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| Hillary Clinton lambasts Republican obstruction on equal pay for women | Hillary Clinton lambasts Republican obstruction on equal pay for women |
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| Hillary Clinton once more placed women’s economic issues at the center of her agenda on Wednesday, using a speech before a predominantly female audience to distinguish herself from her Republican opponents on issues such as equal pay and pay transparency. | Hillary Clinton once more placed women’s economic issues at the center of her agenda on Wednesday, using a speech before a predominantly female audience to distinguish herself from her Republican opponents on issues such as equal pay and pay transparency. |
| During keynote remarks to the South Carolina House Democratic Women’s Caucus and the South Carolina Democratic Women’s Council, Clinton made a string of thinly veiled shots at GOP presidential candidates for blocking equal pay legislation in Congress. | During keynote remarks to the South Carolina House Democratic Women’s Caucus and the South Carolina Democratic Women’s Council, Clinton made a string of thinly veiled shots at GOP presidential candidates for blocking equal pay legislation in Congress. |
| Related: Hillary Clinton says women in minimum wage jobs are 'at the mercy of employers' | Related: Hillary Clinton says women in minimum wage jobs are 'at the mercy of employers' |
| Although Clinton did not name specific candidates, she criticized comments made by three Republican presidential hopefuls: Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, who said equal pay was a “bogus issue”; Florida senator Marco Rubio, who said equal pay legislation amounted to Congress “wasting time on scoring political points”; and Kentucky senator Rand Paul, who has compared equal pay to central governance under the Soviet Union. | Although Clinton did not name specific candidates, she criticized comments made by three Republican presidential hopefuls: Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, who said equal pay was a “bogus issue”; Florida senator Marco Rubio, who said equal pay legislation amounted to Congress “wasting time on scoring political points”; and Kentucky senator Rand Paul, who has compared equal pay to central governance under the Soviet Union. |
| “To that I say, what century are they living in?” Clinton said. “We could fix this if Republicans could get on board. We could in fact fix this today, but they won’t.” | “To that I say, what century are they living in?” Clinton said. “We could fix this if Republicans could get on board. We could in fact fix this today, but they won’t.” |
| “When any parent is shortchanged, the entire family is shortchanged, and when families are shortchanged, America is shortchanged. And therefore, this is not a women’s issue, this is a family issue and an American economic issue.” | “When any parent is shortchanged, the entire family is shortchanged, and when families are shortchanged, America is shortchanged. And therefore, this is not a women’s issue, this is a family issue and an American economic issue.” |
| Outlining the policies she would support if elected president, Clinton urged the passage of equal pay legislation, known as the Paycheck Fairness Act and promoting pay transparency to provide women with information to better negotiate their earnings. Clinton also called for raising the minimum wage, pointing out that lower-paying jobs were disproportionately held by women. | Outlining the policies she would support if elected president, Clinton urged the passage of equal pay legislation, known as the Paycheck Fairness Act and promoting pay transparency to provide women with information to better negotiate their earnings. Clinton also called for raising the minimum wage, pointing out that lower-paying jobs were disproportionately held by women. |
| Republicans in Congress have blocked equal pay legislation several times over the last couple of years, arguing that it is largely a campaign issue waged by Democrats. | Republicans in Congress have blocked equal pay legislation several times over the last couple of years, arguing that it is largely a campaign issue waged by Democrats. |
| The amped up rhetoric showed a more aggressive side of Clinton, who has thus far spent the last month on a low-key “listening tour” with middle class Americans in early voting states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. | |
| Even as Republicans have mounted a decidedly anti-Clinton message in the primary – raising questions over her family’s nonprofit and her use of a private email server at the State Department – Clinton has largely declined to go on the offensive and dismissed GOP attacks as a distraction from her campaign. | |
| Her rare jabs at GOP presidential contenders on Wednesday were met with both laughter and applause from an audience of roughly 200 people, who also responded enthusiastically to another issue seldom raised by Clinton on the campaign trail: her age. | |
| Noting how most presidents “grow grayer and grayer,” Clinton, who is 67 years old, said there comes a point when “they are as white as the building they live in.”She then added, “I may not be the youngest candidate in this race, but I have one advantage – I’ve been coloring my hair for years.” | |
| Clinton’s visit to South Carolina marked her first swing through the early voting state since launching her bid for president last month, as well as since losing the state to Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic primary. Earlier on Wednesday, the former secretary of state met with minority women who are small business owners at a famed chicken and waffles restaurant in the area. | Clinton’s visit to South Carolina marked her first swing through the early voting state since launching her bid for president last month, as well as since losing the state to Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic primary. Earlier on Wednesday, the former secretary of state met with minority women who are small business owners at a famed chicken and waffles restaurant in the area. |
| Clinton’s emphasis on courting women voters has already emerged as a central piece of her campaign, which, contrary to 2008, embraces the historic nature of her candidacy as the first potential woman president. In Columbia on Wednesday, Clinton’s outreach was largely tailored toward both women and minorities as she seeks to build the same coalitions that were twice instrumental in electing Barack Obama. |