Bill Clinton on the stump for Hillary in ABQ
Former President Bill Clinton stressed economic issues and his wife’s foreign policy experience Wednesday at a packed gymnasium in Southwest Albuquerque, but made little mention of Donald Trump — other than a few jabs at “wall-builders” — or the protests that followed Trump’s campaign rally here a day earlier.
Hillary Clinton would work to raise the minimum wage, impose a 30 percent tax
rate on people who earn $1 million or more and reward with tax credits companies “that fairly share their revenues with employees,” Bill Clinton said.
“For no other reason, it’s worth electing Hillary president to get the right kind of Supreme Court,” he told a rally at the Alamosa Community Center. Event organizers estimated the crowd at 1,200.
The event followed his campaign appearance Tuesday in Española.
“You don’t want a Supreme Court that will weaken voting rights, weaken labor rights, weaken women’s rights, you name it,” he said.
Republican control of the White House and Congress would lead to tax cuts for the wealthy and repeal of the Dodd-Frank financial reforms and would put Medicare and Social Security at risk, Clinton warned.
He made no reference to his wife’s Democratic primary opponent, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, other than to tell New Mexico voters that they could help “to close out this long nominating process.”
Sanders drew thousands of supporters last week at campaign events in Santa Fe, Albuquerque and southern New Mexico.
Other than a few people in Bernie Sanders T-shirts who stood quietly outside the community center, the afternoon rally lacked any sign of protesters.
The event was a marked contrast to Trump’s campaign appearance Tuesday at the Albuquerque Convention Center that led to angry exchanges between protesters and Trump supporters, and later confrontations with police.
Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, recently has escalated his personal attacks on Bill Clinton’s character in speeches and on social media.
But Clinton largely stuck with his script, touting his wife’s support for middle-class Americans by protecting social programs, strengthening the economy and reducing student loan debt.
“Hillary believes that we can grow together, but only if we live together, only if we work together, and that will make us strong together,” he said.
Clinton strayed into criticism of Trump only once when he mimicked the candidate and said, “No, no, no, we need to put up a wall and make things as they used to be.” The crowd booed and jeered.
Clinton also stressed his wife’s support for comprehensive immigration reform, which he said would provide certainty for an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants and improve the U.S. economy by expanding the labor force.
“Our diversity is unique among all the economies on Earth,” he said. “It is a massive advantage for us. Contrary to the wall builders, it guarantees us prosperity long into this new century.”
Many in the audience were longtime Clinton supporters. Bill Clinton served as president from 1993 to 2001.
Jerome Sarason, 51, said he supports Hillary Clinton “because she is married to Bill.” Sarason said he favors her proposal to give Bill Clinton a role in economic issues if she is elected.
“I want him back in the White House, and this is a great way to do it,” he said. Clinton’s audience lacked the abundance of young faces that marked Sanders’ campaign events in New Mexico and elsewhere.
“I really like Hillary as a candidate,” said Jennifer Elliott, 37 of Santa Fe, who wore a Sanders T-shirt to the rally. “I like Bernie better. I’d really like to see them working together.”