Clinton Calls For ‘Better Listening,’ Empathy In Springfield Visit

Hillary Clinton is calling on the country - including herself - to "do a better job of listening'' rather than fueling political and other divisions after a series of high-profile shootings. Speaking Wednesday in the Illinois Old State House chamber in Springfield, Clinton said the country must address both gun violence, criminal justice reform and find ways to better support police departments.

"I know that just saying these things together may upset some people,'' she says. "But all these things can be true at once.''
 
The old State House chamber is the site of Abraham Lincoln's his famous address about the perils of slavery. She is trying to use the symbolic site to contrast her call for civility with what she sees as rival Donald Trump's polarizing campaign. 

Clinton says the Republican Party of Abraham Lincoln has been transformed into "the party of Trump.''
 
Ratting off a series of attacks against her GOP rival, Clinton says Trump is "dangerous,'' "divisive,'' "fear-mongering'' and is "pitting American against American.'' Even stalwart Republicans, she says, should be alarmed by Trump's policies and racist rhetoric.
 
Clinton is casting Trump as ignorant of the Constitution, dismissive of U.S. law and lacking the character to be trusted with American security.  Clinton said she has work to do, as well.
 
She says that as someone "in the middle of a hotly fought political campaign, I cannot claim that my words and actions haven't sometimes fueled the partisanship that often stands in the way of our progress.''
 
Clinton adds, "I recognize that I have to do better too.''