Former President Bill Clinton headlined an early voting rally Oct. 21 in Jacksonville, calling on local residents to support his wife’s platform that includes addressing everything from climate change to universal access to broadband cable service.
An estimated 1,000 people attended the rally at the Jacksonville Public Library, where Florida Democrats attempted to fire up the party base before the Oct. 24 start of early voting.
Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz urged attendees to rally their neighbors to support Clinton’s candidacy against Republican nominee Donald Trump.
“We can’t let that bigoted, misogynistic, intemperate, unqualified, narcissistic nasty man …anywhere near the White House,” she said. “Make sure we put Florida in the blue column for Hillary Clinton.”
Bill Clinton, meanwhile, said that the “good old days” some Republicans long for weren’t all that great.
“I’m a white southerner,” Clinton said. “I was born at the end of World War II into a state with an income that was barely half the national average. I remember when America was sort of great – sort of like they’re talking about. But it wasn’t so hot. It wasn’t so great to be African American or Mexican American. Gay people were off in the closet somewhere. I think America’s better today and I think it’s gonna be better tomorrow.”
Hillary Clinton’s agenda, her husband said, includes making coastal communities in Florida less vulnerable to climate change and making sure that “every family in every community has access to affordable broadband.”
Her infrastructure plan, he added, is projected to create 10 million jobs.
“We’re gonna have a record number of people vote,” Clinton said, “and I want you to promise yourselves that you’re not going to pass a living soul between now and election day to be part of a truly historic triumph for American freedom.”
