Hillary Clinton says she's long been 'on the front lines of change and progress'

Hillary Clinton discussed everything from her foreign policy experience as secretary of state to her relationships with Republicans during the CNN Iowa Democratic Town Hall on Monday night.

Speaking to a young voter, Clinton said she's been "on the front lines of change and progress since I was your age. I've been fighting to give kids and women and the people who are left out and left behind the chance to make the most out of their own lives. I have taken on the status quo time and time again." Clinton also spoke about her "40-year record of going after inequality — not only economic inequality, but racial inequality, sexist inequality, homophobic inequality." She shared stories about her time as a young lawyer, including working to get juveniles out of adult jails and investigating schools in Alabama that were made private to avoid integration.

In response to a Muslim-American veteran who asked her about Islamophobia in the United States, Clinton said that one of the most "distressing" aspects of the campaign has "been the language of Republican candidates, particularly their frontrunner, that insults, demeans, denigrates different people. He has cast a wide net — he started with Mexicans, he's currently on Muslims." She vowed to work with Republicans as president, saying she did so as first lady, U.S. senator, and secretary of state, and added she'll give them "bear hugs."

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When asked about rival Bernie Sanders bringing up her 2002 vote in favor of war in Iraq, Clinton reminded the audience she has since said it was a "mistake," and added: "I have a much longer history than one vote." She also discussed foreign policy extensively, saying "military action should be the last resort, not the first choice," and stressed the importance of using "diplomacy, even if it's slow, boring, hard, to continue to persist and be patient to get results. Also, you should use the enormous capabilities we have to project our values around the world, our cultural values, our freedoms, our human rights, and respect for the dignity of all people."