Small gym, big crowd at Sac Clinton rally
By Owen Yancher & Brooke Lee,
BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–
Thousands of Sacramento-area residents turned out to see Hillary Clinton speak Sunday evening at Sacramento City College, and waited in line for hours under a broiling sun to do so. Few, however, actually got the chance.
Per the Fire Marshal’s orders, only around 800 of the 4,000 plus Democrats were allowed into the gym, stranding the rest of the crowd out in the 100 degree heat. For those that did manage to get in, it was a rousing political experience.
“I’m a huge Hillary supporter, so seeing her speak was an awesome experience,” senior Spencer Ault said after the rally. “She hit on a lot of points that are important to me, and really underscored why she’s the best candidate in my eyes.”
Junior Kate Miller was less fortunate than Ault and had to listen to Clinton’s speech through speakers outside the building.
“Sure the Hillary rally was rough and I’ll probably take a week to fully recover but I would still vote for her,” Miller admitted. “Her platform for liberal reform may not be as radical but it is certainly broader than Bernie’s. She addresses more of the issues that concern me.”
Clinton’s speech came 35 minutes later than scheduled, bringing an end to the hours-long vigil undertaken by her supporters in the gymnasium. Event organizers killed time by bringing up a string of speakers, from the notable (Congressman John Garamendi, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson) to the nearly anonymous (former United States Ambassador to Hungary Eleni Tsakopoulos Koulanakis).
Those speakers whiled away the time, alongside the pounding percussion of the Grant High School Drumline, which occasionally drowned out attempted chants by the crowd. Finally, at around 6:35, Clinton herself took the stage alongside Representative Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento), who introduced the presidential candidate.
Clinton spoke for just over 30 minutes, and stuck mostly to her policy. The former First Lady spoke at length about her commitment to anti-climate change initiatives, promising half a billion new solar panels in California by the end of her first term, and enough clean energy to power every house in the state by the end of her second.
Clinton also hammered the idea of bringing in more jobs to the state, in areas like infrastructure and advanced manufacturing.
“If we invented it in California, we should build it in California!” Clinton said.
Clinton also found time in her speech to hit Republican candidate Donald Trump on several areas of his proposed policies. The former New York Senator attacked Trump on the growing issue of “Trump University”, hit him hard on his immigration plans, and cracked down on his seeming embrace of foreign dictators.
In contrast, Clinton spent scarcely any breath on her Democratic challenger, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Subtle cracks at “promises I can’t keep” and old age were the only mentions of Sanders, who is breathing down Clinton’s neck in California polls.
As those polls stand now, the state seems up for grabs. A CBS News poll has Clinton up two percent (49-47) for now, but it remains to be seen if that story will hold true on Tuesday when primary voting occurs.
