
diplomacy, economic influence, and building partnerships to improve lives around the world with
people, not just their governments.
There are a lot of trouble spots in the world, but there’s a lot of good news out there too.
I believe the future holds far more opportunities than threats if we exercise creative and confident
leadership that enables us to shape global events rather than be shaped by them.
And we all know that in order to be strong in the world, though, we first have to be strong at home.
That’s why we have to win the fourth fight – reforming our government and revitalizing our
democracy so that it works for everyday Americans.
We have to stop the endless flow of secret, unaccountable money that is distorting our elections,
corrupting our political process, and drowning out the voices of our people.
We need Justices on the Supreme Court who will protect every citizen’s right to vote, rather than
every corporation’s right to buy elections.
If necessary, I will support a constitutional amendment to undo the Supreme Court’s decision in
Citizens United.
I want to make it easier for every citizen to vote. That’s why I’ve proposed universal, automatic
registration and expanded early voting.
I’ll fight back against Republican efforts to disempower and disenfranchise young people, poor
people, people with disabilities, and people of color.
What part of democracy are they afraid of?
No matter how easy we make it to vote, we still have to give Americans something worth voting
for.
Government is never going to have all the answers – but it has to be smarter, simpler, more
efficient, and a better partner.
That means access to advanced technology so government agencies can more effectively serve their
customers, the American people.
We need expertise and innovation from the private sector to help cut waste and streamline services.
There’s so much that works in America. For every problem we face, someone somewhere in
America is solving it. Silicon Valley cracked the code on sharing and scaling a while ago. Many
states are pioneering new ways to deliver services. I want to help Washington catch up.
To do that, we need a political system that produces results by solving problems that hold us back,
not one overwhelmed by extreme partisanship and inflexibility.
Now, I’ll always seek common ground with friend and opponent alike. But I’ll also stand my
ground when I must.
That’s something I did as Senator and Secretary of State — whether it was working with
Republicans to expand health care for children and for our National Guard, or improve our foster
care and adoption system, or pass a treaty to reduce the number of Russian nuclear warheads that
could threaten our cities — and it’s something I will always do as your President.
We Americans may differ, bicker, stumble, and fall; but we are at our best when we pick each other
up, when we have each other’s back.
Like any family, our American family is strongest when we cherish what we have in common, and
fight back against those who would drive us apart.
People all over the world have asked me: “How could you and President Obama work together after
you fought so hard against each other in that long campaign?”
Now, that is an understandable question considering that in many places, if you lose an election you
could get imprisoned or exiled – even killed – not hired as Secretary of State.
But President Obama asked me to serve, and I accepted because we both love our country. That’s