Home > Work > What Happened
61 " Time is the coin of your life. You spend it. Do not allow others to spend it for you. "
― Hillary Rodham Clinton , What Happened
62 " It is hard to be a woman. You must think like a man, Act like a lady, Look like a young girl, And work like a horse. —A sign that hangs in my house "
63 " For a candidate, a leader, or anyone, really, the question is not “Are you flawed?” It’s “What do you do about your flaws?” Do you learn from your mistakes so you can do and be better in the future? Or do you reject the hard work of self-improvement and instead tear others down so you can assert they’re as bad or worse than you are? "
64 " When people feel left out, left behind, and left without options, the deep void will be filled by anger and resentment or depression and despair about those who supposedly took away their livelihood or cut in line.Trump brilliantly tapped into all these feelings. "
65 " Will we ever have a woman President? We will.I hope I'll be around to vote for her--assuming I agree with her agenda. She'll have to earn my vote based on her qualifications and ideas, just like anyone else.When that day comes, I believe that my two presidential campaigns will have helped pave the way for her. We did not win, but we made the sight of a woman nominee more familiar. We brought the possibility of a woman president closer. We helped bring into the mainstream the idea of a woman leader for our country. That's a big deal, and everyone who played a role in making that happen should be deeply proud. This was worth it. I will never think otherwise. This fight was worth it. "
66 " Our democracy has built-in defenses that keep us strong and healthy, including the checks and balances written into our Constitution. Our Founding Fathers believed that one of the most important defenses would be an informed citizenry that could make sound judgments based on facts and reason. Losing that is like losing an immune system, leaving a democracy vulnerable to all manner of attack. And a democracy, like a body, cannot stay strong through repeated injuries. "
67 " Picking the midpoint between two sides, no matter how extreme one of them is, isn't balanced. It's false equivalence. "
68 " My advice would be simple: Don’t let the bastards get you down. "
69 " I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas, but what I decided to do was pursue my profession. "
70 " Democrats need to catch up and leapfrog ahead. And this isn’t just about data. We need an “always-on” content distribution network that can match what the right-wing has built. That means an array of loosely connected Facebook pages, Instagram accounts, Twitter feeds, Snapchat stories, and Reddit communities churning out memes, graphics, and videos. More sophisticated data collection and analysis can support and feed this network. I’m no expert in these matters, but I know enough to understand that most people get their news from screens, so we have to be there 24/7. "
71 " We need our politics to resemble our people. On the people who run our cities, states, and country overwhelmingly look a certain way (say, white and male) and overwhelmingly have a shared background (wealthy, privileged) we end up with laws and policies that don’t come close to addressing the realities of Americans lives. And since that’s a basic requirement of government, it’s a pretty big things to get wrong. In other words, representation matters. "
72 " Too many saw the world in zero-sum terms, believing that gains made by fellow Americans they viewed as “other”—people of color, immigrants, women, LGBT people, Muslims—were not earned and must be coming at someone’s expense. "
73 " Someone sent me a Facebook post that summed up the dynamic in which we were caught:BERNIE: I think America should get a pony.HILLARY: How will you pay for the pony? Where will the pony come from? How will you get Congress to agree to the pony?BERNIE: Hillary thinks America doesn't deserve a pony.BERNIE SUPPORTERS: Hillary hates ponies!HILLARY: Actually, I love ponies.BERNIE SUPPORTERS: She changed her position on ponies! #whichhillary #witchhillaryHEADLINE: 'Hillary Refuses to Give Every American a Pony"DEBATE MODERATOR: Hillary, how do you feel when people say you lie about ponies?WEBSITE HEADLINE: 'Congressional Inquiry into Clinton's Pony Lies'TWITTER TRENDING: #ponygate "
74 " And, practicing “radical empathy” means more than trying to reach across divides of race, class, and politics, and building bridges between communities. We have to fill the emotional and spiritual voids that have opened up within communities, within families, and within ourselves as individuals. That can be even more difficult, but it’s essential. There’s grace to be found in those relationships. Grace and meaning and that elusive sense that we’re all part of something bigger than ourselves. "
75 " If you are tired, keep going. If you are scared, keep going. If you are hungry, keep going. If you want to taste freedom, keep going. —Harriet Tubman "
76 " In the nearly fifty years since, it’s become a mantra for me and our family that, win or lose, it’s important to “get caught trying.” Whether you’re trying to win an election or pass a piece of legislation that will help millions of people, build a friendship or save a marriage, you’re never guaranteed success. But you are bound to try. Again and again and again. "
77 " Senator John McCain of Arizona came over and gave me a hug. He seemed nearly as distraught as I was. "
78 " For me, it always comes back to children. The one core belief I’ve articulated more often and more fervently than any other in all my years in public life is that every child deserves the chance to live up to his or her God-given potential. I’ve said that line so many times, I’ve lost count. But the idea remains as powerful and motivating for me as ever. I continue to believe that a society should be judged by how we treat the most vulnerable among us, especially children, and that the measure of our success should be how many kids climb out of poverty, get a good education, and receive the love and support they deserve. "
79 " Instead of making history and electing the first woman President, they now had to face a stinging rebuke and come to terms with the fact that the country had just elected someone who objectified women and bragged about sexual assault. "
80 " But Donald Trump didn’t invent sexism, and its impact on our politics goes far beyond this one election. "