IOWA CAUCUSES

Hillary Clinton in Iowa: Make lemonade on trade deal

Tony Leys, and Jennifer Jacobs

Hillary Clinton told Iowans on Sunday that President Obama should listen to concerns, including those of fellow Democrats, about a huge trade deal he is trying to push through Congress.

She said the point should be "to make sure we get the best, strongest deal possible. And if we don't get it, there should be no deal."

Her stance on the Trans Pacific Partnership drew raucous applause from several hundred people gathered at the Iowa State Fairgrounds for the first public rally in Iowa of Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.

After weeks of fence-sitting on the controversial trade agreement, Clinton told The Des Moines Register in an interview after the rally that she sides with House Democrats who rejected a key trade-related bill last week.

In her rally speech, Clinton specifically said Obama should listen to U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Her members' concerns could help Obama obtain better terms, Clinton said. "Let's take the lemons and turn them into lemonade."

Asked by the Register whether she's coming down on Pelosi's side, Clinton answered emphatically: "Yes."

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"I think what Nancy Pelosi said on the floor when she voted to essentially stop it is the right approach to take," Clinton said.

Union leaders and many Democratic politicians, including rival U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Clinton's left, fear the Trans Pacific Partnership trade pact would lead to losses of U.S. jobs to overseas competitors. Supporters, including Obama, say the deal, which is still being negotiated, would help the U.S. economy expand, adding jobs and raising wages here.

Clinton acknowledged to the Register that she's caught between business and agriculture leaders who favor the trade deal, and labor union leaders and liberals who think it will hurt U.S. workers. But she said she still wants the 12-nation trade deal to move forward.

"Here in Iowa, agriculture's very much in favor of trade, and they are predominantly winners because of that. A lot of workers I've spoken to here in Iowa feel like they've been on the losing end," she said.

Asked if even talking about pursuing the trade pact at this point could potentially hurt her with the left in her party, Clinton said: "You know what, I'm going to say what I believe."

Clinton told the Register that Obama "should pick up the phone and call her (Pelosi) and say, 'Let's get together with a group of Democrats who are not anti-trade under any circumstances no matter what, and also Democrats who aren't pro-trade under any circumstances no matter what, but who like Leader Pelosi said it doesn't do enough.' And see if there is a way to leverage that to make it do more."

The discord could actually strengthen Obama's hand in negotiations, she said in her speech. "You go to the trading partners, the people that have been involved in this negotiation, and you go, 'Unless you give me more, unless you meet the needs that have been laid out … we're not going to have a deal. But we could have a deal, if we made sure that we did everything possible to protect American workers, to raise wages for the American workers, to make sure that it is in our national interest.' "

She also called for more transparency in negotiations over the deal, "so the American people can see what will actually be in it."

Her talking points aim at progressives

Clinton's comments came in a 35-minute speech that hit numerous points that should appeal to progressives. She is the dominant front-runner in the race, but is facing challenges from liberal contenders, including Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont.

Her speech Sunday in Des Moines echoed many of the thoughts she expressed the day before in New York City, in what her campaign called a "launch" event.

She forcefully backed gay rights, abortion rights and women's rights. She said that in small meetings with voters in Iowa and elsewhere, she repeatedly heard people's concerns that the economy has become stacked against everyone but the very rich.

"While many of you are working multiple jobs and trying to make ends meet, you see the top 25 hedge-fund managers making more than all of the kindergarten teachers in America combined — and often paying lower tax rates than those kindergarten teachers," she said as the crowd booed. "So you have to wonder, 'When does my hard work pay off? When does my family get ahead? When?' I say now."

The fairgrounds appearance gave Iowans their first chance to see Clinton this year without having to obtain a special invitation to a series of small meetings she's held around the state.

Campaign organizers said 713 people signed into the event, held at the Elwell Family Food Center.

Crowd contains fans, some still on fence

The audience included confirmed Clinton supporters and voters who are still shopping for a candidate.

Marcia Fulton and Carol Smith got up early to drive the 75 miles from Creston to Des Moines to be first in line about 7:30 a.m. But that doesn't mean they're hard-core Clinton fans. "We're hard-core Democrats," said Fulton, 74, who is a retired school administrator.

Fulton and Smith are party co-chairwomen in Union County, so they're not supposed to endorse candidates. They've been to see several already. Fulton said she likes populist messages, including that of Sanders. "If Elizabeth Warren was running, I'd be hard-pressed to not say I was supporting her," she said with a chuckle. The Massachusetts senator, a liberal firebrand, isn't in the race.

Fulton knows the odds are heavily in Clinton's favor to win the nomination, and she's optimistic the former senator and secretary of state will fight for Fulton's issues. But Fulton noted that other candidates have seemed to be sure-fire winners in past election seasons, "and then some shoe drops out of nowhere," and someone else surges ahead.

Megan Arellano, 41, of Glidden was all-in for Clinton in 2008, and signed up immediately as a supporter when Clinton announced she was running again. Arellano, who owns a coffee shop, said she was glad to see Clinton hold her first public Iowa rally, but also believes the small, invitation-only meetings with voters have been a good idea.

"I think the more little people she can talk to, the better she'll do," Arellano said. She added that Barack Obama used that approach to great effect in his race against Clinton last time.

Teresa Harris, 57, of Des Moines is also certain in her support of Clinton. Why? "It's her tenacity. I think that makes her a great leader. She sticks with it, no matter what," said Harris, who is a nurse.

Clinton staffers wandered through the crowd with clipboards, asking people to sign on as supporters. Voter Elizabeth MacGregor of Charles City declined such a request. MacGregor, 24, said this was the first candidate rally she had attended.

She was willing to wear a Hillary sticker and munch on a free hot dog provided by the campaign. She likes Clinton's chances. "I think she's got the experience a lot of people are looking for," she said. But MacGregor wasn't close to committing to the candidate. "I'm still trying to decide what I'm going to do" in the caucuses, she said.

Mary Anne Murphy, 66, of Cumming is a rare bird: She's a self-described Republican who loves Clinton. "I was very, very impressed," Murphy said afterward. "She's unassuming. She's humble. I think she's the best person for the job."

Murphy, who is a retired State Department employee, said she was impressed with Clinton during an appearance the then-secretary of state made in Kabul, Afghanistan. Murphy probably won't switch parties to caucus for her, but does plan to cheer for her.