This past Monday, anyone who knows me would have thought I was crazy if I told them I was attending a Hillary Clinton rally; but there I was standing in line to see the woman, that I believe to be a criminal, speak. Transylvania University’s campus was alive with political attention from all around Lexington, the state of Kentucky, and the nation in general. It was the night before the Kentucky democratic primary election for the 45th President of the United States, and Hillary Clinton did some campaigning on campus by holding a rally attempting to appeal to the young vote. However, in my opinion, this ploy was unsuccessful because the majority of the crowd was filled with older women and voters in the 45-60 demographic.
People lined up outside the Beck Center, eager to make their way inside. While most were there in support of Clinton, some people held up Bernie Sanders signs while outside the event, and other attendees could be overheard speaking out against the politician. Salesmen scattered the streets selling Clinton propaganda with witty puns about her, and her possibly future presidency. However, one thing that every attendee seemed to have in common was an excitement for the opportunity to see the rally.
Inside the event, campaigners for Clinton passed out signs for people to hold up behind the stage where Clinton would be speaking. Certain students and members of the campus community were seated behind the stage, and could be seen holding the signs on the televised segments of the rally. The event started with a young woman and University of Kentucky student working for Hillary’s campaign in the state. She spoke of her experiences growing up, and how she learned her work ethic from her mother, who went off to work while her father stayed at home to raise her. It was obvious that Hillary was trying to ride the feminist train, and frankly, the incessant feminist comments were annoying.
The feminists in the crowd chanted and hollered in agreement with the young woman’s story. It was clear to see who was in support of Clinton, and who was not. On one end, attendees stood with arms crossed and lips pursed while others were cheering with excitement and support.
Following the introducing anecdote, Hillary came out on stage with Secretary of State of Kentucky Allison Grimes and Former Governor Steve Beshear. Governor Beshear spoke first with by asking the crowd, “Are we ready to win?”
This statement was followed by an opening summary of what the governor believed to be the successes of the Democratic Party within Kentucky.
Beshear said, “We took our unemployment from 11 percent, all the way down to 4.9 percent. We jumped into the education pool, and said ‘lets get moving’ and we got moving. We are now among the top ten states in the country for high school graduation. Also, for the first time in history, every single Kentuckian has access to health care, and we are not going to give it up. Let me tell you, these are Hillary Clinton’s priorities.”
Beshear continued by commenting on other things that Kentuckians should be proud of about their state. Among these appealed to UK Basketball and coal. Clinton and Grimes also made these emotional appeals in their speeches. However, the basis of the speeches involved domestic strategy regarding job creation and the retention of the affordable care act.
Grimes’ comments were very similar to Beshear’s, reiterating the same types of ideas about policy, but from a female politician’s perspective. In addition, Grimes commented on the tenacity of Hillary Clinton throughout the campaign.
“I told Hillary there would be a party waiting for her in Lexington,” said Grimes, “I thought I was one of the hardest working campaigners out there, but I must say this woman (pointing at Clinton) has not stopped and she won't stop until she is in the white house.”
What was different about Grimes’ speech was that she blamed politics for diminishing the accountability of Hillary Clinton. It was simply said that “ When she left the office of Secretary of State she had the highest satisfaction rates and was considered to be one of the most trusted politicians in office. Since then, politics has gotten in the way.”
Nothing else was said about the allegations regarding war crimes, and Benghazi that Clinton has against her. However, there was a United States Marine on the street corner outside the event holding up a sign that said, “ Clinton is a war criminal.” This man was unable to be found for comment following the rally.
Following these opening statements, the crowd was eager to hear the former secretary of state speak. Based on Clinton’s speech, she wanted to brand herself as a proponent of young people, talking about how her economic plan will create jobs available for young people once they graduate college. She also talked about how she wanted to place more emphasis on skills training, and less emphasis on the dire need to go to college in order to get a job. Clinton also appealed to retention of coal within the state of Kentucky and also made a joke about UK Basketball.
One of the hottest topics of conversation was the Affordable Care Act. Clinton opened this topic of conversation by saying, “Kentucky did a better job than any other state with participation in the Affordable Care Act.” This comment was followed by a short anecdote about a man who has benefited from the act. Clinton continued, “I will defend the Affordable Care Act and ensure you will continue to have medical insurance.”
Above all, Clinton wanted to seem accountable to the voters. She also used this moment to make a statement about the Republican Nominee Donald Trump.
“I want you to hold the people who ask for your vote accountable,” said Clinton, “I want you to hold me accountable when I tell you that I am going to try to do my best to actually deliver for you.”
Using a mocking voice, Clinton then mimicked the rhetoric of Trump, in addition to making claims of opposition towards the Republican Party.
“We were on the track to pay down the national debt if we had chosen to do so, but what happened? We got a republican administration. It was exactly what they said they would do. It is important that you listen to people who ask for your vote. It is heartbreaking that the people who are running to be President today, in particular, the Republican nominee, want to go back to failed policies.”
Clinton continued to discuss in detail her domestic and economic policy plans, in addition to commenting on foreign policy. Clinton said that diplomacy was the best way to get things accomplished abroad.
Following her statements regarding her, policy Clinton said, I will find common ground, but I will also stand my ground as Commander in Chief.”
The rally continued in this way, and ended with cheers and music like Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song”, promoting female strength. It was a mixed group of voters at the rally. Many of the crowd members and the older women in attendance were dancing and thrilled with the information that they heard at the rally while those who said they disagreed with her policies stalked out of the gym shaking their heads. Some of these attendees commented about Clinton is trying to appeal to groups she supposedly doesn’t care about, and misrepresents her economic policy by being in support of the “little man” but relies on big businesses like Goldman Sachs for her plans. The next day at the polls, both Clinton and Sanders walked away with 27 delegates each, with Clinton having a narrow lead of voting percentage 46.8 to 46.3 for Sanders.
It is safe to say that I will never vote for Hillary Clinton, and I have even spent my childhood days hiding her books in Barnes and Noble so I wouldn’t have to see her face. However, throughout the entire event, I could not help but laugh. She tried to blame the republicans for an economic mess spurred by her husband’s housing bubble. She tried to pretend that she was accountable, but she is being investigated by the FBI and has “allegedly” committed war crimes that have caused the deaths of Americans in Benghazi. Also, in today’s world, there is too much unrest to purely rely on diplomacy for our foreign policy. Remember Hillary? We don’t negotiate with terrorists. A Clinton administration will be another 4 years of being laughed at and walked over by our enemies. Frankly, I think Hillary spent a little too much time pretending to be a feminist, and mocking Donald Trump, and should have actually addressed the issues that our nation is facing.
