(CNN) — Speaking to a friendly audience Thursday, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton continued to argue that progressive ideas and policies are under threat by political gridlock in Washington.
“We are careening from crisis to crisis — instead of having a plan, bringing people to that plan, focusing on common sense solutions and being relentless in driving toward them,” she said in her brief remarks at a 10th anniversary event for the Center for American Progress.
Clinton recalled the formation of the progressive think tank a decade ago.
“At the end of the Clinton administration, I knew if we didn’t have an infrastructure in place to continue to build on what had been accomplished and to hold the line on any efforts at retrenchment, we would not be doing our job,” she said.
She praised the founders of the group for pushing the progressive agenda, which Clinton described as one “based on data and evidence, not ideology.”
“It’s a fight for policies that will actually achieve results and better peoples’ lives,” she continued.
However, she added, “it’s always a little surprising that we have to keep fighting so hard on behalf of them, to make the case over and over and over again.”
While the potential presidential contender focused mostly focused her remarks on celebrating the group’s anniversary, she also repeated lines about the government shutdown that she’s used the past few days on the speaking circuit.
She blasted Washington lawmakers — though without naming a political party — for making arguments in an “evidence-free zone” based on ideology rather than facts, and choosing “scorched earth over common ground.”
Clinton’s schedule in the past week has taken her to Falls Church, Virginia, where she re-emerged on the political stage to campaign for friend and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe. On Wednesday, she spoke at the University of Buffalo, and she ventures back to New York on Friday to speak at Colgate University.
Rounding out her nine-minute speech on Thursday, Clinton repeated multiple times she was “grateful” for the work CAP has done.
And as she was walking off stage to thunderous cheers and applause, she joked to Neera Tanden, president of the organization.
“When does the cake come out?” Clinton could be heard saying off-mic. “I was going to jump out of the cake.”
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