2016 Presidential Campaign Blog

Ready for Hillary Announces The Hillary Bus

Ready for Hillary Announces The Hillary Bus

The Bus will travel from coast to coast, channeling the enthusiasm around a potential Hillary 2016 candidacy to activate supporters in the 2014 midterms, while further building a grassroots army of supporters who are encouraging her to run and ready to help her win.

Initially, the Bus will make a number of stops on Hillary's national tour unveiling her new book, Hard Choices.

Throughout the summer, the Bus will also visit Democratic events, state fairs and community festivals, followed by college campuses and key midterm states in the fall.

In addition to generating excitement among millions of individuals who are already signed up with Ready for Hillary, the Bus is a mobile advertisement allowing our organization to reach new supporters in every corner of America as Hillary backers who see the Bus are prompted to sign up at readyforhillary.com.

The Bus will also allow Ready for Hillary to dispatch volunteers and sign up new supporters at designated stops.

Sen. Tim Kaine Encourages Hillary Clinton to Run for President in 2016

Sen. Tim Kaine Encourages Hillary Clinton to Run for President in 2016
Speaking in South Carolina, Kaine Joins Ready for Hillary Effort

COLUMBIA, SC – Speaking at the South Carolina Women’s Democratic Council breakfast today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) joined the Ready for Hillary effort, encouraging Hillary to run for president and pledging his support for her candidacy should she decide to do so. Kaine is in Columbia as the keynote speaker for the annual South Carolina Jefferson Jackson Dinner.

Excerpts from Kaine’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, follow:
Secretary Hillary Clinton is the best person to be our 45th President for many reasons. She is a classic American optimist with the background and experiences necessary to lead this country in a very complicated world.

She has a deep history of engagement in domestic policy issues—the economy and jobs, education, the equal status of all, children and family programs—that started long before she came to Washington. ...She understands the challenges facing Americans from all walks of life and has the compassion and skill necessary to help improve our everyday lives.

She has a powerful background in international and foreign policy. Her work as First Lady, Senator and Secretary of State has given her unmatched knowledge of the world, of our allies and opponents, and of global leaders—public and private—who can be partners for progress in the years ahead.

...

Our country will have no shortage of challenges to tackle in the future. … And the very list of challenges on the table tells us who the next President should be. That’s why I stand with you today to encourage Hillary Clinton to run, to pledge my support for her candidacy if she does and to ask you to make that same pledge.

...

In 2006, nearly 2 years before the 2008 Presidential election, I told my friend, then-Senator Barack Obama, that I would support him if he ran for President of the United States. I was and am proud that I was an early supporter of our great President. I made my decision early because I knew something—he was the right person for the job but getting there would be hard. And I figured that the sooner I started helping him in Virginia, the more helpful I would be.

I’m stating my support for Hillary Clinton today for the same reason. She’s the right person for the job. I’ll be starting my fifth year in the Senate on Inauguration Day 2017 and she’s the partner I know I’ll want to be working with in the White House on all fronts.

But getting there will still be hard.

If it were easy for women to achieve top leadership spots in this country, Congress would have more than 18 percent women serving. More than five percent of Fortune 500 companies would have a woman CEO. And women would be seated on more than a quarter of the federal benches across the country.

...

So I’m doing my bit now to encourage Hillary Clinton to run. I’m encouraging my constituents in Virginia and also encourage all of you to do the same thing by joining the Ready for Hillary movement that already has two million supporters. Pledge your support right now so that Hillary Clinton will know that, should she take this step, there are millions of us ready to take the field with her and make sure she wins.

U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) Announces Support of Ready for Hillary

U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO), an Early Obama ‘08 Supporter, Announces Support of Ready for Hillary

MCLEAN, VA – Today, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri, an early backer of then-Sen. Obama’s 2008 primary campaign, announced her support of Ready for Hillary. Sen. McCaskill is the first sitting member of Congress to endorse the effort.

McCaskill, who said in February that she hopes Hillary Clinton will run for president, described the Ready for Hillary effort as “critical” to electing the former Secretary of State, should she decide to run in 2016.

“Hillary Clinton had to give up her political operation while she was making us proud, representing us around the world as an incredible Secretary of State, and that’s why Ready for Hillary is so critical,” McCaskill said. “It’s important that we start early, building a grassroots army from the ground up, and effectively using the tools of the Internet – all things that President Obama did so successfully – so that if Hillary does decide to run, we’ll be ready to help her win.”

Sen. McCaskill commended Ready for Hillary for embracing the early supporters of then-Sen. Obama, saying, “They aren’t only reaching out to folks who supported Hillary in 2008. They’re helping to show that regardless of who you supported for President back then, we can all agree today that there is nobody better equipped to be our next President than Hillary Clinton.”

“We are incredibly grateful to have Senator McCaskill’s support in this effort,” said Ready for Hillary Senior Advisor Craig T. Smith. “Like Hillary, Senator McCaskill is a fighter – dedicated in her efforts to strengthen accountability in government – and a champion for women, children, and families. Ready for Hillary is fortunate to have such a powerful and respected leader like Claire joining our grassroots team.”