Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky On The DNC, Hillary Clinton's Candidacy

Published July 27, 2016 at 10:42 AM MDT

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky speaks at an event at the United States Capitol on July 12, 2016 in Washington, D.C. (Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for MoveOn.org)

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden headline day three at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia today.

Hillary Clinton made history Tuesday night when she became the first woman ever nominated by a presidential party as its presidential candidate. But that vote prompted some Bernie Sanders supporters to walk out.

Here & Now‘s Robin Young speaks with veteran U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a Democrat from Illinois who supports Clinton, about the historic nature of Clinton’s candidacy. Schakowsky took office in 1999, during then-President Bill Clinton’s second term in the White House.

Hear more of Here & Now‘s coverage from the Democratic National Convention.

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Interview Highlights: Jan Schakowsky

On her perception of how the DNC has gone so far:

“Michelle Obama was extraordinary on Monday, I thought in particular, although Bernie Sanders was great. What I loved about Bernie was not only that he was clearly saying, “I’m supporting Hillary Clinton,” but he was also saying, “Do not not vote,” because turnout is going to be the answer for our victory.”

On if the Democrats have put the email scandal behind them:

“I think there may be some backlash because of the Russians having leaked this, gotten this, hacked this. I think it is clearly an effort on their part. Vladimir Putin I think his endorsement for president would be Donald Trump. They’re really good pals it seems. Trump really admires Putin and the kind of strong man that he is. I really do think that Michelle Obama and her amazing talk from a personal mom level about the bully and the name caller that Donald Trump is will actually resonate with a lot of women, and of course Hillary Clinton being a woman. I think she did us a lot of good on Monday.”

On Hillary Clinton as one of the most-disliked candidates in recent history:

“Well first of all this has been a 30-plus year campaign against Hillary Clinton, who has always bounced back and done what needed to be done, to make sure we got healthcare for children. All of these things were enumerated. But the personal kindness, and friendships was really a good positive. Because if you ask people what they don’t like or they don’t trust, it’s very vague.”

“Whereas Donald Trump who gets on the stage, wants to be president of the United States and demeans Mexicans and immigrants and Muslims and people with disabilities. There’s no hiding that. This is a bully. That’s what Michelle was talking about. Do we want this person as a role model? Extract all issues, and say is this the kind of person that we want to lead our country and our world?”

Guest

Jan Schakowsky, Democratic congresswoman from Illinois. She tweets @janschakowsky.