News

Hillary Takes On GOP In New Campaign Ad — VIDEO

by Melissah Yang

Fresh off unveiling a star-studded video with the likes of Lena Dunham and Uzo Aduba, Hillary Clinton has released a new campaign ad that calls out the Republican Party for not doing enough to address economic problems of income inequality and student debt. While Clinton has named names on the campaign trail — Donald Trump mostly — the ad lumps the GOP field as a single entity and claims none of them are going to help you. Which is a smart move to be making at this stage of the election.

With 15 Republicans still in the running, you'd be watching forever if Clinton ran through candidate after candidate. But more likely, it's still too early to be singling out any Republicans. And on top of that, saying your enemy's name is just the same as acknowledging who you think is your biggest competition. Instead, Clinton focuses on what she thinks Republicans will fail to do if they win the White House.

If you work hard, and you do your part, you should be able to get ahead and stay ahead. But the Republicans, they want to go back to letting the super wealthy call the shots. They don't stand up for equal pay for women. They don't support paid family leave. They don't even really support refinancing student debt. We've got to get this economy working for the vast majority of Americans, not just for those at the top. That's what I intend to do as president.

So, let's fact check this.

1. "They Don't Stand Up For Equal Pay For Women."

ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

The second GOP debate ran through a gamut of topics, but glaringly missing was any discussion of equal pay for women. Donald Trump has said he likes the idea of equal pay but thinks it's unfair since it's not our "system" if everyone makes the same amount of money. In a Facebook post, Carly Fiorina said the real factor for the gender wage gap is the seniority system, which rewards people who have been with the company longer.

2. "They Don't Support Paid Family Leave."

In March, the Senate passed the Healthy Families Act, which would grant workers seven days paid sick leave under federal law. Every Republican senator running for president — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio — voted against the bill. In a video released by his campaign, Cruz says he supports family leave, but he doesn't think the federal government should be in the business of mandating it. Rubio has proposed offering a tax credit to businesses that offer paid family leave.

3. "They Don't Even Really Support Refinancing Student Debt."

David McNew/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Trump, Rubio, and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush are the few Republicans who spoken out about student loan debt, with comments ranging from reforming the higher education system to changing repayment plans. Rubio, whose own student loans were just recently paid off, has proposed three reform bills aimed at making college more affordable, but none have made it to a congressional vote. So there are definitely some Republican rumblings for alleviating student loan debt, but so far, no candidate has offered a concrete proposal.

I'll grade this campaign video a B+ on truthfulness.