By Dan Merica, CNN
updated 4:24 PM EDT, Wed October 29, 2014
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Cedar Rapids, Iowa (CNN) -- Hillary Clinton swiped Republican Senate hopeful Joni Ernst on Wednesday for canceling a meeting with the Des Moines Register Editorial Board last week, telling a labor audience that not answering "tough questions" is "disqualifying" in the state.
"I have concluded that Iowans take politics really seriously," Clinton said. "You test your candidates, you actually force them to be the best they can be and they have to be willing to answer the tough questions."
Democrat Bruce Braley "has been willing to do and his opponent has not," she said.
"It truly seems like it should be in disqualifying in Iowa of all states to avoid answering questions," Clinton added to a sustained round of applause.
Of course, the comment could extend beyond the Iowa Senate campaign. Clinton has acknowledged she is thinking about running for president and many in Iowa think she will decide to run. Should she do so, she will be asked a number of difficult questions from Iowa voters and journalists.
Clinton also knocked Ernst - a female candidate - as someone who didn't stand with women because her stances on reproductive rights.
"It is not enough to be a woman," Clinton, the prohibitive favorite for her party's nomination in 2016, said of Ernst, "You have to be committed to expanding rights and opportunities for all women."
Originally posted here:
Hillary Clinton: Not answering questions should be 'disqualifying'