--- title: The 9 Times Hillary Clinton Has Taken a Stand Since 2013 description: Hillary Clinton has yet to take a stand on most of the big policy issues at play in Washington today. Here are nine exceptions. canonical: https://time.com/3634189/hillary-clinton-policy-positions/ author: Haley Sweetland Edwards article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-12-30T18:29:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:06:40.514Z article:section: Politics og:title: The 9 Times Hillary Clinton Has Taken a Stand Since 2013 og:description: Hillary Clinton has yet to take a stand on most of the big policy issues at play in Washington today. Here are nine exceptions. og:url: https://time.com/3634189/hillary-clinton-policy-positions/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93b62de1ce052076/69876e6955a859fa78a84b28/2016-candidate-hillary-clinton.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: USA - Hillary Clinton speaks at Iowa Senator Tom Harken'a annual Steak Fry og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The 9 Times Hillary Clinton Has Taken a Stand Since 2013 twitter:description: Hillary Clinton has yet to take a stand on most of the big policy issues at play in Washington today. Here are nine exceptions. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93b62de1ce052076/69876e6955a859fa78a84b28/2016-candidate-hillary-clinton.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The 9 Times Hillary Clinton Has Taken a Stand Since 2013  by [Haley Sweetland Edwards](https://time.com/author/haley-sweetland-edwards/)  ## Haley Sweetland Edwards Dec 30, 2014 6:29 PM UTC  Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton gazes pensively into the distance at Iowa Senator Tom Harken'a annual Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa on September 14, 2014. Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton gazes pensively into the distance at Iowa Senator Tom Harken'a annual Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa on September 14, 2014.Brooks Kraft—Corbis for TIME  by [Haley Sweetland Edwards](https://time.com/author/haley-sweetland-edwards/)  ## Haley Sweetland Edwards Dec 30, 2014 6:29 PM UTC Like other presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton had an opinion on just about everything in 2008\. How to reform the U.S. health care system? Check. What to do about climate change? Check. Even minor issues like how to lower the price of gas required her to come up with a plan. But when she became Secretary of State, Clinton followed tradition and kept her opinions to herself, especially on domestic policy. And since leaving Foggy Bottom in 2013, she’s mostly avoided specifics. She says she’s in favor of protecting the environment, for example, but has yet to stake out her position on fracking or the Keystone XL pipeline. She says she’s against eliminating net neutrality, but has yet to say what, exactly, the government ought to do to protect it. And while she’s talked a big game about U.S. military engagement abroad, it’s unclear how her positions on, say, Ukraine or Iraq would differ from those of President Obama. That ambiguity is understandable. She doesn’t hold public office. She’s not officially on the ballot. And committing to a position publicly limits her future options, politically. But given how many times she hasn’t taken a position on the issue of the day, it’s worth noting the handful of times she has. Here’s a look at the nine most substantive policy positions Clinton has staked out since stepping down as Secretary of State. 1) **The U.S. needs serious immigration reform.** When President Obama announced his controversial executive order in November shielding up to five million undocumented immigrants, Clinton [tweeted her approval](https://twitter.com/hillaryclinton/status/535605199705239552) within minutes, and then followed up with a statement calling for immediate, bipartisan and comprehensive immigration that would “focus finite resources on deporting felons rather than families.” 2) **The U.S. should have armed the rebels in Syria.** In an interview with the _Atlantic_’s Jeffrey Goldberg in August, Clinton blamed the rise of the so-called Islamic State, or ISIS, on the U.S. not doing enough to support moderate rebels when the Syrian civil war first broke out. “The failure to help build up a credible fighting force of the people who were the originators of the protests against Assad — there were Islamists, there were secularists, there was everything in the middle — the failure to do [that left a big vacuum](http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/08/hillary-clinton-failure-to-help-syrian-rebels-led-to-the-rise-of-isis/375832/), which the jihadists have now filled,” she said. That said, Clinton’s ideas on how to rout ISIS now appear to be more or less the same as Obama’s. 3)**Gay people should be allowed to marry.**In March 2013, Clinton formally [announced](http://youtu.be/6RP9pbKMJ7c) in her support for gay marriage, marking a major reversal of the position she’d held for decades. Her rivals criticized her for jumping on the bandwagon only after the issue of gay marriage had become widely acceptable, but she defended herself as a “thinking human” who is allowed to “evolve” on issues. 4) **Americans shouldn’t torture people.** At a human rights awards dinner in December, Clinton made [her first public comments about torture](http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/clinton-us-should-never-condone-or-practice-torture) since the Senate released its controversial report on the issue earlier this month. She said unequivocally that she is against illegal renditions and brutal interrogation methods. “The U.S. should never condone or practice torture anywhere in the world,” she said. 5) **The federal government should raise the minimum wage.** In a speech at a campaign event for Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate [Martha Coakley](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha%5FCoakley) in October, Clinton told the crowd not to “let anyone tell you that raising the minimum wage will kill jobs – they always say that.” She then went on to defend raising the federal minimum wage. As a senator, Clinton repeatedly proposed legislation that would automatically increase the federal minimum wage anytime members of Congress saw their own pay increase. 6) **Negotiating with Iran is a good idea, so long as the U.S. gets a good deal.** Much to the chagrin of many in the pro-Israel crowd, Clinton has not only expressed support for the administration’s negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear program, she has taken credit for initiating the secret talks back in 2012\. In the past year, she has lightly tempered that unequivocal support by cautioning that the U.S. should be careful about what it concedes to, repeating that “[no deal is better than a bad deal](http://www.wsj.com/articles/iran-talks-likely-to-figure-in-any-hillary-clinton-2016-bid-1417823608).” 7) **The U.S. shouldn’t trust Putin.** At a speaking event this year, Clinton called the Russian President an [arrogant](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10994389/Hes-arrogant-tough-insecure-and-charming-but-he-has-such-bright-blue-eyes-Hillary-Clintons-verdict-on-Vladimir-Putin.html) [bully](http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/10/14/hillary-clinton-putin-must-be-kept-contained/). As Secretary of State, she said she was in favor of the Obama administration’s “reset” policy with Russia, but [her opinion of the policy appears to have cooled](http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2014/07/27/fmr-sec-hillary-clinton-to-fareed-zakaria-putin-indirectly-responsible-for-mh17/). “I think that what may have happened, is that both the United States and Europe were really hoping for the best from Putin as a returned president,” she told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria in an interview in July. “And I think we’ve been quickly, unfortunately, disabused of those hopes.” While those seem like fightin’ words, policy analysts point out that it’s less clear how Clinton’s distrust of Putin would translate to a change in actual U.S. policy—much less potential military engagement—in Ukraine. 8) **All American kids should get free, high-quality pre-K**. Anyone remotely familiar with Clinton’s resume won’t find this to be much of a shocker, but early-childhood education is one of the issues she’s been most outspoken about in the last two years. She’s [advocated for](http://www.newamerica.net/blog/early-ed-watch/2008/primary-watch-hillary-clintons-early-education-agenda-3223) everything from universal pre-K and [free nurse home-visits](http://www.newamerica.net/blog/early-ed-watch/2008/primary-watch-hillary-clintons-early-education-agenda-3223) for at-risk mothers, to expanding existing programs, like Head Start and paid family leave. 9) **#Blacklivesmatter.** Clinton took a shellacking this fall for [failing to say much](http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/08/28/hillary-clinton-breaks-silence-on-ferguson/) one way or an another on the protests in Ferguson, Missouri, and about the Eric Garner case in New York. At an awards ceremony in December, she [broke her silence](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/16/hillary-clinton-torture-blacks%5Fn%5F6338154.html)—kinda. “Yes, black lives matter,” she said, but then failed to elaborate. She has yet to say whether she’s in favor of broad sentencing reform, body cameras on police, or how she might limit what military equipment is available to police forces. ### See the 2016 Candidates Looking Very Presidential  Sen. Ted Cruz is surrounded by stars and stripes at the 2014 Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. on September 26, 2014. Mark Peterson—Redux  Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton gazes pensively into the distance at Iowa Senator Tom Harken'a annual Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa on September 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis for TIME  Jeb Bush Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush flashes a power watch before giving his keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform in Washington on Nov. 20, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Bernie Sanders waves to supporters after officially announcing his candidacy for the U.S. presidency during an event at Waterfront Park in Burlington, Vermont, on May 26, 2015. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Chris Christie New Jersey Governor Chris Christie strikes a presidential power stance at the ceremony for the opening of the 206 bypass in Hillsborough, New Jersey on October 28, 2013. Mark Peterson—Redux  Former Hewlett-Packard Co Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina listens to her introduction from the side of the stage at the Freedom Summit in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan. 24, 2015. Jim Young—Reuters  Rand Paul Sen. Rand Paul works a crowd during a campaign stop on October 24, 2014 in McDonough, Georgia. Jessica McGowan—Getty Images  Rick Perry Texas Gov. Rick Perry looks powerfully patriotic during the National Anthem before an NCAA college football game on Nov. 27, 2014, in College Station, Texas. David J. Phillip—AP  Bobby Jindal Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal looks to the future during The Family Leadership Summit on Aug. 9, 2014, in Ames, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall—AP  Martin O'Malley Maryland Governor Martin OíMalley ponders decorating ideas in front of his possible future home on CBS's Face the Nation on Feb. 23, 2014. Chris Usher—AP  Marco Rubio Sen. Marco Rubio looks determined the morning after the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. on January 29, 2014. Melissa Golden—Redux  Ben CarsonBen Carson at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference on March 8, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Jim Webb Retiring Sen. Jim Webb imitates the presidential wave during a rally in Virginia Beach, Va. on Sept. 27, 2012. Steve Helber—AP  John Kasich Ohio Gov. John Kasich practices his presidential victory pose at the Ohio Republican Party celebration on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014, in Columbus, Ohio. Tony Dejak—AP  Rick Santorum Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum looks resolute at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 7, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Scott Walker Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker practices the presidential point on March 3, 2014 in Milwaukee. Jeffrey Phelps—AP  Mike Huckabee Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee fine-tunes his presidential oratory at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference in National Harbor, Md. on March 7, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Lincoln Chafee, Former Rhode Island Governor, poses for a selfie with a student after announcing he will seek the Democratic nomination for president in Arlington, Va. on June 3, 2015. Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Lindsey Graham Lindsey Graham announced his plans to join the 2016 presidential race. Alex Wong—Getty Images  George Pataki Former New York governor George Pataki listens to a question at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Conference in Nashua, New Hampshire, in this April 17, 2015 file photo. Brian Snyder—Reuters ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3634189/hillary-clinton-policy-positions/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3634189/hillary-clinton-policy-positions/"},"headline":"The 9 Times Hillary Clinton Has Taken a Stand Since 2013","datePublished":"2014-12-30T18:29:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:06:40.514Z","description":"Hillary Clinton has yet to take a stand on most of the big policy issues at play in Washington today. 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