Hillary Clinton escalated her criticism of her GOP presidential rivals during a campaign stop here in Iowa, “knocking the field of candidates on immigration reform, health care and LGBT issues while steering clear of directly attacking her Democratic primary rivals,” the Washington Post reports.

Said Clinton: “How many people running on the Republican side try to demean immigrants, insult immigrants, cast aspersions on immigrants? They know as well as we know, we are not going to deport 11 or 12 million people living here. I hear the Republican candidates — and it’s not even the most vitriolic — none of them any longer support a path to citizenship. All of them would basically consign immigrants to second-class status.”

“Hillary is not bad. It’s just, we all know she is having an excitement problem. We all know that. It’s not a secret.”

— Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA), quoted by the Boston Herald.

Washington Post: “Presidential campaigns have for decades fed talking points to surrogates who appear on national television or introduce candidates on the stump. But the effort to script and train local supporters is unusually ambitious and illustrates the extent to which the Clinton campaign and its web of sanctioned, allied super PACs are leaving nothing to chance.”

“But asking local supporters to use talking points could undermine the organic nature of grass-roots political interactions… The super PAC’s effort also comes as Clinton struggles on the campaign trail to appear accessible and genuine. Some Democrats have long believed Clinton sounds too scripted on the stump, especially compared to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), her insurgent primary rival whose authenticity and liberal message are drawing thousands of Democrats to his rallies.”