by Andrew Stiles • Washington Free Beacon
Most people who run for president lay out a clear agenda that reflects their party’s values, and take firm positions on important policy issues. Hillary Clinton does not. She equivocates. In some cases, she refuses to take a position altogether, especially when her actual stance on a given issue is at odds with liberal voters. Here’s where Hillary stands on several key issues:
Trans-Pacific Partnership
Position: [Indecipherable]
Many Democrats, including influential lawmakers such as Elizabeth Warren, oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement negotiated by the Obama administration. However, Hillary Clinton is on the record as Secretary of State repeatedly praising the TPP as the “gold standard” of trade agreements. That’s awkward, because it’s obvious how she really feels, but she doesn’t want to annoy too many liberals, so she has yet to take a coherent position during the campaign, which places her to the right of Donald Trump on the issue.
Keystone XL Pipeline
Position: No comment
Hillary refuses to take a position on the controversial pipeline, which has become an obsession for environmentalists who want to block its construction. She argues that because she was involved in discussion about the pipeline as Secretary of State, she couldn’t possibly take a position now that she was running for president. Asked to give a “yes or no” answer on the pipeline during a town hall in New Hampshire on Tuesday, Hillary dodged yet again: “I will not do it. I am sorry if people want me to.”
Fracking Ban on Federal Land
Position: Opposed
“We still have to run the economy,” Hillary said in response to an environmental activist who asked if she would support a ban on fossil fuel extraction on federal land. Hillary’s support for fracking on federal land may put her at odds with many members of her own party, but her position aligns perfectly with the interests of the big oil lobbyists who are raising money for her campaign.
$15 Minimum Wage
Position: Supports it, in theory, sort of
Unlike her Democratic challengers, Hillary Clinton does not support a national minimum wage of $15 an hour. While she vaguely supports the “fight” for a higher minimum wage, Clinton acknowledges that “there are different economic environments, and what you can do in L.A. or in New York may not work in other places.”
Iran Nuclear Deal
Position: If it works, she supports it. If it fails, she opposed it all along
Hillary basically supports the Iran deal—if it works. She also wants to make sure that if the deal falls apart because Iran cheats, she knew all along that it was a bad deal. “Do I trust the Iranians? Absolutely not,” Hillary said after announcing her initial support for the agreement. Whereas President Obama says he has not heard an argument from critics of the deal that “holds up to scrutiny,” Hillary has suggested that the deal’s critics have “a respectable argument.”
Glass-Steagall
Position: Opposed
Occupy Wall Street types and Elizabeth Warren are obsessed with reinstating provisions of the Glass Steagall Act of 1933 that were repealed under the Bill Clinton administration. Hillary Clinton, though, does not intend to make it part of her campaign platform. This puts her to the right of Rick Perry on the issue of Wall Street reform.