................................................................... 178 *TOP NEWS..................................................................................................... **179* *DOMESTIC................................................................................................. **179* Gay rights activists in Philadelphia mark landmark march from 1965 // WaPo // Natalie Pompilio – July 4, 2015................................................................................................................................... 179 Fatal shooting in San Francisco ignites immigration policy debate // LA Times // Louis Sahagun and Emily Alpert Reyes – July 4, 2015................................................................................................. 180 *INTERNATIONAL..................................................................................... **183* Day of Reckoning for Greek Banks and Eurozone’s Central Banker // NYT // Jacl Ewing & James Kanter – July 5, 2015............................................................................................................................... 183 Spurned by the West, Georgians look to Russia despite past quarrels // WaPo // Michael Birnbaum – July 4, 2015................................................................................................................................... 186 Iran Nuclear Talks Appear to Advance as Deadline Nears // WSJ // Jay Solomon & Laurence Norman – July 4, 2015................................................................................................................................... 188 *TODAY’S KEY STORIES* *Hillary Clinton Reassures Gay Youth in Viral Facebook Photo <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/05/us/politics/hillary-clinton-reassures-gay-youth-in-viral-facebook-photo.html> // NYT // Liam Stack – July 4, 2015* Hillary Rodham Clinton offered moral support to a distraught gay youth who shared his anxiety about his future in a viral photograph posted on the Humans of New York Facebook page, telling him on Friday that it would be “amazing.” The boy, who is not named in the photo, is shown frowning and holding his head in his hands while sitting on a stoop. “I’m homosexual, and I’m afraid about what my future will be and that people won’t like me,” he said, according to the caption. Two hours after the picture was posted, Mrs. Clinton typed out some words of encouragement and signed her comment “H,” indicating that it was written by her and not by a member of her staff. “Prediction from a grown-up: Your future is going to be amazing,” she wrote. “You will surprise yourself with what you’re capable of and the incredible things you go on to do. Find the people who love and believe in you — there will be lots of them.” Kristina Schake, Clinton’s deputy communications director, took a screen shot of the comment and shared it on Twitter shortly after it was written. Humans of New York is no stranger to viral content. Its posts, often showcasing the quirkier side of life in New York City, have been viewed millions of times and have inspired imitators in cities and countries around the world, including Syria; Mumbai, India; and Tehran. But the nature of Friday’s post — a young gay person who appeared little more than a child, and Mrs. Clinton’s comforting response — gave it a lightning-in-a-bottle charge that helped it spread rapidly. Within 24 hours, it had been liked by more than 530,000 people and shared over 47,000 times, with more than 33,000 people scrolling through the comment thread to like Mrs. Clinton’s response. Mrs. Clinton has made support for gay people one of the cornerstones of her presidential campaign. Two days before the Supreme Court ruled last month that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right, her campaign released a video that featured a montage of same-sex weddings. “Some have suggested that gay rights and human rights are separate and distinct, but in fact, they are one and the same,” she said in the video. “Being L.G.B.T. does not make you less human.” Gay rights organizations scored a major victory with the Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage, but significant challenges remain, they say. Discrimination is still an issue, and many young people face isolation and hostility from their families and communities. According to the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization, lesbian, gay and bisexual young people are four times more likely than their straight peers to attempt suicide, and roughly a quarter of transgender youth report having made at least one suicide attempt. *Hillary Clinton Accuses China of Hacking U.S. Computers <http://www.newsweek.com/hillary-clinton-accuses-china-hacking-us-computers-350272> // Reuters – July 4, 2015* GLEN, N.H. (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton accused China on Saturday of stealing commercial secrets and "huge amounts of government information," and of trying to "hack into everything that doesn't move in America." Clinton's language on China appeared to be far stronger than that usually used by President Barack Obama's Democratic administration. Speaking at a campaign event in New Hampshire, Clinton said she wanted to see China's peaceful rise. "But we also have to be fully vigilant, China's military is growing very quickly, they're establishing military installations that again threaten countries we have treaties with, like the Philippines because they are building on contested property," said Clinton, who was secretary of state from 2009 to 2013. "They're also trying to hack into everything that doesn't move in America. Stealing commercial secrets ... from defense contractors, stealing huge amounts of government information, all looking for an advantage," she said. Clinton is the front-runner to win the Democratic nomination for the November 2016 presidential election. Asked about the remarks, a White House official declined to comment. In the most recent case involving suspicions of Chinese hacking, Obama administration officials have said China is the top suspect in the massive hacking of a U.S. government agency that compromised the personnel records of at least 4.2 million current and former government workers. China has denied hacking into the computers of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. IRAN AND PUTIN Clinton also addressed the current talks over Iran's nuclear program and had strong words for Tehran. She said that even if a deal is reached with Iran, Tehran's "aggressiveness will not end" and it will remain a principal state sponsor of terrorism. Clinton said she hoped that "a strong verifiable deal" would be reached at talks in Vienna between world powers and Iran. But she added that even with an agreement, "They will continue to be the principal state sponsor of terrorism. They will continue to destabilize governments in the region and beyond. They will continue to use their proxies like Hezbollah. And they will continue to be an existential threat to Israel." The United States, other world powers and Iran have set a July 7 deadline to reach a deal to curb Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for a lifting of sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy. At the campaign event, Clinton also said the United States has to be "much smarter" about how it deals with Russian President Vladimir Putin's territorial ambitions. She said Putin's moves to expand Russia's boundaries, such as the annexation of Crimea last year, posed a challenge for the United States but she touted her experience as America's chief diplomat. She noted that because of NATO members' agreement to protect fellow members, had Ukraine been a member of NATO when Crimea was annexed, "that would have caused us to have to respond." She added on Putin: "I've dealt with him. I know him. He's not an easy man ... But I don't think there is any substitute other than constant engagement." *SOCIAL MEDIA* *Dan Merica (7/4/15, 6:43 AM)* <https://twitter.com/danmericaCNN/status/617327821573214208>* - Many ppl in Gorham seem genuinely impressed HRC is traveling this far north for the 4th in NH, say they haven't had many 2016 visits.* *Bill Clinton (7/4/15, 9:24 AM)* <https://twitter.com/billclinton/status/617323052771221504>* - 239 years later, the United States of America is still in the future business. Happy Independence Day everyone! #4thofjuly* *HRC** NATIONAL COVERAGE* *Protesters Challenge Hillary Clinton During Parade in New Hampshire <http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/07/04/protesters-challenge-clinton-during-parade-in-new-hampshire/> // NYT // Maggie Haberman – July 4, 2015* Hillary Rodham Clinton made her first visit of the campaign to northern New Hampshire on Saturday, marching in a Fourth of July parade alongside dozens of her supporters and, for the first time since she became a candidate, being met by a handful of persistent protesters. Mrs. Clinton walked in front of a large sign with her campaign logo at the parade in Gorham, N.H., and a group of supporters chanted her name as they walked along. People along the sidewalks called out “Hillary!” to her on Main Street, urging her to shake their hands. But there was other chanting as well, from a tall man on the sidelines who carried a sign that read “Benghazi” with red paint stains on it. “Carpetbagger!” he called out repeatedly, a charge leveled against Mrs. Clinton when she first ran for the Senate in 2000 (and not used much since). He was joined by a half-dozen other protesters who followed her along the route in the working-class area, trying repeatedly to get her attention. “Where were you at 3 o’clock in the morning when the phone rang!” the man yelled. “Tell us about when you were poor!” A handful of Clinton volunteers eventually drifted toward the sidewalks, chanting her name in an effort to drown the protesters out. Mrs. Clinton never acknowledged them, as she took pictures with a group of beauty queens and stopped to talk to a wounded Marine, injured in Iraq, who was in a wheelchair and could not communicate. “He can understand everything you say to him,” Nellie Bagli said of her 40-year-old son, Jose, who was seriously wounded in March 2006. “I can see that in his eyes,” Mrs. Clinton said. Ms. Bagli told reporters she lives in Florida and that the cooler climate of New Hampshire benefits her son’s health. She is unsure of whether she will support Mrs. Clinton, she said, adding that after what her son had gone through, “it’s hard to believe” what politicians say. Mrs. Clinton’s aides, in what they said was an effort to allow voters to reach her freely without her being surrounded by a mass of reporters, kept the dozen journalists covering the event behind a length of rope carried by two campaign aides. When the parade ended, Mrs. Clinton held up her hands in a shrug when asked whether the protesters were jarring. At another point, she was asked the same question and said, “I’m just having a good time meeting everybody.” Aides said they selected the location for Mrs. Clinton’s Fourth of July event because she had not visited the region yet during the campaign, and other parades were in parts of the state she had traveled to already. Later, Mrs. Clinton made an unscheduled stop to the Northland Dairy Bar in nearby Berlin, which was fairly empty. She chatted with the patrons there, before heading toward a corner table. There were slices of pie waiting for her. “O.K., you guys are not gonna film me eating,” Mrs. Clinton said, laughing, as she urged the reporters who were there to move on. “This is not newsworthy. Take a picture of me standing here in front of these great pies by myself. It’s a headline! It’s a headline.” *Clinton, Bush struggle to shed dynasty labels during holiday parades in N.H. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-and-bush-struggle-to-shed-dynasty-labels-in-nh-parades/2015/07/04/93173942-2285-11e5-84d5-eb37ee8eaa61_story.html> // WaPo // Philip Rucker & Ed O’Keefe – July 4, 2015* GORHAM, N.H. — For Hillary Rodham Clinton, walking in Saturday’s Fourth of July parade in this mountain hamlet was supposed to showcase the sometimes-stiff candidate as accessible and in touch with the people — a champion for everyday Americans, as the Democratic presidential front-runner likes to put it. But the image Clinton projected during this rare glimpse as a candidate away from the podium seemed to reinforce how very different she is from the voters she was courting. She marched briskly down Main Street in a cocoon of campaign staffers and Secret Service agents. Hecklers followed her, shouting epithets. The former secretary of state enthusiastically shook hands and exchanged pleasantries with supporters — “Good to see you!” “I need your vote.” “Let’s make it happen!” — but only occasionally slowed down to chat, such as when aides directed her to a Marine Corps veteran in a wheelchair. The media, meanwhile, was kept at a distance and mostly out of earshot of Clinton’s interactions in this rural, working-class community. A few minutes into the parade, her aides unfurled a long rope across the street to physically block journalists from getting too close to the candidate. “It feels like a coronation, doesn’t it?” one man shouted. “God bless the queen!” Clinton, smiling in a red-white-and-blue pantsuit and navy Salvatore Ferragamo patent leather flats, pretended not to hear him and remarked, “I actually love parades.” At another parade at the other end of New Hampshire, another dynasty candidate also tried to shake impressions of being aloof. Jeb Bush has been laboring to rid himself of the burdens of his family’s political legacy. But as the former Republican governor of Florida walked the parade route in Amherst, it became clear how difficult it would be for voters to distinguish him from his father and brother, both former presidents. A few people accidentally called him George. One man wore a red T-shirt that said, “Bush Hat Trick,” a reference to when hockey players score three goals in a game. “Where did you get that shirt?” Bush asked begrudgingly. When an older woman said, “I love your mother,” the candidate replied, “I love her, too!” Others had different opinions. “No more Bushes!” one woman shouted at the candidate. “No more Bushes!” Marching in Independence Day parades is a time-honored political tradition in New Hampshire, which hosts the first presidential primary. With seven months until the primary, candidates fanned out across the state Saturday to walk with their supporters carrying signs, balloons or other insignia — and to win over new fans. In Wolfeboro, a picturesque tourist town on Lake Winnipesaukee, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) marched in the morning parade. Both candidates, as well as their families, had spent the night at the home of Wolfeboro’s most famous part-time resident: Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee. The three politicians were spotted getting ice cream together at Bailey’s Bubble on Friday night. Former Texas governor Rick Perry (R), Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and former Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee (D) also marched in the Amherst parade with Bush. Other candidates had contingents if they, themselves, couldn’t participate. One of the biggest draws there was a blue school bus, powered by vegetable oil, to promote the candidacy of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Riding aboard the bus were two chickens, Clucky and Chucky. Bush’s group was relatively subdued. Sporting chinos and a button-down shirt, Bush walked with about 30 campaign volunteers. Their big attraction was a 1961 silver Corvette with red leather interior, driven by state Sen. Russell Prescott. “I’m carrying water for Jeb Bush,” Prescott said. He literally was: A case of bottled water was on the floor of the car next to him. As the parade began, an EMT worker instructed Bush: “Keep everybody hydrated. I don’t want to have to work today.” Bush was joined by son George P., the Texas land commissioner, and Bush’s daughter, Noelle, who rarely appears publicly with her father. Unlike her more gregarious brother, who kept near his father, she trailed behind, blending in with the crowd and handing out stickers. Bush hustled on the parade route, darting back and forth across the street, seemingly determined to shake every hand on both sides. It was an impossible feat, of course, and quickly slowed down the parade. At one point, a parade marshal, Paula Schmida, asked Bush adviser Rich Killion to get the candidate to pick up the pace. Like Clinton, Bush was confronted by aggressive activists, some of whom wore orange T-shirts and sunglasses furnished by NextGen Climate, the group funded by billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer. One young woman handed Bush a small cup with a slushy treat, telling him that it represented a warming planet. “Oh, yeah? I already got one of those,” Bush told her. “Our second one today,” Killion said as he took the treat from Bush and nudged the woman back. When another woman haggled over climate change with Bush, the candidate, clearly aggravated, told her to “chill out!” In Gorham, Clinton was joined on the parade route by a few dozen supporters. They carried a big banner and signs with her H campaign logo and chanted “H-I-L-L-A-R-Y!” But one man followed closely at Clinton’s side with a very different message: “Benghazi,” read the homemade sign, with what looked like red blood dripping from the letters. He screamed at her about the Sept. 11, 2012, terrorist attacks in Libya and her book-tour gaffe last year that she and former president Bill Clinton had been “dead broke.” “Where were you when the phone rang at 3 a.m. on September 11th?” he asked. “Tell us about when you were poor,” he demanded. Across the way, a man on a bicycle shouted at Clinton: “What about Benghazi? What about the e-mails? You’re a liar!” One Clinton aide, noticing the man’s spandex biking outfit, shot back, “Nice shorts.” Clinton did not seem fazed by the hecklers. Asked at the end how the parade went, she said, “It was fabulous!” But by this point, the Clinton campaign’s rope line barring journalists had lighted up Twitter. Within about an hour, Jennifer Horn, chairman of the New Hampshire Republican State Committee, was out with a statement calling the rope “a sad joke” and condemning Clinton for “arrogant and shameful behavior.” “Hillary Clinton continues to demonstrate her obvious contempt and disdain for the Granite State’s style of grass-roots campaigning,” Horn said. At day’s end, Clinton visited a diner-style restaurant in nearby Berlin to mix and mingle. “How are the fries?” she asked a woman and her two children, sliding into the booth to join them for a moment. Clinton then headed to an empty table, where two slices of pie (blueberry and raspberry) awaited her. Reporters followed. “Okay, you guys are not gonna film me eating,” she said, sitting down with aides Huma Abedin, Kristina Schake and Mike Vlacich. When one reporter asked her about Donald Trump, Clinton demurred. “You know,” she said, “I’m gonna sit down and have some pie.” *Clinton campaign gives new meaning to the term ‘rope line’ at New Hampshire parade <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/07/04/clinton-campaign-gives-new-meaning-to-the-term-rope-line-at-new-hampshire-parade/> // WaPo // Vanessa Williams – July 4, 2015* It wasn't like A-list celebrities or pro ballers were being hounded by the paparazzi at Saturday's Independence Day parade in Gorham, N.H. It was just Hillary Clinton and the workaday press corps that regularly follows her around. So why did the Democratic presidential candidate’s campaign see fit to put up a rope line to keep reporters and photographers at bay while Clinton shook hands and greeted voters during an afternoon procession up Main Street? Our colleague Philip Rucker reports that initially the press had been able to get close to Clinton and observe and listen as she chatted up voters. Then he said campaign aides unfurled a rope that stretched across the street, blocking access to the candidate. Rucker said they were kept 10 to 15 feet away from Clinton and could no longer hear what she was saying to people. But the press could clearly hear what some people were saying to her. A group of protesters followed her along the route shouting such sentiments as "What about Benghazi?" and "Show us your e-mails!" The conservative news site Twitchy was clearly enjoying the spectacle. The New Hampshire Republican Party denounced "the use of a rope line to protect the arrogant Democrat frontrunner on a public street." “Hillary Clinton continues to demonstrate her obvious contempt and disdain for the Granite State’s style of grassroots campaigning," Jennifer Horn, chairman of the state GOP, said in a statement. "The use of a rope line at a New Hampshire parade is a sad joke and insults the traditions of our First-in-the-Nation primary." Clinton herself was quite pleased with the event: Liz Kreutz @ABCLiz Hillary Clinton to @PhilipRucker on how she enjoyed the parade: "It was fabulous!" *Bernie and Hillary's holiday weekend <http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/bernie-and-hillarys-holiday-weekend-119732.html> // Politico // Annie Karni & Jonathan Topaz – July 4, 2015* GORHAM, N.H. — Hillary Clinton trekked to this small town in the White Mountains Saturday to march in a low-key Fourth of July parade, where she was trailed by a vocal heckler and surrounded by so many cameras that her aides employed a rope to corral the press. After about 25 minutes of marching at a brisk pace and shaking hands with locals, Clinton headed to a diner where she chatted about policy issues with a handful of late lunchers, and then sat down to eat pie alone with a few of her senior staffers. It was the second leg of her two-day Granite State tour — on Friday she spoke at a campaign cookout that attracted about 850 people in the liberal enclave of Hanover, vowing: “I take a backseat to no one when you look at my record in standing up and fighting for progressive values.” Meanwhile, Clinton’s main Democratic rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, spent the holiday weekend campaigning in Iowa, where a crowd of about 2,500 people overflowed a Friday evening rally in Council Bluffs. On Saturday, riding high off the energy of the crowd, he marched in two parades, in Creston and Waukee, a Republican-leaning suburb of Des Moines, where the crowd yelled for him: “We love you Bernie, yes we do!” With seven months to go before the first caucuses in the country, the split-screen appearances offered telling clues to the state of the race between the Democratic front-runner and her insurgent rival on the left. Clinton’s events and appearances are modest and controlled, marked by caution and distance. Despite a double-digit lead over Sanders, she’s still seeking to establish her credentials to her skeptics on the left. For his part, Sanders is feeding off a wave of liberal enthusiasm and plowing forward with populist grit. He’s embracing his surging underdog role — and the media attention and crowds accompanying it. Clinton’s van arrived in Gorham just before 2 p.m., when she greeted local elected officials and a union leader inside a pizza parlor. Earlier in the day, she spoke at a grassroots campaign organizing event outside of Bartlett, N.H., which drew about 100 people at the private home of a supporter. The parade route — just under a mile along the town’s Main Street, dotted with Clinton campaign posters — was complicated by a persistent heckler who trailed Clinton waving a poster that read “Benghazi,” and yelling out taunts at the candidate (“Carpetbagger!” “Where were you at 3 in the morning when the phone rang!” “Tell us when you were poor!”). Clinton wore a grin-and-bear-it smile as she continued shaking hands. “I’m just having a good time meeting everybody,” she shrugged when asked by reporters about the disruption. To further complicate matters, Clinton’s advance team, worried a swarm of over a dozen reporters and cameras were blocking the former secretary of state from seeing the locals along the route, herded the press away from the candidate with the unsightly aid of a rope line. Photographs of reporters being physically dragged along by campaign staffers only bolstered the image of Clinton as press-averse. Republicans pounced on the photographs. “Today, Republican presidential candidates marched in parades across New Hampshire that were open to the public without obstruction from their staff,” New Hampshire Republican State Committee Chairman Jennifer Horn said in a statement. Despite the disruptions, Clinton managed to interact with a few parade-goers. She stopped to chat with a veteran after an aide pointed her toward Nellie Bagli, who was watching the parade with her disabled son, Jose, 40, a Marine who has been in a wheelchair since being injured by a grenade in Iraq in 2006. “Thank you for your sacrifice,” Clinton told them, with emotion in her voice. “I’ll be thinking of you.” She told Bagli that the holiday was all about people like her son. But Bagli shrugged off the interaction with Clinton. “I’m not sure yet,” she said of who she plans to vote for. Pointing to her son, she said: “I lost a lot here. By losing that much, it’s hard to believe a lot.” Clinton did not take any questions from the press, but told a gaggle of reporters as she headed for the diner: “I love parades, I love walking in parades. We got such a great response, a lot of enthusiasm and energy to celebrate the Fourth of July.” At her third stop of the day, at Northland Restaurant & Dairy Bar, Clinton spoke with about eight diners before settling into a corner table with two top campaign aides and her state director, Mike Vlacich, in front of thick slices of blueberry and raspberry pie. She refused to answer a question about Donald Trump. “You know, I’m gonna sit down and have some pie,” she said, as a swarm of reporters was ushered out of the restaurant. Roughly 1,500 miles away, in central Iowa, Sanders headed into the holiday weekend with the wind at his back, and his poll numbers showing him up to 33 percent in the Hawkeye State. On Wednesday night, he hosted by far the biggest rally of the presidential cycle, attracting roughly 10,000 people at a raucous rally in Madison, Wisconsin. At the Friday rally in Council Bluffs, campaign officials passed out envelopes for campaign contributions and signed up volunteers. “They cheered when he called for raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour,” said a spokesman, in an ebullient statement released Friday evening touting “the biggest Iowa crowd so far for any presidential candidate.” “They applauded when he said it’s time to break up the big banks on Wall Street. They shouted approval when he credited Pope Francis for his call for bold action to prevent catastrophic climate change. They rose to their feet when he said the United States should join every other major country and provide health care as a right of citizenship.” Sanders received another boost Friday — an endorsement from Larry Cohen, who recently stepped down as president of the Communications Workers of America. “This is not a close call,” Cohen said at a press conference at a Council Bluffs union hall. “This is a guy who for his entire life has been there for working people.” Members of several other unions — including the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the International Association of Firefighters — also attended the event. Organized labor has been a core constituency for Sanders during his time in the Senate, and in a sign of his increasing traction, AFL-CIO chief Richard Trumka sent a memo this week to state, central and area divisions of the labor federation reminding them that its bylaws don’t permit them to “endorse a presidential candidate” or “introduce, consider, debate, or pass resolutions or statements that indicate a preference for one candidate over another.” Pete D’Alessandro, Sanders’ Iowa director, said Sanders’ trip showed his appeal throughout the state, and not just in liberal bastions like Iowa City. “This isn’t some regional campaign. The message is resonating everywhere,” he said. The campaign will have 30-35 people on the ground in Iowa by the end of the month and has a goal for 75-100 people by caucus night next year, D’Alessandro said. Clinton is scheduled to make her fourth visit to Iowa on Tuesday. Her campaign, meanwhile, shrugged off the rope line drama with humor and said the day went according to plan. “While the GOP may want to spin a good yarn on this, let’s not get tied up in knots,” spokesman Nick Merrill said in a statement. “We wanted to accommodate the press, allow her to greet voters, and allow the press to be right there in the parade with her as opposed to preset locations. And that’s what we did.” *Clinton goes after a Bush in New Hampshire <http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/03/politics/hillary-clinton-george-bush-new-hampshire/> // CNN // Dan Merica – July 4, 2015* Hanover, New Hampshire – Hillary Clinton went after a member of the Bush family on Friday in New Hampshire. Just not the one who is running for President. Instead, Clinton subtly knocked -- but did not name -- George W. Bush twice in a speech where she portrayed herself as a progressive fighter. "If you look at the evidence, at the end of Bill Clinton's two terms, we had the longest peacetime expansion in American history with 22 million new jobs, a balanced budget and a surplus that would have paid off our national debt if it had not been rudely interrupted by the next administration," Clinton said to loud applause from the assembled Dartmouth College students and local Democrats. Clinton argued that "there is just a pattern" in which a Republican President wrecks the economy and it is left to the succeeding Democratic President to fix it. As her proof, Clinton pointed to both her husband and President Barack Obama, who she argued does not get enough credit for his response to the recession when he took office 2009. "There is just a pattern here where the other side keeps using the same old tired, failed policies. They don't work," Clinton said. "And then Democratic presidents have to come in and fix what was broken." And as a pitch for herself, Clinton said, "So lets break that and have a Democratic President to continue the policies that actually work for the vast majority of Americans." Clinton's visit to New Hampshire for the Fourth of July holiday is her fourth to the first-in-the-nation primary state since she launched her campaign in April. To date, the campaign has focused on small events and organizing, something Clinton's aides hope will pay off at primary time in January 2016. At Friday's event, Clinton delivered her standard stump speech to a crowd of around 850, the campaign said. "We have to take on the gun lobby one more time," Clinton said in a pitch for gun control. "At the very least, we need to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers, people with serious mental challenges, terrorists, all of whom now are perfectly free to go and find a gun somewhere. This is a controversial issue, I am well aware of that. But I think it is the height of irresponsibility not to talk about it. So I will talk about it." Clinton spoke at length about how difficult the presidency is, calling it the "hardest job in the world," but one she knows she wants. After the speech, Clinton and her staff headed to Dairy Twirl, a small local ice cream shop in Lebanon, the town over from Hanover. "It's Fourth of July. You've got to get some ice cream," she said, getting out of her van. After ordering for herself, Clinton turned to the press and offered to buy. "Would you guys like some ice cream?" Clinton asked the dozen or so reporters with her. "Those of you have traveled to the Upper Valley in pursuit of presidential politics. How about it? I'm paying. I'll buy if anybody wants it." Instead of ice cream orders, though, Clinton was asked about Bernie Sanders, her Democratic challenger who has been surging lately, and why she hasn't drawn sizable crowds like the Independent Vermont senator. "We each run our own campaigns, and I always knew this was going to be competitive," she said. "I want to have a great debate in the primary and caucus around the country and that is what I am looking forward to." Earlier this week, Sanders was greeted by 9,600 people at an event in Madison, Wisconsin. Although crowd size does not equal electoral success, the Sanders campaign argues it shows excitement around their candidate and a lack of enthusiasm for Clinton. The largest event Clinton has held so far was her campaign kickoff rally on New York's Roosevelt Island last month, where a few thousand people attended. After taking two more questions, Clinton's ice cream appeared in the window. "Is that for me?" she said at the size of the scoops. "Holy schmoley." Clinton then shook a few more hands, met the owners of the shop and hopped into her van, headed for a fundraiser at the Holderness, New Hampshire home of Meg and Gary Hirshberg, the owners of the Stonyfield Farm organic yogurt company. Clinton will celebrate the Fourth of July in Gorham, New Hampshire, where she will walk in their holiday parade. *Clinton campaign corrals media <http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/04/politics/hillary-clinton-rope-line-reporters/index.html> // Dan Merica // CNN – July 4, 2015* Gorham, New Hampshire (CNN)Hillary Clinton's campaign used a rope to keep journalists away from the candidate on Saturday while she walked in this small town's July Fourth parade. The ensuing photos of journalists, including a CNN reporter, being somewhat dragged by a thin white rope as Clinton walked down Main Street caught fire online. Initially, Clinton's campaign was not using a rope to corral the press, allowing journalists to get close to her and ask her questions. But campaign aides said they brought the rope out because they feared the press scrum of around a dozen reporters and photojournalists would obstruct the view of New Hampshire voters attending the parade. The rope was held by two of Clinton's advance staffers, who at times walked ahead of reporters, seemingly pulling them along the parade route. "You guys, we are going to do 10 yards and a little more organized," said one of the advance staffers after breaking out the rope. In explaining why they were using the rope, the staffer said, "so maybe a voter could see her, that kind of thing." Clinton's Secret Service detail also urged journalists to abide by the mobile rope line. "You are not going fast enough," one agent said when the rope tightened around a reporter's waist. Since the campaign launched in April, Clinton's aides have tried to improve typically tense relations between the Clintons and the press, at times calling for a reset with reporters covering Clinton. While the circus aspect of the event at times overshadowed Clinton's time at the parade, the candidate did glad-hand with many supporters and New Hampshire voters. At one point, she spoke with a wheelchair-bound Marine and his mother. The Iraq War veteran, who had a Marines blanket draped across most of his body, was injured by a grenade attack in March 2006. Clinton walked away from the conversation somewhat shaken. "Whoa," she said when CNN asked her about the interaction. But in addition to the corralled media and New Hampshire voters excited to see the presidential candidate, Clinton was followed by one vocal protester with a sign that read, "Benghazi." The older man, whose sign had fake blood spattered on it, continually shouted at the former secretary of state. "Hillary, where were you at 3 a.m. when the phone rang on September 11?" he yelled, referring to the 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi that left four Americans dead. He also yelled "carpetbagger," a reference to her 2000 Senate race in New York, and "Tell us when you were poor," a reference to a 2014 comment about being "dead broke" when she and former President Bill Clinton left the White House in 2001. As the protester continued to follow Clinton, volunteers from the campaign followed him, chanting "Hillary, Hillary, Hillary." Clinton was asked about the protesters, to which she responded, "I am just having a good time meeting everybody." Clinton rarely comes in such close contact with protesters. Although there are regularly protesters outside her events, few ever get within shouting distance of her, let alone close enough to get her attention like the man. A Clinton spokesperson told CNN called the rope a "soft barrier" that was necessary because the media mass around the candidate was making it "impossible" for her to talk to people. One camera operator backpedaled into a toddler, the Clinton spokesperson said, and the rope made it possible for the parade to move smoothly. But the Clinton campaign's use of a mobile rope line was catnip for Republicans, who seized on the issue. "We all knew Hillary Clinton was desperate to avoid the media after months of controversy, but employing a moving rope line takes ducking reporters to absurd new heights," said Michael Short, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee. "Clearly the Fourth of July for Hillary Clinton means independence from answering tough questions." The New Hampshire Republican Party took note. "Clinton continues to demonstrate her obvious contempt and disdain for the Granite State's style of grassroots campaigning. The use of a rope line at a New Hampshire parade is a sad joke and insults the traditions of our First-in-the-Nation primary," New Hampshire Republican State Committee Chairman Jennifer Horn said in a statement. But the Clinton campaign fired back. "While the GOP may want to spin a good yarn on this, let's not get tied up in knots," said Nick Merrill, the campaign's traveling press secretary. "We wanted to accommodate the press, allow her to greet voters, and allow the press to be right there in the parade with her as opposed to preset locations. And that's what we did." *Who Clinton was looking for in New Hampshire <http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/04/politics/hillary-clinton-boy-new-hampshire/> // CNN // Cassie Spodak – July 4, 2015* Wolfeboro, New Hampshire (CNN)Hillary Clinton shook hands with countless supporters this weekend. But there was one backer she recognized in particular when she made her fourth visit to New Hampshire as a presidential candidate: 9-year-old Ollie Olsen. In June, Clinton held a rally outside Concord, New Hampshire, and signed a number of souvenirs supporters had left for her, one of which was a note Ollie wrote excusing him from school that day. Ollie didn't realize she had signed it until the campaign tweeted out a picture, and he didn't get to meet the Democratic presidential hopeful. But at Friday's grassroots event in Hanover, Ollie told CNN that Clinton came right up to him and said, "You're Ollie!" "She said, 'You're the boy from the note,' and she noticed my grandma was a really good tennis player," he said. Ollie was there with his mom Sarah, her boyfriend and her parents, and said they have no idea how she knew Sarah's mother, Lee, was a tennis player. "I'm sure she was briefed, but that was really cute and just made us feel very special, even when she was about to go on stage in front of all these people she just made us feel very important," Sarah Olsen told CNN. Ollie and Clinton didn't talk for long, but they did take a picture with the note. Ollie plans to campaign for Clinton this fall and said he's excited that Hillary Clinton could be the first woman president. "It would be important because she would be the first woman president and that would be a lot of education for other kids learning Hillary Clinton was the first woman president," he told CNN. "It would be, like, as big as Abraham Lincoln." For Sarah Olsen, the meeting is an important part of Ollie's education as a future New Hampshire voter. "We want Ollie to go to all the different events and see Republicans and see Bernie Sanders and just kind of experience it and be able to make up his own mind for what he wants," she told CNN. "None of his friends know anything about politics. Granted, they're only 9, they don't vote for a while. They just completely don't understand why are all these people coming to New Hampshire, why this is so important." *Clinton has strong words on Chinese hacking <http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/04/politics/clinton-china-hacking/> // CNN // Dan Merica & Mariano Castillo – July 5, 2015* (CNN)Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton unleashed some of the strongest words to date about China's hacking of U.S. computers. China is "trying to hack into everything that doesn't move" in the United States, Clinton said, accusing the Chinese of stealing information from both businesses and government agencies. China is suspected of the recent theft of the personal data of about 18 million current, former and prospective federal employees who were affected by a cyber breach at the Office of Personnel Management. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told an intelligence conference last month that the Chinese are "the leading suspect" in the massive hack of the OPM. "They're also trying to hack into everything that doesn't move in America," Clinton said at a campaign event in Glen, New Hampshire. "Stealing commercial secrets, blueprints from defense contractors, stealing huge amounts of government information. All looking for an advantage." Clinton said America's response to China's rise will determine much of the future for the United States and the world. "I want to see a peaceful rise for China," Clinton said. "I worked very hard on that as secretary of state, I will continue to do so. But we also have to be fully vigilant that China's military is growing very quickly and they are establishing military installations that again threaten countries we have treaties with, like the Philippines, because they are building on contested property." Clinton was referring to China's building of manmade islands in disputed waters. *Hillary Clinton Reporters Kept Behind Moving Rope Line At New Hampshire Parade <http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hillary-clinton-reporters-moving-rope-line-hampshire-parade/story?id=32225818> // ABC News // Liz Kreutz – July 4, 2015* At the Fourth of July parade Hillary Clinton marched in today in Gorham, New Hampshire, reporters following the candidate were kept -- and at moments, dragged -- behind an actual moving rope line. The rope, which two Clinton staffers held on to on either side, was meant to give Clinton space as she walked down the parade route, but photos of reporters being dragged behind the rope as she marched have gone viral on Twitter. The New Hampshire GOP released a statement critiquing Clinton, saying her use of the rope "insults the traditions of our First-in-the-Nation primary" and touted the Republican presidential candidates for marching in parades without "obstruction from their staff." Clinton's campaign has not responded to ABC News' request for comment regarding the use of the rope for reporters or to the GOP criticism. Clinton, meanwhile, seemed to enjoy the parade herself, as she waved to and greeted voters -- ignoring a group of loud protesters that trailed right behind her. "Where were you at 3am when the phone rang? Name one accomplishment! Tell us about when you were poor!" shouted one man, holding up a sign that read "BENGHAZI." But Clinton didn't let that rattle her. "I'm just having a good time meeting everybody," Clinton said when asked whether she had anything to say to them. And even by the end, her sentiment hadn't changed. "It was fabulous," she said. "I love parades, I love walking in parades, got such a great response ... a lot of enthusiasm and energy to celebrate the Fourth of July." Following the event, Clinton made a stop at Dairy Bar, a relatively empty nearby restaurant, where she mingled with patrons. Clinton was asked by this reporter about her thoughts to the backlash against Donald Trump. But she dismissed the question in lieu of dessert. "I'm going to sit down and have some pie," she said. *Clinton defends progressive record as campaigns hit Independence Day <http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jul/04/clinton-on-defensive-new-hampshire-iowa> // The Guardian // Jana Kasperkevic – July 4, 2015* As 2016 presidential candidates flocked to spend Independence Day in early voting states such as Iowa and New Hampshire, Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton found herself defending her record on policy and the size of crowds at her events. “I take a backseat to no one when you look at my record in standing up and fighting for progressive values,” Clinton told an audience in Hanover, New Hampshire, on Friday. On Saturday, Independence Day itself, she spoke extensively about subjects including last week’s historic supreme court ruling on same-sex marriage, saying: “The language Justice Kennedy uses about the bonds between people is just almost mystical. It’s beautiful. So we have to do everything we can to end discrimination in the LGBT community.” Clinton has come under greater-than-expected pressure from the independent Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist running a determinedly grassroots-focused campaign who nonetheless attracted nearly 10,000 people to a rally in Wisconsin on Wednesday. On Friday night, a Sanders event in Council Buffs, Iowa, was standing-room only. On Friday, while visiting the Dairy Twirl ice cream shop in Lebanon, Clinton was asked why she was not drawing such big crowds. “Well, we each run our own campaigns and I always knew this was gonna be competitive,” she said. “And I want to have a great debate in the primary and caucuses around the country and that’s what I’m looking forward to.” Clinton also said her defeat by Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic primary had taught her the importance of organizing every single day. “That’s why I’m doing a lot of meetings and discussions about specific issues,” she said, “because I want to hear from people and I also want to connect them to the campaign. “And I feel like it’s really working. It is building a campaign here in New Hampshire, using the grassroots, and coming up from that, because at the end of the day, I think that wins elections and wins caucuses.” On the morning of 4 July, the former senator and secretary of state attended a grassroots organizing event in Glen. Asked about the Obama administration’s involvement in ongoing nuclear talks with Iran, she said: “I’m hoping it’s a strong, verifiable deal that will put the lid on Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions. Even if we are successful, however, Iran’s aggressiveness will not end.” In an hour-long event, Clinton also discussed her ideas on college debt, the same-sex marriage ruling and the future makeup of the court. College graduates and those with graduate degrees should get help to refinance their debt and be allowed to pay back their loans as a percentage of their incomes, she said, adding of her early life with her husband, former President Bill Clinton: “We were paying back loans while he was governor of Arkansas.” Clinton encouraged people to read the supreme court’s decision extending same-sex marriage rights nationwide, saying “it’s not only a constitutionally based decision, which it should be, but there is a current underpinning it, which is [that] we need to respect each other, and we need to allow people to live and love and we need to support that”. Asked about the future of the court, Clinton said it was possible the next president could have three to four appointments. If elected, she said she would appoint justices who would “bring an open mind and an open heart”. In the afternoon, Clinton was set to march in the Gorham Fourth of July parade. Former Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee, another candidate for the Democratic nomination, was also campaigning in the state, planning to visit Merrimack and Amherst. Sanders and the former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley were both in Iowa. Sanders was due to march in parades in Creston and Waukee. Sanders has been gaining on Clinton. On Thursday, a Quinnipiac University poll found Clinton at 52% in Iowa while Sanders had climbed to 33%. On 7 May, Clinton led the same poll by 60% to 15%. The latest CNN poll shows Clinton only eight points ahead of Sanders in New Hampshire, although national surveys remain more clearly in Clinton’s favor. Republican presidential candidates also opted to celebrate Independence Day in the early voting states. After a “sleepover” at 2012 candidate Mitt Romney’s vacation home in New Hampshire, New Jersey governor Chris Christie and Florida senator Marco Rubio were to march in Wolfeboro’s parade. The former Texas governor Rick Perry, former Florida governor Jeb Bush and South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham joined Chafee for a parade in Amherst. Bush and Chafee have old school ties in common. They duly met up, the Democratic candidate using Twitter to say: “Always fun to run into classmates @phillipsacademy on the campaign trail.” Bush, who was marching with his son George P Bush, the recently elected Texas land commissioner, was chided by a voter who told him he was holding up the parade. “There’s nothing behind us – other than Hillary,” Bush said. A team of Clinton supporters were marching right behind a group backing the former Florida governor, their blue signs in sharp contrast with his red. *Hillary Clinton Says She Will Be Better Friend than Obama to Israel <http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/hillary-clinton-says-she-will-be-better-friend-than-obama-to-israel/2015/07/04/> // Jewish Press // Tzvi Ben-Gedalyahu – July 4, 2015* Hillary Clinton has promised that Israel will have her as a better friend than President Barack Obama if she is elected President next year. She also exclaimed that Iran poses an “existential threat” to Israel, as if any serious presidential contender thinks otherwise. While strongly supporting attempts for a “good” deal with Iran, she is trying to reassure wealthy Jews that they can safely contribute to her campaign coffers and can sleep safely last night knowing that she will be good for Israel, even if Israelis spend the night running to bomb shelters. That is what President Obama also said in 2008. That is what every presidential candidate says, but American Jews lover to hear because they want to believe it. When it comes to the deal being negotiated between the P5+1 and Iran, Clinton is playing both sides of the fence, and it is not clear where she stands. Politico interviewed 10 donors and fundraisers and reported: Donors who see a deal as important to world peace have come away thinking that Clinton shares their perspective, but so, too, do donors who oppose any prospective agreement as compromising Israeli security. Clinton is no different from Obama and every other politician. “No deal is better than a bad deal,” she said, but what is a bad deal? Is it possible to make any deal with Iran can call it “good?” Since no one yet knows if a deal with Iran will be reached and if so, what it will contain, Clinton can safely hedge her bets. At stake is $2 billion that Clinton’s aides hope to raise for her campaign and super PACs. in the meantime, she is boasting that her personality and experience as Secretary of State are guarantees for Americans Jews that she will be a lot friendlier than Obama when it comes to relations with Israel. She started name-dropping, referring to former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren as “Michael” whom she said she knows well. The penchant for American Jews to buy assurances that the American-Israeli relation will be just fine and dandy was summed up by Politico’s report on a fundraiser last month at the home of Democratic party donor Jay Jacobs. An Orthodox rabbi asked Clinton about threats to Israel, and Jacobs told Politico: She did stress in no uncertain terms her full and fervent support of the state of Israel and the defense of the state of Israel. And the people in the audience who heard it seemed to be comfortable with her answer. Good grief! What did the rabbi think she would say? Did he really believe that Clinton would say, “Well, you know all the talk about threats to Israel is just talk to get more money from the military-industrial complex. Israel can fend for itself. Let’s talk about the economy and immigration.” Of course she fervently supports Israel. That is what J Street also says. At least she was honest when she stated, “I’m going to do what’s in the best interest of the U.S.” That is what any president of the United States should do. He or she should be “pro-American” and not “pro-Israel.” The kicker is that being pro-Israel usually is the best thing for the United States, even if presidents can’t admit it. *From Clinton, a multi-generational message in N.H. <http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/07/03/from-clinton-multi-generational-message/7HXFtZn6z6YQNVVTK9HN0M/story.html?event=event25> // Boston Globe // Monica Disare – July 4, 2015* HANOVER, N.H. — Hillary Rodham Clinton kicked off her Fourth of July weekend by telling about 850 people at Dartmouth College that two people motivated her run for president: her mother and her granddaughter. Her mother, Clinton said, instilled in her a steadfast belief in kindness, while her granddaughter makes her think about “what kind of world will be waiting for her.” “That’s what keeps me up at night,” Clinton said. Clinton’s mixed-generational message was apt for the crowd she addressed Friday afternoon — Dartmouth students mingled with longtime Clinton supporters. Lois Little, 67, of New London, N.H., became a Clinton fan 24 years ago but decided not to wear the “Madame President” shirt she bought during Clinton’s unsuccessful 2008 presidential run to avoid jinxing Clinton’s chances. “She’s a very dynamic person, very intelligent,” Little said. Her husband nodded in agreement. Among those who have watched Clinton for years were some who were lukewarm toward her — but nonetheless likely to vote for her. Julie McCashin, 52, of Hanover, said she was not a diehard Clinton fan, but she was “diehard anti-Republican.” McCashin said Clinton has the best chance to beat the eventual GOP nominee. Little and McCashin stood in the same crowd, eating hamburgers and potato salad, with Thuy Le, 20, a Dartmouth sophomore who said her philosophy aligns more with Senator Bernie Sanders, another Democratic presidential contender. Le watched Clinton’s speech with a group of five other Dartmouth sophomores who said they were trying to decide between Clinton and Sanders. Parker Gardner, 20, on campus for the summer, said that Clinton was likely the “best option” but he needed more information to be certain. At the Friday event, he said he hoped to hear about her personal journey into politics, not just her policy positions. Clinton will have to appeal to both demographics to be successful both in the Democratic primary and perhaps in the general election. Her speech tried to do just that. She argued that she is the best candidate to improve the economy, disparaging the economic policy efforts of former Republican presidents. “These are folks who just don’t know the theory of original sin,” she said, “because we wouldn’t have had to have a recovery if we hadn’t had the kind of poor management and bad economic policies that put us into the ditch in the first place.” In about 10 days, she said, she would release more details on her economic platform. In the meantime, she ticked through a laundry list of issues important to her campaign, including voting rights, immigration, clean energy, cybersecurity, and removing big money from politics. She praised the Supreme Court’s recent decisions on health care and same-sex marriage. Clinton ended her speech with a set of personal stories. She told the crowd about her mother’s troubled childhood and said her mother kept going because people showed her kindness along the way. She pledged to bring this type of kindness to the White House. “I think we are a nation that really believes in a helping hand,” she said. And she cited her young granddaughter as her inspiration to work toward creating a world the next generation will be proud to inherit. “That flag which we’ll see in parades and at picnics and flying proudly in front of houses this weekend, that flag represents, I believe, humanity’s best progress,” Clinton said. “I want to be proud, and I want my daughter and granddaughter to be proud.” Margaret Mulley, 65, said Clinton’s speech “was very competent and powerful.” But not all the college students were convinced. As Mariana Almeida, 19, and Andrew Jeon, 20, walked away from the event, they said they enjoyed the speech. But as for which candidate they will ultimately support — both walked away undecided. Danielle Foullon, 54, left the event with one piece of advice for Clinton: “Hillary, don’t play it safe.” *Hillary Clinton Comments On Viral ‘Humans of New York’ Photo <http://time.com/3945811/hillary-clinton-humans-of-new-york-gay/> // TIME // Dan Stewart – July 4, 2015* Street photographer Brandon Stanton — better known as the creator of Humans of New York — posted a picture Friday of a tearful boy with the caption, “I’m homosexual and I’m afraid about what my future will be and that people won’t like me.” The post garnered 498,000 ‘Likes’, about standard for a HONY post, but what Stanton may not have expected was a comment from Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Clinton wrote, “Prediction from a grown-up: Your future is going to be amazing. You will surprise yourself with what you’re capable of and the incredible things you go on to do. Find the people who love and believe in you – there will be lots of them.” The photo initially became the subject of controversy when Stanton claimed Facebook had removed it from the site. But a Facebook spokesperson said Saturday the photo had not been intentionally deleted, but had been temporarily unavailable due to a bug. The photo is now available to be seen online, along with Clinton’s comment signed with her distinctive “-H.” Humans of New York features photographs of ordinary people on the street along with quotes from the subjects, who typically do not identify themselves. *Hillary Clinton Has The Top Comment On This Heartbreaking “Humans Of New York” Photo <http://www.buzzfeed.com/davidmack/your-future-is-going-to-be-amazing#.ry3X6Xl73> // Buzzfeed // David Mack – July 4, 2015* You may have seen this heartbreaking “Humans of New York” picture pop up in your Facebook feed recently. The young boy’s tears have elicited a ton of support in the HONY picture’s comments. Someone else who commented on the picture also happens to be running for president. Hillary Clinton posted this comment on the picture on Friday. It reads: Prediction from a grown-up: Your future is going to be amazing. You will surprise yourself with what you’re capable of and the incredible things you go on to do. Find the people who love and believe in you - there will be lots of them. –H The comment was signed “–H”, indicating that the words were penned by Clinton herself and not an aide. *Hillary Clinton accuses China of 'stealing US secrets' <http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-33399711> // BBC – July 4, 2015* US Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has accused China of stealing commercial secrets and government information. She accused China of "trying to hack into everything that doesn't move in America", and urged vigilance. US officials had named China as the chief suspect in the massive hack of the records of a US government agency earlier this year. China had denied any involvement, and called US claims "irresponsible". 'Fully vigilant' Speaking at a campaign event in New Hampshire, Ms Clinton said that China was stealing secrets from defence contractors and had taken "huge amounts of government information, all looking for an advantage." She added that she wanted to see China's peaceful rise but that the US needed to stay "fully vigilant". "China's military is growing very quickly, they're establishing military installations that again threaten countries we have treaties with, like the Philippines because they are building on contested property," she said. US officials have blamed China for a major data breach of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) that was revealed in June. The hacking of federal government computers could have compromised the records of four million employees. US intelligence chief James Clapper called China a "leading suspect" after the incident. But China dismissed the accusation, saying that it was "irresponsible and unscientific". China has previously argued that it is also the victim of hacking attacks. Republican presidential candidates have used the recent OPM cyber hack to attack President Obama's administration, accusing it of "incompetence". Marco Rubio and Rick Perry have called for the US to threaten sanctions against organisations linked to hacking, while Mike Huckabee has argued that the US should "hack China back". Meanwhile, Democratic candidate Martin O'Malley has called for better funding for cyber security. The hack against the OPM is not the first time that China has been blamed for a cyber attack against the US. An earlier attempt to breach OPM networks was blocked in March 2014, with the US saying China was behind the attack. *Union chief defends Hillary amid Bernie Sanders uprising <http://nypost.com/2015/07/04/union-chief-defends-hillary-amid-bernie-sanders-uprising/> // New York Post // Geoff Earle – July 4, 2015* WASHINGTON — AFL-CIO boss Richard Trumka is using his political muscle to try to run interference for Hillary Rodham Clinton, after movement by some local labor groups to back rival Bernie Sanders. The powerful union head advised state and local union chapters this week that the national union in DC handles presidential endorsements. “I want to remind you all that the AFL-CIO endorsement for president and vice president belongs to the national AFL-CIO. State federations, central and area labor councils, and all other subordinate bodies must follow the national AFL-CIO endorsement,” Trumka wrote, according to Politico. Clinton’s campaign is facing a growing challenge from Sanders. The South Carolina and Vermont AFL-CIOs passed resolutions this spring calling on “working people everywhere” to unite behind Sanders. *Clinton, Chafee celebrate Fourth of July in the Granite State <http://www.wmur.com/news/clinton-chafee-celebrate-fourth-of-july-in-the-granite-state/33998250> // WMUR9 // Kristen Carosa – July 4, 2015* GLEN, N.H. —Presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Lincoln Chafee celebrated the Fourth of July in New Hampshire Saturday. Clinton opened an event in Glen by discussing her granddaughter. “You know, you say to yourself, ‘I want to do everything I can to make sure this precious little girl has every opportunity,’” Clinton said. She said her campaign is about fighting for the middle class and helping those in need. “I advocate to raise the minimum wage, that’s why I am a supporter of the income tax credit. We need to get more money into people's pockets," she said. “I want to take a bright light and shine it on every regulation, every licensing requirement, every tax requirement and take a hard look at the difficulty of getting credit.” Clinton also spoke about the importance of early education. “If people are not equipped for the jobs of the future then a lot of what we do today won't have staying power,” she said. Clinton also visited the town of Gorham later Saturday. She will head to Iowa Tuesday. Chafee, the former Rhode Island governor, met voters during Fourth of July parades in Merrimack and Amherst. Chafee worked with Clinton in the Senate and said he looks forward to seeing her on the presidential trail. He said he differs from Clinton because he voted against the war in Iraq. “I bring a good resume, a vision for the future, a more peaceful world, not that hawkish approach is what I'm advocating. Bring those tax dollars home here to spend on our schools, our roads and bridges and our health care,” Chafee said. Chafee began his political career as a Republican, first holding public office in 1985. *Hillary Clinton tells supporters in Virginia that ‘love triumphed’ in gay marriage <http://sentinelrepublic.com/hillary-clinton-tells-supporters-in-virginia-that-love-triumphed-in-gay-marriage/18583/> // Sentinel Republic // Alan Binder – July 4, 2015* Clinton headlined the state Democratic Party’s annual Jefferson-Jackson event, previously a formal dinner but this year held as a campaign event at George Mason University’s Patriot Center with general admission at $30. The New Hampshire poll shows that many Democrats are responding favorably to Clinton’s candidacy, including 74% who say they have a positive impression of her. She also is more trusted to handle the economy and health care, two of the leading domestic issues in the contest. A fired-up Clinton then seemingly spoke directly at the 13 declared Republican presidential hopefuls. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), who has said repeatedly that she will not run for president but was still being included in polls at that point. “Hillary Clinton’s early numbers had been higher than they reasonably could have been expected to remain”, Smith said. “Equality triumphed, America triumphed”. Vice President Joe Biden clocks in at 8 percent, with 2 percent or less supporting Martin O’Malley, Jim Webb and Lincoln Chafee. Clinton has the money, the infrastructure, and the support from other prominent Democrats that Sanders lacks, but the Vermont senator has advantages, too: enthusiasm at the grassroots, the flexibility that comes with being a one-man band, and the ability to position himself as a scrappy underdog and outsider. Clinton is seeing her strong lead over Sen. As a senator, Clinton backed civil unions and partner benefits for same-sex couples, and came out in favor of same-sex marriage in 2013, shortly before the Court struck down a key provision of the 1996 law. “The solution is for Congress to admit they screwed up, repeal the ‘nightmare of Obamacare, ‘ and let states road-test real health care reforms”, he said in a statement. Ex- Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, who is seeking the GOP presidential nomination, also blasted the court’s ruling. Neither governor would be able to do anything to stop same-sex marriage in their state if the high court rules it is a constitutional right. Friday’s ruling is just one more step in securing equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, she said. But she said she was looking forward to the Clinton rally, especially because “we don’t have to dress up”. Yet it is important to remember that Obama and Clinton both opposed marriage equality as late as early 2012. She also ripped Republicans for recently voting against allowing the Centers for Disease Control to study gun violence. Mrs. Clinton asked “How can you watch massacre after massacre and take that vote?” “I think that break from the pack has already begun”. “I am for Hillary”, Cho said. “This is personal for me”, said McAuliffe of Clinton. The 2016 presidential race came to Virginia on Friday evening, ushered in by the roaring voice of Gov. Terry McAuliffe introducing Hillary Clinton. While we celebrate today, our work won’t be finished until every American cannot only marry, but live, work, pray, learn and raise a family free from discrimination and prejudice. Despite her “crush”, the outspoken entertainer and LGBT rights activist said she’s “long been” a fan of Clinton: “I had a hard time sort of deciding between Hillary and Obama”. His fundraising efforts helped bankroll the campaigns of both Clinton and her husband, ex- President Bill Clinton. But most of all…because Hillary Clinton is a tenacious fighter. *Hillary Clinton shrugs off heckler while GOP candidates meet voters in New Hampshire, Iowa for Fourth of July campaigning <http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/presidential-candidates-spend-july-4-campaigning-article-1.2281759> // NY Daily News // Dennis Slattery – July 4, 2015* Fourth of July parade routes were transformed into campaign trails Saturday as presidential candidates spent the holiday shaking hands, mingling with voters, and dealing with hecklers. Early primary states celebrating Independence Day -- including Iowa and New Hampshire -- were particularly awash in White House wannabes. Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton spent the day in the tiny hamlet of Gorham, N.H., where she was taunted by a relentless heckler with a string of grievances, including protesting her role leading the State Department during the 2012 Benghazi attacks. “Hillary, where were you at 3 a.m. when the phone rang on September 11th?” the man yelled as he followed her along the parade route. “Can you name one accomplishment at State? Just one?” Clinton shrugged off the shouter. “I’m just having a good time meeting everybody,” she told CNN. Republican candidates got into the spirit as well, with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio walking in a parade in Wolfeboro, N.H. Former Govs. Jeb Bush of Florida, Rick Perry of Texas and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island as well as South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham worked the crowd in Amherst, N.H. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley met voters in Iowa. *Clinton hears cheers and jeers <http://www.unionleader.com/article/20150705/NEWS0605/150709647> // New Hampshire Union Leader // John Koziol – July 4, 2015* GORHAM - Hillary Clinton marched in the town's historic Independence Day parade Saturday, exciting her base, provoking her detractors and in general, being met with mild amusement by the public. Preceded by a gaggle of the touring press, some of whom appeared to be filming a video documentary; inside a cordon of uniformed and plainclothes security officer; flanked by staff; and backed by sign-carrying supporters, the former first lady, U.S. senator from New York and Secretary of State walked the entire parade route from Dublin Street down to the Gorham Town Common. The Gorham parade was Clinton's third event in the North County yesterday, sandwiched in between a grassroots organizing event in Glen and a stop at the Northland Restaurant & Dairy Bar in Berlin to schmooze with patrons. Clinton is familiar with the Androscoggin Valley and Coos County, having campaigned here on the way to winning the Jan. 8, 2008, New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary and defeating then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. Obama went on to win the Democratic presidential nomination and then the presidency in 2008 and he was re-elected in 2012. Despite those victories, however, Gorham was one prize that Obama could not claim in 2008, as Clinton bested him there by 330 votes to 222. The presumptive Democratic presidential candidate for 2016 - although Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is mounting a strong challenge - Clinton yesterday saw visible signs, a few, not many, that her past will continue to be part of her future and that some people, like Sudie Francoeur and Carl Gagnon, both of Berlin, desperately do not want to see her in the Oval Office. Exercising what they said was their First Amendment right of free speech on the most hallowed of national holidays, both Francoeur and Gagnon held signs with messages that were highly critical of Clinton's role in the deaths of the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans at the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11, 2012. As he got within earshot of Clinton, Gagnon would lob verbal jabs, asking her, for example, to "tell us about when you were a poor person." One woman yelled that Clinton "oughtta be in prison, not the White House." Nonetheless, Clinton was undeterred, frequently stepping into the groups of parade watchers on either side of the road to greet individuals and to occasionally exchange some words. Francoeur said she had been a longtime Democrat but became disenchanted with what she said was its tilt toward socialism, adding that she was unhappy with Clinton in particular about what happened in Benghazi. Gagnon, who said he's attended the Gorham 4th of July parade "since childhood," said Clinton has been a failure as a public servant and therefore should not even be considered as a presidential candidate. He was dismissive of what he saw Saturday as Clinton marched down Main Street, with supporters loudly chanting her name while local residents - some parked in vehicles directly on the parade route or sitting in lawn chairs on the sidewalk - smiled and politely applauded, or occasionally let out a joyful whoop, or, less frequently, a boo. "The American election process," said Gagnon, "has now turned into a coronation." *OTHER DEMOCRATS NATIONAL COVERAGE* *DECLARED* *O’MALLEY* *Sanders, O’Malley race to be the Clinton alternative <http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/sanders-omalley-race-to-be-the-clinton-alternative/2015/07/04/ccd431ba-202a-11e5-84d5-eb37ee8eaa61_story.html?postshare=9381436039721322> // WaPo // John Wagner – July 4, 2015* COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley, two candidates vying to become the chief challenger to Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, crisscrossed Iowa over the past few days, stopping in some of the same cities and marching in small-town Fourth of July parades. But at this point in the race, they could hardly be in different places. During his swing, Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont, drew more than 2,500 people to a convention center here — a record crowd for Iowa. Supporters leapt to their feet and screamed as he decried the “grotesque level” of income inequality in the country and the outsize influence of the “billionaire class” on its politics. O’Malley’s biggest turnout during his three-day trip was 119 people, who gathered in the side room of a suburban bar outside Des Moines. The former Maryland governor’s pitch included a self-deprecating joke about how little known he remains in the state that will hold the nation’s first caucuses in February. Presidential politics are replete with candidates who get hot during the summer only to fizzle in the fall. But the early rise of Sanders — a self-described democratic socialist — underscores how hungry the progressive base of the Democratic Party is for a truly authentic alternative to Clinton. As his crowds have swelled in recent weeks, Sanders’s poll numbers have jumped in Iowa and New Hampshire. O’Malley and the other more mainstream Democratic hopefuls, meanwhile, have stalled in the low single digits. Former senator Jim Webb of Virginia, who jumped into the race Thursday, and former Rhode Island senator and governor Lincoln Chafee have also stepped forward to challenge Clinton. Scores of interviews suggest Sanders has clearly tapped into the anxieties of recession-weary voters, many of whom feel completely alienated from Washington. Echoing many others who came to see Sanders here, Steve Pinegar, a 33-year-old heating and air-conditioning technician, said he is looking for someone outside the establishment and said he thinks that Sanders is the only candidate for the Democratic nomination who is speaking to him. “I don’t want to vote for anyone who’s part of the grand scheme,” Pinegar said, adding that he has grown disillusioned with President Obama’s lack of progress on working-class issues. “I was all hopey-changey last time, but I’m done with that. . . . I feel like me and Bernie Sanders, we could go have lunch and talk about the issues.” Much of Sanders’s hour-long stump speech focuses on issues that could affect the wallets of workers like Pinegar. Sanders wants to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. He wants to guarantee family leave, sick time and vacation time — Americans are working too long, he says. He wants to make college free. And he promises that as president he would make corporations and the wealthy pay more in taxes while trying to cut taxes for those in lower brackets. “The greed of the billionaire class and corporate America is destroying this great country,” Sanders said Friday night, offering one of a few dozen lines that produced sustained applause from a crowd that included many Nebraskans from across the river. Building on momentum Some of Sanders’s largest audiences lately have been in states without early nominating contests, including in Madison, Wis., where he attracted 10,000 people Wednesday. It was clear from the outset of the race that there would be a bloc of non-Clinton voters, and polling suggests that Sanders — at least for now — has managed to corral most of them. That includes Democrats who were pining to see Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a darling of the left, get into the race. She has suggested recently that she might campaign for Sanders. A Quinnipiac University poll released last week showed Clinton drawing 52 percent of likely Democratic caucusgoers in Iowa, with Sanders at 33 percent. O’Malley lagged with 3 percent, followed by Webb and Chafee, with 1 percent each. Sanders’s numbers have been higher in New Hampshire, where voters are more familiar with him, given his representation of neighboring Vermont. A recent poll from the Granite State showed Sanders trailing Clinton by eight percentage points. Joe Trippi, a longtime Democratic strategist, said Sanders’s challenge will be to build on the momentum he has established and show that he can demonstrate a broader appeal than just to the party’s left wing. “If you’re going to run a campaign based on ‘I’m further to the left of the establishment,’ there’s a ready-made audience,” said Trippi, who