And no, I do not lie in the titles of my posts:
Look, that’s me (secondish row back, second from left, white shirt, brown hair)!!! With Hillary Clinton!!!
[Feministe Readers: for those who don't read my other blog, last week I attended the Planned Parenthood Organizing and Policy Summit. I wrote about the first day here and may be posting one or two more entries later on at the Curvature.]
When we went to lobby day at the Hill, I was more or less expecting the same thing I’ve seen when lobbying in Albany. State legislators don’t usually bother showing up for those meetings (and in terms of trying to get anything done, this is usually for the better), so I certainly wasn’t expecting Hillary Clinton to attend our little lobby visit.
So imagine my surprise and little freak out when we were briefed before our visit about what was going to happen after Senator Clinton came into the room.
Kathy and I outside of Clinton’s office
We went up for our visit (btw, security at the Senators’ offices is seemingly much more lax than at the airport . . .) and met with two of Clinton’s aides, who apparently work specifically with reproductive issues. They were very cool, and knew their shit — which is certainly a difference from state lobbying visits I’ve been on, where the person you’re meeting with might not understand your issue at all. They were very proud to tell us that Senator Clinton had taken the lead in combating the Bush HHS proposal to restrict women’s access to reproductive health services.
And when she entered the room, so was Hillary! It was kind of funny . . . we had been meeting with her aides for over half an hour, and it felt like the meeting was winding up. No Clinton. So I think that most of us were thinking “oh, I guess that she’s not going to make it.” When the door opened, everyone sat up really straight, only to see a total stranger behind it. And then *poof*! There she was! She just seemed to magically appear in the doorway like David Copperfield or something. And then she received a spontaneous standing ovation. For real — it totally wasn’t planned, but everyone in the room seemed to rise to their feet and begin applauding at exactly the same time.
Senator Clinton was extremely nice, charismatic and came off as very sincere. She talked with us in the room for certainly longer than I was expecting — probably 10 or 15 minutes. Now, most of that time I spent thinking “oh my god, that’s Hillary Clinton, oh my god, that’s Hillary Clinton . . .” so while I was attempting to listen very closely, my memory of what exactly she said is a little fuzzy. I do remember that she spoke out very adamantly against the proposed Bush HHS rule, occasionally shaking her head and laughing in semi-disbelief, and listened very carefully to the concerns vocalized in the room. She praised the work that Planned Parenthood does and thanked us for it. Clinton also chatted with some of the staff directly involved in political advocacy about NY state politics — and I was honestly very surprised and impressed that she knew what was going on at the local level, discussing how there is a new Senate Majority leader, how we just might be able to flip the Senate this year to a Democratic majority, and wondering which seats specifically we were targeting. For a Senator who has never actually been a member of the state legislature, I thought that was kind of cool.
When it was explained to Clinton that the room was so damn full because everyone there had really wanted the opportunity to meet/thank her, her face really lit up and she seemed genuinely happy and appreciative. She talked a bit about her presidential run, the sexism in the media, and how we still have a tough fight ahead in November. But she smiled, laughed and cracked jokes a lot during our visit.
Then as things were winding up, Clinton went back to discussing the HHS proposal, reiterating her strong opposition and talking strategy, saying something along the lines of “you know, we really ought to do a press conference together. Maybe in NYC — I know that it affects all New Yorkers, but we would want to go where the media is — maybe a hospital or something really visual to drive the point home.” To be entirely, perfectly honest, I thought that she was just bullshitting. I mean, people say things like this all the time in everyday life without having any real intentions of following through, so I didn’t exactly think that a Senator tossing out the idea of a potential press conference at some unspecified point in the future was actually going to go anywhere. So, um, I was pretty damn surprised when I learned the next day that a few people who were in that room and at the summit were running around trying to get a press conference ready for that Friday. A press conference which they pulled off within 48 hours of Senator Clinton seemingly spontaneously throwing the idea out there.
Clinton with an aide and Family Planning Advocates president Joann Smith (left)
Of course, my favorite part of the whole thing was after the official portion of the visit was over. We went to go take a photograph — Clinton was nice enough to offer the photograph so that we didn’t have to look like a bunch of giddy fangirls asking for one, but without sounding smug or like she was doing us some sort of favor. She was very down-to-earth, personally suggesting that we put our purses down for the photo when we looked a little awkward lining up on the stairs. And as we both came and went, she shook the hand of everyone who approached her. I was one of the last people to get to do so, and we both kind of said “thank you” to each other at the same time, and she did the whole gripping my arm with the other hand and everything. Yes, I felt like jumping up and down excitedly. And yes, I did, once she left and I saw that everyone else was already having that same reaction.
That would have been my favorite part of the trip. And that will commence my bragging.
[For those wondering, I have indeed been very critical of Hillary Clinton in the past. I stand entirely by those criticisms. That doesn't mean I don't still greatly admire her and appreciate having her as a senator. There are many people I have very strongly criticized who I would be absolutely thrilled to meet, in a just might pass out sort of way. Barack Obama and Paul McCartney immediately come to mind.]
Thank you to Robin and Susan for the photographs.
Thanks for sharing your experience! She is my state senator and she is wonderful! I am not the least bit surprised that she knew alot about NY on the local level; both her and Schumer are very active in our local politics. This makes sense since they represent the state. It also does not surprise me that she had her staff set up a press conference already. Quite a few people I know, some military veterans, contact her office with any problem and they say she is prompt and effective. She never lets anyone down and seems to not follow staus quo government lack of follow through. Or is this how women lead?
I only wish she would run for Governor of NY; she would do so many great things for our state. Personally I have not been happy with the last 3 governors or the current one. Obama better make her V.P.
How wonderful for you! Stories like this make me blub.
so jealous. i love hillary clinton.
Reading this made me happy for you, Cara — and sad, of course, because (and this is in no way a slam of Barack), I’m reminded again on how much we’re missing out on in not having a chance to have her as our president. She’d be so marvelous. Long may she serve.
Wow! I’m jealous! Thanks for sharing a great experience with us.
That’s really, really awesome! Reading your postscript about having been critical of her but still being completely thrilled to meet her was funny, because I was sitting here reading and realizing that despite preferring Obama to Clinton for the nomination and having general beef with her about some of her positions, I was also all vicariously giddy. How cool to have gotten to meet such an amazing woman and important person, and in such a substantial way! (Not just a passing handshake during a parade or something.)
Also, that’s great that she actually made good on the press conference plan. I think I would’ve been skeptical myself.
OMG, I cannot believe you are sticking your boobs out so Senator Clinton can look at them! And wearing a white shirt. WHITE! And brown hair!! What is it with you women bloggers and the Clintons, anyway?
/attempted tongue-in-cheek Boobgate reference ;)
Congrats! I am so jealous; I was a huge Clinton supporter. That sounds like an amazing opportunity. Great post.
Why is she always late? Why doesn’t anybody mind that she’s always late? Why wouldn’t she be nice to you? I’m sure you were very nice to her too.
CC, I’m not sure how one can be late to an event she has not promised to attend. She apparently said that she would very much like to be there and do her best to show up, but didn’t make any promises. She’s a senator — their schedules change very quickly. Would we hold it against her if she was called down to the floor for a vote? She also apologized for being “late” to the meeting she had not promised to attend.
I noted her nicess because:
1. That’s what people tend to do when they meet someone and are asked about their impressions of a person. It’s a pretty standard reaction.
2. People often assume famous people to be jerks in real life, and therefore feel it is notable when they are not
3. This is particularly so when the person is, as I noted in the post extremely nice. There’s a difference between being simply pleasant and going out of your way to be very accommodating and gracious. Clinton did the latter, which I felt made it notable, and particularly so since she’s often portrayed in the media as some kind of “shrill psycho bitch.”
Any other questions?
Is it just me or does she look lighter somehow, as though she doesn’t have the weight of the campaign on her anymore? Her smile seems more relaxed and easy. It’s funny how for all the talk about how terrible she is nobody has ever really had an incident that could be confirmed when she was behaving horribly.
Good for you that you got to meet her.
Wow, thanks for sharing such a great story! Don’t worry, I’m like you too, I get all fan-girlish around famous politicians. Haha what’s up with that? :-)
That’s so awesome, I’m so happy for you. I love ALL the genuinely giddy smiles in the photos!
i agree with justin, she looks like shes glowing in those photos, like she knos that despite not getting the nomination she is going to make a real difference in washington now. i wasnt a supporter but im super excited by the work shes doing now.
and to be shallow for a second, i really really like the suit shes wearing, the fabric is gorgeous.
Awesome! Actually what drew me to Clinton after sitting on the fence for so long was being able to see her at Yearly Kos last summer (Jill snuck me in). She’s so fantastic in person, and I have yet to see it translate via the usual conduits.
So exciting!! Clinton is my senator too, and she does great work up in Albany. That’s really nice to hear that she was up on the issues you were lobbying for — although not surprising, given (1) her history of women’s rights advocacy, and (2) her reputation for being “the smartest girl in the senate” who always actually reads the legislation she’s voting on.
And like Lauren said, she is awesome in person, and it doesn’t translate all that well on TV. I met her two years ago at the Clinton Global Initiative with three or four other bloggers, and then saw her at YearlyKos with Lauren, and she is damn good. Regardless of how one voted in the primary, Clinton definitely deserves a lot of credit for the great work she’s done. And I’m glad she’ll be around to continue to do great work in NY.
omg that’s so awesome.
I like that Hillary’s back from the campaign, and working on women’s reproductive rights. We all read that essay she had on HuffPo/ RHCheck, and it was fantastic. It reminded me why I like her.
I’m very jealous.
I love her! Blub!
Well, dropping in here for the first time and leaving a semi-critical comment is going to make me sound like a troll, but trust me I’ve been in the movement for nearly 20 years and I have had very similar experiences. And this is what I want to say:
You met the real Hillary Clinton. Not the same-old, same-old, Bush-lite, corrupt, shallow, “ambitious” gold-digger presented by the Obama campaign. And while Obama is out there courting the religious right and the Bubba vote, Hillary will be working her heart out – just as she has always done – fighting to make sure you are respected as a human being and not just an object with female parts.
I’m really disappointed to hear that you can see a situation so up close, know the issues, and still the guy who voted present is the better leader (and don’t give me that Pam Sutherland crap, I know Pam and Steve and they are both full of it).
That said, keep up the good work in Albany – a tough joint, but maybe a bit better without Bruno. You’re doing great work. Stay strong.
Sorry to be so bitter – that’s how this old white lady rolls these days.
I am so sad that I missed that picture! I was hanging out in the women’s restroom. Damn cooks serving me non-vegan mashed potatoes… For the record, I was thinking, “Oh my goddess, it’s Hillary Clinton…AHHH!” the whole time, too. It even made me forget that I was feeling really, really ill. Oh, I love Hillary. She was just fabulous that day, too!
Yes, Cara, I do have another question, are you kidding? I’m glad that you enjoyed your time, that said, when you are greeted with an impromptu standing ovation, are you nice? Of course you are.
I don’t assume that famous people are jerks, or anything other than famous.
A Senator is not a first responder, they really don’t have any more emergencies than any other human being.
I am glad that you enjoyed your time, and while being a good guest is important, it is not special. Get some self esteem.
Yeah I’ll totally do that CC (as soon as you get a life beyond telling people to get some self esteem because they noted that a person is nice). Thanks for the advice or I’d just spend all of my days worshiping at the feet of legislators. Whew, close call there. On two fronts, because I almost got through a thread without a headache . . .
I’m not angry with you. You had a right to expect a good guest. You don’t know anything about me. Also, you haven’t asked.
If you have the opportunity to reread your post in the autumn, I think you’ll better understand my point.
CC, you are trolling. You may not believe you are (though I think you do), but you are. You don’t like Clinton? Fine. Picking holes in a story about Cara being happy to meet her? Oh for christ’s sake.
Dear Cara, I enjoyed the post very much, but what I really picked up on is the photo. What a bunch of smiling happy-looking people you were in that shot.
I didn’t pick any hole in anything. My only point is that non-famous people have a right to expect their comrades, even famous ones, are on the same page. I’m glad Cara enjoyed the meeting. There’s nothing wrong with Cara enjoying the meeting. Nobody who was working with Cara on anything, had any right to not be nice to Cara, or anybody else.
I never said that anyone did have the right to not be nice to me. I have no idea where you’re getting that from, but you’re randomly reading a hell of a lot into very little. If Clinton had been not nice, I would have said “Hillary Clinton acted like a major asshole.” If you read my previous posts, you’ll see that I have no problem saying such things about Clinton when I feel that they’re warranted. Instead, she was very nice, so I said “Hillary Clinton was extremely nice.” See how that works? Here’s an example: if I met you and you were nice, and someone asked me what you were like — as people variably would have asked me about Clinton — I would say “sie was very nice.” If you were behaving as you’re behaving now, I would say “sie acted like an asshole for no good reason.”
Now, this is one of the most ridiculous conversations I’ve ever had, so I’m entirely done with engaging you.
Now that I’m done with that . . . thank you Jill :) And I agree with everyone who said that all of us in the picture look very happy — and we were!
Cara, great photo! Sounds like a great summit.
I don’t blame you one bit for getting excited about seeing a meaningful celebrity. Why not? Getting to meet someone who has made exciting news and contributions is legitimately exciting.
I think of myself as a jaded anti-fangirl, but I felt that way about meeting WJC about 10 years back. I must admit, much more embarrassingly, I was also a bit giddy about 2 celeb types I met in Vegas — Richard Gere and Ricky Williams. Neither whom I’d felt particularly eager to meet or had any kind of crush on. Gere is much older than what I typically go for, and I have zero interest in football. But both were yummy in person.
I can’t believe she’s not the nominee… Such an amazing woman.
I was born and raised in Little Rock and did not leave until graduate school in 1992. My family saw Hillary up close and personal each week for decades. She is an amazingly intelligent, charming, wonderful person…
I second everything Ciccina said above: You met the real Hillary Clinton, not the “ambitious” painful b*** presented by the right-wing, the left-wing, the Obama campaign and the media.
I’d been a regular commentor on this blog until a few months ago when it turned into painful Obama-bot-land. Now, this post was forwarded to me…
I wonder, when people actually meet/listen to Hillary Clinton and realize she doesn’t have horns, and now that we all know that all Obama does is give speeches – the same speech in different locations – I’m hoping there is a re-appraisal of her somewhere, that people turn around and say ‘ok, if the media got the part about her personality wrong, maybe they got everything else wrong as well? Maybe we shouldn’t buy the candidate that’s been sold to us by the same media that sold us the Iraq war and George Bush’s presidency?’
Wow, I would be a fangirl too. Look at her, focusing 100% on the issue and moving forward and making things happen. She’s not too good to get down in there and get to work and do her job full time and more. Love her outfit too – gorgeous color and fabric. Sigh. We should be so lucky to have a real public servant as president.
That was a really enjoyable narrative. I hope someday to meet Hillary. Just one little note: “commence” means to begin, not to end. (I know it’s confusing, because they always have “commencement” ceremonies at graduation, but it doesn’t mean the schooling is ending, it means the post-schooling is beginning). Anyway, excellent post.
Oh, I forgot to mention. PUMA!
Yaye!