On Sunday, the Rec. Center on East Campus was filled with thousands of voters who came to watch Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) as she visited Rhode Island College to speak about her campaign.
Clinton, who was First Lady from 1993-2001, visited RI nine days before the March 4 primary, in which RI voters will decide which candidates their state will support in the presidential nomination process.
In the caucus, citizens nominate the candidate they support based on their declared political party. As such, a state cannot nominate more than one candidate.
"This little state has a big voice on March the fourth in helping choose the next president," said Clinton.
The event began with the "Star-Spangled Banner", sung by RIC alumna Michelle Passarelli, '92, at 1:30 p.m. She was met with rowdy applause as the crowd waved signs in support of Clinton, chanting "Yes she can!"
Several of Clinton's local supporters then delivered brief speeches in her favor. State Representative Grace Diaz (D-Providence) said that even though RI is the smallest state, we will show the entire country that we can make history.
"We need to have a strong democratic party," said Diaz. She characterized Clinton as a woman with a straight head who cares about the public.
Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis said that the Clintons have been friends of RI for many years. "Are you ready to be there for Hillary Clinton as she will be there for us for the next four years?" he asked the audience. "Let's deliver RI for Hillary Clinton in a way she can never imagine."
RI's General Treasurer Frank Caprio began his introduction by saying, "Hillary Clinton knows…She doesn't pull that ladder up when she is done. She leaves that ladder down for all of us to climb up."
Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Roberts said that Clinton "will get our country moving."
At 1:48 p.m, it was announced that over 5,000 people were in attendance. The crowd erupted with chants of "Hillary" and "Yes she can" as "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" by The Police played over the intercom. At 2:15 pm, campaign co-chairs Congressman Jim Langevin and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse introduced Clinton.
"Each and every one of you is so important to this effort," said Langevin. "We need to turn America around… we need real leadership to get it right."
"They're both [the Clintons] honorary Rhode Islanders by now," said Langevin. "Wouldn't it be great to make history and have a woman in the White House as our president?"
Whitehouse said it would be great to "tell our daughters in 2008 that we made a woman a president of the US for the first time in history."
"We love Hillary Clinton in RI," was Whitehouse's closing remark before Clinton began her speech.
"I don't know if I've seen an election as critical… as this one," said Clinton. "The next president of the United States will walk into the Oval Office and waiting there will be a stack of problems. This is the hardest job in the world. I'm asking you to consider hiring me."
"There is so much we have to do as well as undo," said Clinton. She said we have "a war to end in Iraq; a war to end in Afghanistan" and that we have "an economy that is… in trouble."
Clinton mentioned problems such as the discounting of the effects of global warming, oil prices at $100 a barrel, and the education system that is "breaking" under No Child Left Behind. "I'm running for president because I believe I have the strength and experience to make…changes," she said. "We have work to do in America to set it right."
"You are not going to wave a magic wand and have the special interest disappear," Clinton said of the Bush administration. "We need a president who gets up every day and figures out how to navigate this complex system of ours," she said of the process of initiating and carrying out plans in the US political system.
Clinton said that on day one, she will ask the Secretary of Defense and related parties "to give a plan immediately to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq within 60 days."
She said that she will also "tell the Iraqis they have to take responsibility for their own country" and that she will take care of veterans so they can have services and health care they are entitled to. "That is not happening now," she said.
Clinton said she will ask for the bills incumbent President Bush has vetoed and sign them immediately. She said she will especially sign off the children's health insurance program that Bush has vetoed twice.
"It's time to get a president who's… in touch with what goes on in RI and America," Clinton said.
She said she would try to prevent home foreclosures and help people find a way to keep their homes. "Our home is our most significant investment," said Clinton.
At this point, someone collapsed in the audience. Clinton announced over the microphone that a person had fainted and waited until the person received help to resume her speech.
"I will keep fighting because this country is worth fighting for," she said. "Let's start creating new jobs." She spoke about her plan for a clean, renewal energy plan that will "create at least 5 million jobs in America."
Clinton said, "We will see changes that are dramatic if we approach this the right way."
She said that the oil companies "do not need your tax subsidies" and that she will give that $55 million back to the American citizens.
She went on to say that we "cannot make changes until the two big oil men leave the White House."
Clinton said that her plan differs from the other major Democratic candidate, Barack Obama, with "his refusal to put forth a plan for universal health care and his attacks on my plans to do so."
Without required health care, insurance companies "can continue to cherry-pick" who they want to cover, said Clinton. "We are Democrats. We stand for the principle that each person should have quality, affordable health care," she said.
"Health care is not a privilege, but a right." She plans to make it affordable by taking away tax cuts from people making more than $250,000 annually and put that money to work. "No exceptions, no excuses," she said.
Clinton emphasized that we have "to make college more affordable again for hardworking students of middle class families."
"I'm going to make sure you have college you can afford," she said. "There isn't any doubt in my mind that we can do this."
She said that "we also have to worry about the rest of the world" and that we need to "make the world understand, 'We're ready to work with you'."
"There is no contradiction between change and experience," Clinton said, saying she has been to over 80 countries, including China, where she advocated that "women's rights are human rights and human rights are women's rights."
At 3 pm, Clinton concluded her speech saying that if you elect her, "you will elect a fighter and doer and a champion for the American people."
Rhode Island College spokesperson Jane Fusco, Director of the Office of News and Public Relations, said that "this event allowed the college to be a part of history. It is so encouraging to see so many students interested in the electoral process and interested in the candidates, their platforms and the voting experience."
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