Sec. Clinton: “We are fighting for a better future for everybody.”
William Richardson Jr.
Florida Democrats. The Congressional Black Caucus. President Barack Obama.
Those are just some of the names that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has used over the course of the last few weeks in order to garner last-minute voter support for the upcoming presidential election on Nov.8th. But Sec. Clinton decided some things are more effective if done herself.
So she headed to the Sunshine State to rally voters, speaking at the Omni Auditorium on the campus of Broward College in Coconut Creek. And in front of the crowd of 1,750, she touched on issues that have been the basis of her entire campaign, such as equal pay for women, making college more affordable, and ensure that fundamental values are enforced.
Yes, she did have support from Florida’s elected Democrats like Alcee Hastings, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and Patrick Murphy to hype the crowd during the pre-program, but this was Hillary’s moment to shine.
She wanted to make it known; she wants this nomination badly. And the gloves came off from the start.
Clinton added” I have stood with Mr. Trump for 4 hours over the course of the debates, I clearly have the stamina to be the next president.”
And the gut punches kept coming.
One of the highlights was when Clinton referred to George Washington’s initial decision to set presidential term limits to two terms, or eight years, thus not allowing him to become king; Clinton followed that and said “Trump would probably have called him (Washington) a loser.”
Clinton even referred to Trump’s statements on whether he’d accept the results of the election (which drew the loudest boos from the crowd) by saying that “we have clean and fair elections” and the change of presidents is “a peaceful transfer of power, and that’s what makes America great.”
Often over the course of the debates, critics, reporters, and voters alike commented that Sec. Clinton looked submissive, that she wasn’t strong enough to handle the blows coming her way at the hands of Republicans and skeptical voters alike, or that she was not nearly “presidential” in the way that previous candidates have been. But on this day, she was commanding, and for about 30 minutes, looked like she had the stamina needed to go until the final round of this fight to the White House.
This rally wasn’t just interesting from the standpoint of Clinton speaking to voters. Tempers flared immediately after the event between Clinton supporters and Trump supporters, as protestors looked to spread their own messages to the voters leaving the event. They chanted things such as Blue Lives Matter, a counter argument to the popular movement Black Lives Matter, that Hillary is a hypocrite, thief, corrupt, and that she had no dignity or that she doesn’t truly promote democracy.
Even as police escorted those protestors away from the arena to the “free-speech” area in the front of the campus, it shows just how pivotal this election is.
One woman, Lauren Esquivel, took a spin of the classic “Roses are Red” rhyme to say “Republicans are Red, Democrats are Blue, We Wanted Bernie, Definitely Not You” in regards to Sen. Bernie Sanders not receiving the Democratic nomination. She felt that her vote was robbed and that Sec. Clinton doesn’t “have the backing of the entire American people.”
Despite all the different forms of protests and distractions that seem to surround this election, one thing is for certain: American democracy is in full swing. And with a week until the election, Clinton is giving it all she has to fight for the people and to preserve the American way.
William Richardson Jr. is a recent graduate of the University of Connecticut. While at UConn, he received Bachelor of Arts degrees in Journalism and Africana Studies. He previously worked at UCTV, the local television station on campus, where we served as a sports anchor, sports reporter, assistant sports director and senior advisor over the course of his tenure.
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