HILLARY CLINTON IS IN CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA.
SHE
IS AT A FUNDRAISER AT A PRIVATE RESIDENCE.
YOUTH ACTIVIST ASHLEY
WILLIAMS DECIDED THAT HER AND HER FRIEND WILL PAY THEIR WAY IN
SO THEY CAN PROTEST HILLARY CLINTON TO HER FACE.
WHOA.
THEY
PAID THE $500, THEY GOT IN, THEY GOT CLOSE TO HER.
AS YOU WILL
SEE A LITTLE BIT, SHE IS GIVING A SPEECH, AND THEY WILL BRING UP
THE ISSUE OF WHAT SHE SAID BACK IN THE 1990S ABOUT SUPER
PREDATORS.
THAT WAS A LOADED TERM THAT PEOPLE GENERALLY USED
AGAINST AFRICAN-AMERICANS, IN THIS CASE THEY WERE TALKING
ABOUT AFRICAN-AMERICAN KIDS.
AND I DON'T WANT YOU TO GET THE
WRONG IDEA, I WANT YOU TO HEAR FROM HILLARY CLINTON BACK IN THE
90S FIRST SO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS ABOUT, THEN I WILL SHOW YOU
WHAT ASHLEY WILLIAMS DID.
I WANT YOU TO HAVE THE CONTEXT FIRST.
THIS WAS HILLARY CLINTON ARGUING IN FAVOR OF THE CRIME BILL THAT
BILL CLINTON DID PASS INTO LAW THAT AMONG OTHER THINGS DID
THREE STRIKES AND YOU'RE OUT AND LOADED UP OUR PRISONS AND BROKE
EVERY RECORD WE HAD ON INCARCERATION RATES.
IT HAD
TREMENDOUS REAL-WORLD EFFECTS, AND THIS WAS HER ARGUING IN
FAVOR OF IT.
-- NOT JUST GANGS OF KIDS ANYMORE, THEY ARE OFTEN THE KIND
OF KIDS WHO ARE CALLED SUPER PREDATORS.
NO CONSCIENCE, NO
EMPATHY.
WE CAN TALK ABOUT WHY THEY ENDED UP THAT
WAY, BUT FIRST WE HAVE TO BRING THEM TO HEEL.
AND WHEN I RAN IT FOR THE FIRST TIME I WAS BLOWN AWAY BY
SO MANY PARTS, THE RACIALLY LOADED TERM OF SUPER PREDATORS,
NO EMPATHY, NO CONSCIENCE, LIKE THEY ARE NOT HUMAN.
AND THEN
BRING THEM TO HEEL, THAT IS UGLY.
THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT
ASHLEY WILLIAMS WROTE ON HER PROTEST SIGN.
NOW LET'S SEE WHAT HAPPENED IN THAT ROOM AND SHE BEGAN
THAT PROTEST.
-- MAKE SURE THAT SOUTH CAROLINA BECAME THE FIRST STATE WITH BODY
CAMERAS.
THERE IS MORE WORK TO BE DONE, BUT WE HAVE TO LAY DOWN
THESE MARKERS, BUILDS TOWARD COMMON SENSE GUN REFORM,
CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM, AND ALL THE LIKE.
SO I THINK WE HAVE GOT
A VERY -- I THINK WE HAVE SOMEBODY SAYING HERE, WE HAVE TO
BRING THEM TO HEEL.
I WANT YOU TO APOLOGIZE FOR MASS INCARCERATION.
I'M NOT A SUPER PREDATOR.
CAN YOU APOLOGIZE TO BLACK PEOPLE FOR MASS INCARCERATION?
CAN I TALK?
AND THEN MAYBE WE CAN TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVE TO
SAY.
THERE ARE A LOT OF ISSUES IN THIS CAMPAIGN.
THE FIRST
SPEECH I GAVE BACK IN APRIL WAS ABOUT CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM.
YOU CALLED BLACK PEOPLE SUPER PREDATORS.
YOU'RE BEING RUDE.
THIS IS NOT APPROPRIATE.
DO YOU WANT TO JUST TALK?
I KNOW THAT YOU CALLED BLACK PEOPLE SUPER PREDATORS IN 1994.
PLEASE EXPLAIN.
EXPLAIN IT TO US.
YOU OWE BLACK PEOPLE AN APOLOGY.
EXCUSE US, THAT IS INAPPROPRIATE.
IF YOU GIVE ME A CHANCE TO TALK, I WILL --
NOBODY HAS EVER ASKED ME BEFORE, YOU ARE THE FIRST PERSON
TO ASK ME AND I'M HAPPY TO ADDRESS IT, BUT YOU ARE THE
FIRST PERSON TO ASK ME, DEAR.
OKAY, BACK TO THE ISSUES.
NOT THE RIGHT WAY TO HANDLE IT.
ALL THE PEOPLE IN THE
BACKGROUND -- INAPPROPRIATE.
VERY RUDE.
IT WAS ALSO
INAPPROPRIATE AND RUDE TO LOCK UP ALL THOSE YOUNG BLACK GUYS
AND BREAK EVERY RECORD IN INCARCERATION THAT THE CLINTONS
DID.
I WOULD CALL THAT A LITTLE WORSE THAN INAPPROPRIATE AND
RUDE.
IF YOU THOUGHT THAT THEY HAD COMMITTED SERIOUS CRIMES,
NOBODY WILL ARGUE WITH YOU.
THAT IS NOT THE CONVERSATION.
BUT YOU
KNOW WHAT THEY DID.
FIRST STRIKE WAS WHATEVER, SOME WERE SERIOUS,
SOME WERE LIGHT.
I REMEMBER WE COVERED THE STORIES BACK IN THE
DAY, STEALING A SLICE OF PIZZA.
SOME WERE SERIOUS, STEALING A
CAR.
BUT A LOT OF THOSE STRIKES WERE DRUG POSSESSION.
SOMEBODY
HAD A JOINT ON THEM, SOMEBODY HAD THIS OR THAT ON THEM.
AND
EVEN THOUGH BLACKS AND WHITES DID DRUGS AT THE SAME RATE, AND
THAT IS A FACT PROVEN OUT BY STUDIES, BLACKS WERE LOCKED UP
AT FOUR TIMES THE RATE.
THAT WAS UNDER THE CLINTONS.
AND THEN
FOLLOWED UP BY GEORGE W. BUSH.
THAT IS AS LEGITIMATE A QUESTION
AS YOU CAN HAVE.
WHEN YOU USE THAT RACIALLY LOADED LANGUAGE TO
PUSH THIS ODIOUS BILL THROUGH, CAN YOU ANSWER FOR THAT?
THE
ONLY THING I WOULD TWEAK ABOUT HOW ASHLEY WILLIAMS DID IT, AND
I THINK WHAT SHE DID OVERALL IS WONDERFUL, IS SHE AGGRESSIVELY
ASKED THAT QUESTION, AND THEN I WOULD HAVE LET HILLARY TRY TO
ANSWER IT.
AS IT TURNS OUT, SHE DIDN'T ANSWER IT AT ALL.
AND
THEN DO A FOLLOW-UP.
YOU PAY $500, YOU HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO BE
IN THAT ROOM.
ISN'T THAT AMAZING?
DONORS GET TO BE IN THERE AS
LONG AS YOU PLAY PATTYCAKE, BUT IF YOU PAID A $500 AND YOU ASK
AN AGGRESSIVE QUESTION, YOU HAVE TO GO.
YOU GIVE THEM AN OPENING
TO REMOVE YOU IF YOU DON'T LET HER GIVE YOU THE ANSWER.
I WOULD
HAVE PREFERRED THAT THEY WENT BACK AND FORTH, THAT WOULD HAVE
BEEN VERY, VERY INTERESTING AND INSTRUCTIVE.
NOW SOME PEOPLE ARE
SAYING SHE SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE IT AT ALL, ASHLEY WILLIAMS.
ARE
YOU CRAZY?
WHO WAS TALKING ABOUT THIS?
WE WERE.
I DIDN'T SEE
ANYBODY IN THE ESTABLISHMENT MEDIA TALKING ABOUT IT.
THE ONLY
PERSON BRINGING IT UP WAS THE FORMER HEAD OF THE NAACP.
SHE
FOUND A WAY TO BRING IT TO THE NATIONAL STAGE.
PERFECT, SHE
EVEN PAID TO GET IN THERE.
WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT FROM HER?
SO
NOW, LIKE I SAID, I DISAGREE A TINY BIT WITH HOW SHE DID IT,
BUT OVERALL I LOVE THAT SHE HAD THE COURAGE TO DO IT.
HILLARY
CLINTON, HOW ABOUT HER?
HOW WAS YOUR REACTION?
EVERYBODY IS OF
COURSE TALKING ABOUT YEAH, ACTIVISTS, BLACK LIVES MATTER
PEOPLE -- SHE DIDN'T EVEN SAY SHE WAS WITH BLACK LIVES MATTER.
YOU KNOW HOW THEY ARE.
NO, I DON'T KNOW HOW THEY ARE.
HERE IS
WHAT I KNOW, THEY ARE GETTING SHOT AND KILLED, AND IN THE
CLINTON YEARS, THANKS TO THE LOBBYING OF HILLARY CLINTON,
THEY WERE GETTING LOCKED UP FOR THINGS THAT WHITE PEOPLE DID
TOO, BUT THEY DIDN'T GET LOCKED UP FOR.
HILLARY CLINTON'S
REACTION IS, YOU KNOW WHAT?
ARE YOU GOING TO LET ME FINISH?
AND
I GET THAT PART -- BUT THEN THEY ESCORT HER OUT, AND SHE SAYS
NOBODY EVER ASKED ME THAT QUESTION.
ACTUALLY, OTHER BLACK
LIVES MATTER ASKED HER ABOUT IT.
WHY DON'T YOU TAKE A MOMENT TO
STOP THE SECRET SERVICE AND SAY HOLD ON, I WANT TO ANSWER YOUR
QUESTION, PLEASE STAY WITH ME.
IF YOU KEEP TALKING, BY THE
NATURE OF THIS, BECAUSE THERE ARE 99 OTHER PEOPLE, THEY WILL
REMOVE YOU, BUT I WANT TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION.
BUT SHE DIDN'T DO
THAT, SHE JUST LET THEM TAKE HER OUT OF THE BUILDING.
SHE PAID
HER WAY IN, SHE KEPT THE MONEY -- ARE YOU GOING TO GIVE THE
MONEY BACK TO ASHLEY WILLIAMS?
THAT IS ANOTHER QUESTION.
AND
SHE NEVER ANSWERED THE QUESTION.
THAT IS BECAUSE IT IS A HARD
QUESTION TO ANSWER.
TODAY, AFTER THINKING ABOUT IT FOR A LONG
TIME, HAVING THIS BE IN THE NEWS, FINALLY SHE CAME OUT AND,
GUESS WHAT?
SHE ACKNOWLEDGED IT AND APOLOGIZED.
AND ALL THESE
PEOPLE WHO WERE DEFENDING HILLARY CLINTON WHEN WE FIRST
RAN A STORY -- THAT IS UNFAIR, THAT IS NOT TRUE -- APPARENTLY
HILLARY CLINTON DIDN'T THINK IT WAS UNFAIR.
SHE DID DO THAT.
HERE IS HER APOLOGY --
IN THAT SPEECH I WAS TALKING ABOUT THE IMPACT THAT VIOLENT
CRIME AND VICIOUS DRUG CARTELS WERE HAVING ON COMMUNITIES
ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND THE PARTICULAR DANGER THEY POSED TO
CHILDREN AND FAMILIES.
LOOKING BACK, I SHOULDN'T HAVE USED
THOSE WORDS, AND I WOULDN'T USE THEM TODAY.
I'M GLAD SHE ISSUED THAT APOLOGY, AND THE HASHTAG WAS
#WHICHHILLARY.
SOME OF YOU HAVE SEEN THOSE VIDEOS, SHE SAYS ONE
THING THEN ANOTHER.
ON GAY MARRIAGE, SHE WAS OPPOSED, THEN
SHE WAS FOR IT.
AND WE HAVE SEEN THAT IN A HALF A DOZEN PROMINENT
CASES.
IN THIS CASE, SUPER PREDATORS, BRING THEM TO HEEL.
NOW I NEED BLACK VOTERS IN SOUTH CAROLINA, NOW I SHOULDN'T
HAVE USED THAT LANGUAGE.
#WHICHHILLARY.
NOW LET'S GO TO
ASHLEY WILLIAMS ONE MORE TIME.
THEY ASKED HER, WHY DID YOU DO
IT?
SHE SAID --
THAT SEEMS LIKE A FAIR QUESTION.
THEN SHE WENT ON TO
SAY --
SOME ARE FINALLY ASKING, WAIT A MINUTE, THERE WERE SOME ISSUES
IN 2008 THAT WERE UNCOMFORTABLE WHEN SHE WAS RUNNING AGAINST
PRESIDENT OBAMA.
THAT IS COMING TO THE FRONT.
CORNELL WEST WAS
ON CNN, BROTHER WEST WAS ON CNN YESTERDAY, TALKING ABOUT SOME OF
THE PROMINENT AFRICAN-AMERICANS WHO ARE SUPPORTING HILLARY
CLINTON ALL OVER TV, AND HE SAID THEY ARE A NEO-POLITICAL BLACK
POLITICAL CLASS THAT CONFUSES THE FREEDOM TRAIN FOR THE GRAVY
TRAIN.
BROTHER WEST, DROPPING THE HAMMER ON THOSE GUYS.
NOW
PEOPLE ARE SAYING LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT HER RECORD AND SEE WHAT
WE FIND.
NO WONDER HILLARY CLINTON FINDS THAT UNCOMFORTABLE
AND WOULD LIKE TO HAVE YOU ESCORTED FROM THE BUILDING.
THIS
IS AN ISSUE THAT WILL NOT PASS, IT IS A SIGNIFICANT ISSUE FOR
HILLARY CLINTON, AND IT MIGHT LEAD TO HER UNRAVELING.
IT MIGHT
NOT HAPPEN IN SOUTH CAROLINA, BUT THE MORE THIS REALITY COMES
OUT, THE BIGGER TROUBLE SHE IS IN, BECAUSE THAT IS HER RECORD.