Hillary Clinton

HRC GROUP POST

https://bangordailynews.com/2015/08/23/opinion/contributors/behind-titles-hillary-clinton-is-the-passionate-champion-we-need/

Author: Democratic state Rep. Ryan Fecteau of Biddeford, 22, is serving in his first term in the Maine House of Representatives.

By Ryan Fecteau, Special to the BDN -
Posted Aug. 23, 2015, at 12:04 p.m.
First Lady. United States senator from New York. Secretary of State.

All high-profile roles and all avenues through which the American people came to know Hillary Clinton. In one way or another, we all know her and have observed how strongly she advocates for the American people at the local, state, national and global levels.

Notwithstanding those achievements, their limelight can cause one to forget Hillary Clinton began her political career in grassroots movements that yielded her no prominent political fame while improving the lives of Americans who most desperately needed a champion.

I was privileged to hear her speak about this at an event in 2013 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. She recalled her time in law school, when she went door to door for the Children’s Defense Fund, surveying families about why so many children were not attending school.

“I found some children weren’t in school because they had to work to help support the family,” she said. “But I mostly found children with disabilities, who in those days were not really welcome in our schools, children whose families couldn’t afford the wheelchair or the hearing aid … that might have made it possible for [their child] to attend school.” The data collected by Clinton and her colleagues resulted in the organization’s first report, called “Children Out of School in America.” As a result, Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act in 1975.

That is the Hillary Clinton who would represent the American people as president of the United States, someone who will roll up her sleeves, grab a clipboard and assist in paving the way for children, including those with disabilities, to receive an education.

While reflecting on past accomplishments, I heard from a leader in 2013 who was then and is now keenly aware of our country’s most pressing challenges. “Today in America, more than 16 million children live in poverty, the highest percentage since the 1990s,” she noted. Peel back the high-profile roles, and at her core Hillary Clinton is a resolute woman passionate about children, education and working-class families. The United States needs a champion like her.

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Hard working. Coalition builder. People’s champion. Titles aside, these are more apt descriptors of Clinton. Even in the Oval Office, we can expect she will roll up her sleeves and fight the good fight for my family and yours.