Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton appears enthusiastic as she campaigns with a message of “Solutions for a Strong Military” in a packed Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in downtown Asheville last Thursday night. In a surprise visit, Chelsea Clinton showed up last Sunday in Asheville to stump for her mother. A story on Chelsea’s whirlwind visit appears on Page 18. Daily Planet Staff Photo 

By JOHN NORTH

Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, flanked by a cadre of retired high-ranking U.S. military leaders, touted the continued need for strong military capabilities to a crowd of about 2,500 people during a campaign rally last Thursday night at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in downtown Asheville.

The turnout was so large that organizers said hundreds were unable to get into the auditorium to hear Clinton, so her speech was broadcast via a sound system to those who had to remain outside.
During the rally, campaign organizers boasted that they had “shut down Asheville” with their crowd of Clinton enthusiasts clogging up the downtown area.

Clad, as usual, in a black pantsuit, Clinton stressed in her 45-minute speech  her plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq within 60 days after she took office.

She also said she would seek better care of wounded veterans, make the tax code fairer to lift the economy, improve education and end the No Child Left Behind program and continue to be the only candidate with a clear plan for universal health care.

Former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Gen. Hugh Shelton, motions to the crowd during his speech endorsing Hillary Clinton (seated to his left). 

“I’m very honored to have the support and trust of these military leaders,” she said, gesturing at the retired officers behind her.

“There are many challenges” facing the U.S., as it ends the war in Iraq honorably and leaves soon and wins the war in Afghanistan.

She then made her first mention of an ofte-repeated mantra peppered throughout her 30-minute speech, noting, “Force should be used as a last resort and not as a first resort.”

Clinton also stressed the importance of taking care of those who served — and were hurt — as a result of putting themselvves in harm’s way for America.

In addition to the endorsement of 35 generals, Clinton said she has thousands of people in the miltary services who support him.

In speaking of her campaign, she said, “We wanted to come to Asheville, such a beautiful, beautiful place ... Some of you may have seen my husband when he came here” a few weeks ago. “I understand he reminisced about a weekend we enjoyed at the Grove Park Inn.”

During her Asheville talk, Clinton said she would be speaking “in very specific terms of what I will do,” if elected president, “because there is a need to rebuild accountability in the White House.”

She added, “We will be crisscrossing North Carolina” to campaign before the Democratic primary next Tuesday. “I’m starting out behind,” she admitted. “I’m the underdog, but that doesn’t bother me. I think America is worth fighting for!”

Instead of “sitting idly by,” Clinton explained how she plans to play a role in solving problems in the U.S. and the world.

For instance, she said that “the economy is not working for many people,” except for those who are wealthy.

Then she alluded to her husband Bill’s presidence, which ended “with a balanced budget and a surplus ... Now, in comparison, we’ve lost ground ... That balanced budget is long gone.

She lamented that “our (national) debt has exploded to $9 trillion ... We are living on borrowed money and foreign oil ....”

At present, she said, the key to American economic growth is energy independence, particularly ridding itself of its current dependency on oil from the Middle East.

Pausing, Clinton triggered cheers from the crowd when she asserted, “Sometimes, I hear people critique the ‘90s. I ask: What did they not like — the peace or the prosperity?”

“We need a vision for where we’re heading and a solution on how we’ll get there.”

A campaign worker carries a cutout replica of Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton in front of the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium as H.K Edgerton and others use the opportunity to capture the public’s attention prior to Clinton’s speech last Thursday night. Edgerton, who is African-American, was waving a Confederate flag across Haywood Street in downtown Asheville to draw attention to what he terms the contributions of blacks to the Southern cause during the Civil War.

“It’s fundamentally wrong,” she said, when a millionnaire “pays a lower tax rate than a truck driver making less than $50,000 in Asheville.”

“We need strong labor and environmental standards ... We have to think more in 21st century terms ... We’ll start with clean, renewable energy jobs.”

At that point, Clinton noted, “I’d like to start with a declaration of energy independence ... We need to issue our own declaration of independence from foreign oil — we have no choice,” given that the economy is tied to it now.

“We must have a much broader view ... We are interconnected and interdependent and we have to look” at other ways to generate energy.

To that end, she suggested, “Take the subsidies that you pay through your tax dollars to oil companies and (instead) invest them in renewable energy sources.”

Noting that bridges are crumbling and roads need work across America, she said, “There also is a tremendous pent-up need to rebuild our infrastructure.”

“Like war bonds during World War II, I think Americans would buy Build America bonds.

Also, she emphasized the need to end “once and for all, President Bush’s war on science.”

To accomplish scientific breakthroughs, Clinton said “I will unleash our scientific minds” through her administration’s support “and we want to be sure any advances in health are available to everyone.”

Clinon received a standing ovation and sustained applause when she asserted that she is advocating launching a universal health care system that will make “quality, affordable health care affordable to everyone” in the U.S. She termed herself “the only candidate” remaining in the presidential race who has a comprehensive plan for universal health care.

“If you have health care and you’re happy with it, nothing would change” under the Clinton plan, she said. “But if you’re uninsured or under-insured, this would help you.”

She stressed, “It’s not government-run medicine,” as her conservative opponents claim. Rather, “we’re going to take the plan for Congress and federal employees and we’re goingto open it up to everyone” who wants it.

“Just like Social Security and Medicare, the most important goal is to get everyone covered,” she said.
She lamented that the U.S. health insurance industry would “rather pay $50 million to avoid paying people than to spend it on people to give them a beter quality of coverage.”

Next, she noted that she wants required kindergarten attendance, “especially to get disadvantaged children prepared and then I will end No Child Left Behind,” a Bush program.

Her comments, particularly on cutting No Child Left Behind, drew a standing ovation and thunderous applause.

Clinton also expressed concern that “college has become so much more expensive than it used to be.”

When she attended college, Clinton said he parents paid her room, board and tuition, leaving it to her to cover her other expenses. As a result, “I worked some sort of job since I was 13.” However, the interest rate on her loan was 2 percent in the late 1960s, while today “students are paying interest to predatory loan companies of as much as 20 percent.”

Clinton said she also will simplify the financial aid application form for college loans.

Under her administration, she said that “if you do public service,” like law enforcement, “we will forgive you debt (on a college loan) over time.”

Shifting subjects, Clinton then stated that “it’s important that we regain moral leadership around the world — and that has to involve ending the war in Iraq ... I’m having military advisors draw up a 60-day plan to withdraw.

“I think it’s fair to say, we know if we stay, and  there is no military solution, then we’ve failed on a political and diplomatic” level — “and there’s no reason to stay otherwise since Iraq is being irresponsible in handling its tasks in the operation.

“There are costs of staying that get very short shrift,” she said, noting that, as president, “I will tell the Iraqis they must step up — and they no longer have a blank check” from the U.S. government.

She also spoke of retooling the terms of service for military personnel, wherein their agreements are honored. To that end, Clinton said, “We need a new G.I. Bill of Rights for the 21st century.

In speaking of the 12 days of “hard-fought” campaigning ahead of her, in a reference to next Tuesday’s North Carolina and Indiana primaries, Clinton said, “I’ve always thought the best indicator of what someone will do is what they have done. I’ve got a 35-year record that I think is pretty good.

“Sen. (John) McCain (the presumptive Republican candidate for president) is a friend, but he has the wrong policies,” Clinton said. “He will continue the failed policies of President Bush — and we can’t afford that!”

She urged the crowd to think of the election “as a hiring decision. After all, that is what it is. The people of North Carolina are hiring who they want to be their next president” With a laugh, Clinton noted that “it’s been the longest job interview I’ve ever had.”

In concluding, Clinton queried, “So I ask you: Who would you hire for universal health care? Energy policy? End the war in Iraq and bring our troops home? I hope you will support me!”