Hillary Clinton traveled to Iowa on Sunday for the annual Tom Harkin Steak Fry and NBC’s Andrea Mitchell traveled with her as the former Secretary of State continues her unofficial campaign for the 2016 Democratic nomination for president.
During an appearance on Sunday’s Meet the Press, moderator Chuck Todd introduced Mitchell by playing up how despite Hillary having “the best resume” it “may not be enough for many in a Democratic Party that is increasingly tilting to the left.”
Mitchell then began her Hillary segment by playing up how “at the Smokey Row coffee house in Des Moines, Clinton has her work cut out for her with some of the 20-somethings we caught up with.” The NBC reporter featured three liberals, two of which bemoaned how Clinton was currently not liberal enough to garner their support:
ANDY DUFFELMEYER: I’m looking for someone that’s a little more liberal.
MITCHELL: Andy Duffelmeyer [sic] a law student.
DUFFELMEYER: More on the edge of pushing some important issues like climate change and campaign finance reform and income equality and things like that and I'm not sure that Hillary is that candidate.
MITCHELL: Carla Bromwell [sic] works for a non-profit. When you look at Hillary Clinton, what do you see first, a politician, a woman, a president?
CARLA BROMWELL: I think people see kind of the cronyism on Wall Street. Her biggest supporters are Wall Street. And, you know, she’s currently on the circuit giving speeches to Goldman Sachs. And I just feel like regular people might see that as something that they’re not looking for anymore.
As the segment progressed, Mitchell lamented how Clinton’s 2008 Iowa caucus loss “still hurts” before playing up her efforts on social media as she looks to run for president again:
Obama blitzed her on new media. This time Clinton supporters are trying to catch up on social media and enlisting celebrities like Katy Perry who posted on Instagram “I told @hillaryclinton I would write her a theme song if she needs it.”
The NBC Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent continued to note Clinton’s problems with the more liberal wing of the Democratic Party:
DUFFELMEYER: I feel like I don't know who she is. And I do feel like maybe she's a little malleable in kind of a Mitt Romney sort of way.
MITCHELL: But especially with women voters would gender trump all?
BROMWELL: I would love to see the first woman president. But it doesn't matter more to me than my Progressive values.
Nowhere in the Meet the Press segment did Mitchell consider that the liberal disconnect Clinton supposedly has with the Democratic base was out of step with the general public. Instead, the NBC reporter concluded by one last time promoting how Democrats in Iowa are eager for someone from the left to challenge Clinton in 2016:
And just in a few hours, this field behind me is going to be filled with more than 5,000 very enthusiastic Democrats. But the Hillary Clinton skeptics I talked to, they still want Elizabeth Warren, they want Bernie Sanders. They want someone to push her to the left. And Bernie Sanders is going to be here, in Iowa, later tonight at a separate event.
See relevant transcript below.
NBC
Meet the Press
September 14, 2014
CHUCK TODD: And welcome back. Let’s turn now to the race for 2016 because Hillary Clinton is making us, right? She’s done everything a potential candidate can be expected to do, book tour, check. Paid speeches to pad the bank account before you start running, check. And she’s done nothing to stop the rumor mill.
But you could argue that once she steps foot in Iowa later today for the annual Tom Harkin Steak Fry, there truly is no turning back. And yet, as NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell is going to be reporting, Hillary is finding that once again, being the most prepared candidate with the best resume may not be enough for many in a Democratic Party that is increasingly tilting to the left.
ANDREA MITCHELL: From billboards to posters to campaign buses for the candidate in waiting, supporters are flooding the state. They are ready for Hillary's first appearance in Iowa in 2,446 days. Yes, they keep track of details like that here. A key strategy, targeting young people. But at the Smokey Row coffee house in Des Moines, Clinton has her work cut out for her with some of the 20-somethings we caught up with.
ANDY DUFFELMEYER: I’m looking for someone that’s a little more liberal.
MITCHELL: Andy Duffelmeyer [sic] a law student.
DUFFELMEYER: More on the edge of pushing some important issues like climate change and campaign finance reform and income equality and things like that and I'm not sure that Hillary is that candidate.
MITCHELL: Carla Bromwell [sic] works for a non-profit. When you look at Hillary Clinton, what do you see first, a politician, a woman, a president?
CARLA BROMWELL: I think people see kind of the cronyism on Wall Street. Her biggest supporters are Wall Street. And, you know, she’s currently on the circuit giving speeches to Goldman Sachs. And I just feel like regular people might see that as something that they’re not looking for anymore.
MITCHELL: But Caroline Clauson [sic] a college sophomore thinks Clinton would get things done.
CAROLINE CLAUSON: She actually wants to work across the aisle and make sure that something would happen if she were to be president. Rather than the gridlock we have currently.
MITCHELL: Last time team Clinton was stunned by the Obama forces. She even finished third in Iowa behind John Edwards.
HILLARY CLINTON: I am so ready for the rest of this campaign.
MITCHELL: It still hurts. Here is how she describes it in her new book “Hard Choices.”
CLINTON: The night of the Iowa caucuses when I placed third was excruciating.
MITCHELL: Obama blitzed her on new media. This time Clinton supporters are trying to catch up on social media and enlisting celebrities like Katy Perry who posted on Instagram “I told @hillaryclinton I would write her a theme song if she needs it.” Still, there's the vision thing.
DUFFELMEYER: I feel like I don't know who she is. And I do feel like maybe she's a little malleable in kind of a Mitt Romney sort of way.
MITCHELL: But especially with women voters would gender trump all?
BROMWELL: I would love to see the first woman president. But it doesn't matter more to me than my Progressive values.
MITCHELL: And just in a few hours, this field behind me is going to be filled with more than 5,000 very enthusiastic Democrats. But the Hillary Clinton skeptics I talked to, they still want Elizabeth Warren, they want Bernie Sanders. They want someone to push her to the left. And Bernie Sanders is going to be here, in Iowa, later tonight at a separate event. Chuck?
TODD: There you go, Andrea. The scene of the crime if you are a Clinton supporter back in '08 where Obama was able to trump her.
