Hillary finishes historic week with electric Philly address
‘I can’t think of an election that is more important in my lifetime’
PHILADELPHIA –– Following a momentous convention, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton officially kicked off her campaign in Philadelphia at a Temple University victory rally.
Thousands of people filled out McGonigle Hall, where Tim Kaine started off the rally. There was no shortage of dad-like behavior as he jokingly asked the audience if they wanted a “You’re-hired president or a you’re-fired president,” compared his home of Virginia to Pennsylvania, another commonwealth, and fully embraced the power point.
Secretary Clinton was all smiles as she took the stage, focusing on the successes of her week and centering on a progressive platform to benefit the working class and minority groups.
Her appeal to the working class came with digs at Trump for disregarding American jobs and products, saying: “He doesn’t make a thing in America except bankruptcies!”
Her ideas of inclusion of all races, genders, ages and sexual orientations were summed up by one major quote, which will no doubt be used throughout her campaign: “We’ve made progress, but we have work to do to make sure everybody is included.”
During the speech, Bill Clinton relaxed in a chair behind her, letting his wife take center stage for the first time as the Democratic candidate, probably exhausted from a night full of playing with balloons.
The overall reception to her speech was positive, with a lot of enthusiasm and patriotism filling the room. American flags were waving throughout her speech, just like they did during her acceptance speech on Thursday. Chants of “USA!” rang through the gymnasium, crushing the stereotype of non-patriotic Democrats.
The exception was one man who was escorted out by Secret Service after chanting “Hillary is a war criminal” mid-speech, which was covered by chants of “Hillary!”
Hillary fan Amede Brenielle, 23, said: “She seemed knowledgable about actual problems and not like normal politician BS. I felt super patriotic even though I wasn’t born here. I feel like I can call myself a semi-American right now.”
So what does this mean for the rest of the Clinton campaign? Hillary is going to use the rest of her time until November trying to convince battle ground states, Bernie or Bust supporters and Republicans who dislike Trump that she is trustworthy and is much more qualified for president than her GOP rival.
Her tactic to remind voters their country is only going to get better if she is elected is an attempt to include every single American. Her controversies may have started to clear, but the real fight begins today.
“As of tomorrow, we have 100 days to make our case to America,” she said. Time to hustle.