Bill Clinton stumps for Hillary at rally at Wissahickon MS
With just three days left before primary Election Day in Pennsylvania, Hillary Clinton’s campaign has been crisscrossing Montgomery County and the surrounding area making the case as to why voters should choose her. President Bill Clinton and former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords stopped by Wissahickon Middle School Saturday to focus on the campaign’s commitment to tackling gun violence in communities across the country. They both said she was the best person for the job.
“If you want to get anything done, you’d better elect Hillary Clinton,” the former president told the crowd of 600 in attendance.
“Speaking is difficult for me, but I want to say these two words: Madam President,” Giffords said to thunderous applause.
Clinton said Hillary supports responsible gun ownership, which includes training and education. It was his administration that passed the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, which created the modern background check, and banned the most frequently used automatic weapons.
“Every charge they level against us today, they leveled against me,” he said, adding that because he was governor of a state that supported responsible gun ownership “they couldn’t convince people I was going to take their guns away.” The same was true for Hillary he said.
Giffords’ husband, Capt. Mark Kelly, said the Brady Law has stopped 2 million illegal guns from being purchased. Hillary Clinton would build upon the work of her husband and is the only candidate tough enough to stand up to the gun lobby, he said.
“If you want a candidate who takes on tough fights, tough corporate interests, you need Hillary Clinton,” he said.
“Hillary is tough,” Giffords later added. “She will stand up to the gun lobby. That’s why I’m voting for Hillary.”
Former Gov. Ed Rendell also lent his support for the campaign by explaining why Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders was not fit to be the nominee.
“Nobody should come to Philadelphia who voted against the assault weapons bill five times,” he said.
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey said he was shaken after learning of Giffords’ attempted Former President Bill Clinton, right, speaks with patrons at Penn’s Table in West Chester on Saturday. Clinton stopped at the downtown restaurant between rallies in Pennsylvania.
assassination in 2011 and then again after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. After those instances his thinking was transformed and he voted to support increased background checks, ban the sale of military style weapons and limit the number of bullets a person could shoot at any one time. Yet more needed to be done and that’s why he supported Clinton.
“We have a long way to go on legislation,” he said. “We’re going to need warriors.”
In his address, which lasted more than 30 minutes, Clinton said the campaign is focused on finding other ways for people to come together.
“We have got to become more united,” he said. “Hillary believes you can only do it first of all through inclusive economics … decreasing inequality and creating more opportunity.”
One way to create more opportunity, he said is for the Supreme Court to expand voting rights, improve
women’s rights and overturn the controversial Citizen’s United decision.
Citizen’s United, he said, guaranteed that every American has the right to freedom of speech, and that money is part of that right.
“Therefore the millionaire and the minimum wage worker are equally free and can spend as much as they want on politics in secret, unreported committees,” he said. “Now I used to teach constitutional law, and if I had posed this question and gotten that answer I would have flunked the student who (gave it).”
Clinton also touched on the campaign’s views on a wide range of topics including healthcare and the need for a public insurance option, passing immigration reform, the need for America to be a clean energy leader, providing access to small business loans, the need for women’s paid leave, increasing manufacturing jobs, raising the federal minimum wage to $12, providing economic and clinical help to areas impacted by heroin and prescription drug abuse and defeating terrorist groups like ISIS by stopping them from indoctrinating young people online through social media.
By about 12:30 p.m. lines started to form outside the middle school. Many in line said they were still unde- cided about who they would choose in the primary and wanted to see what the former president and others had to say about ending gun violence.
Rachael Labroli of Blue Bell and her son Matt, 12, were first in line.
“I want to hear her issues on the guns,” Labroli said. “And on the Syrian refugees, her position on that.”
Matt expected to see lots of security for his first political rally and was looking forward to hearing why Hillary was the right choice for president.
Megan Mackay, of Ambler, wanted to hear how to end gun violence .
“It’s really bad right now,” she said. “Especially in the neighborhood where I’ve lived for about 38 years. My daughter goes to this school and I’ve been concerned about what’s going on.”
Bradford Augustine, of Ambler, said he was a Hillary Clinton supporter.
“I just think she’s good for the country right now,” he said.