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Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton stops by Akron

Patrick Shade 0 Comments

Video, Story, & Tweets By: Patrick Shade


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Clinton brings energy to Akron rally

By: Patrick Shade

Recognizing the importance of Ohio in the presidential election, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton came to Goodyear Hall on Monday eager to share her plan and present her vision on why she is the better candidate.

An estimated crowd of 2,600, which caused the Clinton campaign to remove barriers on the balcony meant to shrink the room, was warmed up by Akron mayor Dan Horrigan, Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, and Congressman Tim Ryan.

Clinton came out shortly after 5:45, and quickly brought up a high profile endorsement given by Cleveland Cavaliers player LeBron James, which was printed in Monday’s Akron Beacon Journal.

“I may become president, but he will be king of Ohio for as long as there is a king,” Clinton said, causing the crowd to roar.

After encouraging attendees to make sure their friends and themselves were registered to vote, Clinton first mentioned opponent Donald Trump six minutes into the speech. Clinton compared how she and Trump grew up before talking about how her father was a small businessman.

In reference to small businesses who were financially stiffed by Trump, Clinton said “I gotta tell you, I am really grateful my dad never got a contract from him.”

Corporate fraud was next on Clinton’s speech, with Clinton criticizing the Wells Fargo scandal. Clinton then went after Trump for wanting to shut down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

“I have said we’re never gonna let Wall Street wreck Main Street again, and I mean it!” Clinton said.

Clinton then moved on to talking about Trump’s taxes, a major news story from the previous weekend. Clinton discussed her transparency of her taxes, and how she was grateful for the amount of taxes that she paid.

Some audible boos were heard when Clinton discussed Trump’s 1995 tax loss of almost a billion dollars. Clinton than challenged Trump to release his taxes before 2009, which are currently not under audit, before proposing a new rule herself.

“If I’m fortunate enough to be President, we’re gonna pass a law requiring anybody who is a nominee of a major national party to have to release their taxes!” Clinton exclaimed.

Clinton then turned to a story released hours earlier by Newsweek that revealed that Trump had used steel made by the Chinese rather than Americans during recent construction products.

“How can he “Make America Great Again?” when he won’t even buy American products in our country?” Clinton asked, making a reference to her opponent’s slogan.

In a state where the union vote is crucial, Clinton also talked about how Trump did not care if the automobile industry went bankrupt, while she did.

Even with a poll released Monday by Quinnipiac showing Clinton down 5 points in a 4-way contest with Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein in Ohio, Clinton supporters didn’t seem to worry.

“I don’t put a lot of stock in polls,” said Donna Beheydt of Wadsworth. “Because if you remember correctly four years ago, Mitt Romney was ahead in a lot of polls…and Obama kind of creamed him.”

Clinton finished her speech by mentioning her support of the Iran nuclear deal and how if Americans listened to each other, things could get accomplished.

Other attendees had high viewpoints of the day overall.

Tony Baker of Brunswick said that his favorite part of the day was the turnout.

“A lot of people, a lot of energy, ready to vote for Hillary (starting) next week,” Baker said.

Gail Hopkins of Akron had a more personal reason for attending.

“I was really trying to get Hillary to lower the crime charges that they gave to my grandson. They charged him too much time for the crime.”

Hopkins’ grandson, Jermaine Baker, is serving a 32-year prison sentence for charges that include kidnapping, aggravated burglary, and aggravated robbery.

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