Saturday, February 16, 2008

Hillary at the Brat Stop


UPDATE: According to TMJ4's Charles Benson, Hillary ate a brat while at the Brat Stop.
______________

Hillary Clinton made her first campaign stop in Wisconsin at the Brat Stop in Kenosha.
To score points with Wisconsin voters, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton could not have picked a better spot to make her first state campaign stop as a presidential candidate.

In a state that loves its beer, cheese, brats and football, the Brat Stop in Kenosha offers a little something for everyone.

It has a shop selling Wisconsin’s finest cheeses, a bar that shows the Badgers and Packers games and that offers $1 Miller beers on special, and a restaurant that serves up a mean brat, of course.

The Clinton campaign decorated the room where she was to give a speech to voters with American flags and campaign signs. “This is Hillary Country!” one sign read.

It is also Wisconsin, no doubt.

Apparently, the Associated Press is into stereotypes.

I love brats and I love the Brat Stop; but let's remember there's more to Wisconsin than cheese and brats and beer.

Fifth-grader Jade Bailey might have been the star of Clinton’s campaign rally in Kenosha.

The 11-year-old asked Clinton a heartfelt question that elicited an audible gasp of sympathy from the crowd of supporters at the Brat Stop.

“What do you plan to do about little girls with no houses and no food?” she asked Clinton.

Her mother, Donna Bailey, explained she is on the verge of losing her Kenosha home.

The hairdresser said she is seeing fewer customers because of the slowing economy, and her adjustable-rate mortgage has increased from $600 per month to $1,000, which she is struggling to afford.

Clinton put her arm around Jade Bailey on stage and spoke at length about her plan to deal with the mortgage crisis, including her plan to impose a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures.

Afterward, Jade, who was wearing a “Hillary for President” T-shirt, said she liked Clinton’s response.

“I’m really worried about losing my home,” she said. “I think she can help us.”

That's very touching. I might have choked up. I'm sure if Hillary got teary-eyed the AP would have taken note.
Clinton started her campaign swing through Wisconsin by accusing her rival of giving up on the goal of universal health insurance and accusing him of adopting some of her economic plans.

Sen. Barack Obama detailed a $210 billion plan in a speech on Wednesday in Janesville to create jobs in environmentally friendly industries and to repair the nation’s infrastructure. Clinton said she has long talked about similar ideas.

“I understand my opponent came to Wisconsin a few days ago and basically gave my speech,” Clinton said during a town hall meeting with supporters here. “That’s very flattering. I want everybody to agree with me on this.”

That does show how similar the two candidates are when it comes to policy, and that Obama is short on original ideas.
...The Obama campaign greeted her arrival in the state today with a television ad titled “Desperate” that accuses Clinton of practicing “the same old politics.” The ad is a response to a spot Clinton has been airing that claims Obama might raise the retirement age or cut retirement benefits.

It seems like Obama ads are on TV constantly.

It's like a Herb Kohl campaign!

Will Obama be charged with going negative on Hillary? "Desperate" isn't exactly a very nice title for an ad.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had received an email that Hillary Clinton was making a campaign stop 20 minutes from my home on Saturday afternoon. I called my daughter Jeni, and my girlfriends Jeannie and Pam to go with me. Jeni did not want to give up a Saturday, Jeannie doesn't even like Hillary. But they did it for me. So Jeni and Jeannie and I got there at noon and we ate the longest 3-1/2 hour lunch we ever had waiting for Hillary to show up, just so we could have good seat. Pam arrived just before Hillary.

Then they announced she was here (Hillary, not Pam!) My heart was beating so loudly in my ears. We were only about 12 feet away from her. It was a large restaurant (The Brat Stop) and she was in the middle. I could see just fine. She was wearing a blue dress suit, and honestly...she looked so pretty...much prettier in person than the TV makes her look. Much softer than the personality the press tries to paint of her. She began to speak, and her voice reminded me of myself, when I talk about something I passionately believe in. She stated all her beliefs and her strengths and her desires for our country. Every single thing I wanted, she wanted. She is a huge supporter of teachers and education (also dear to Jeni, who teaches high school math.) She talked about her record in helping the elderly, Medicaid and prescription drugs (a hero to my parents.) She is a huge proponent of making sure everyone has insurance (we almost lost our home, because our insurance company wouldn't cover my daughter Kimber's disease, Rett Syndrome.) Everything she said felt like we were best friends, sitting at the kitchen table, just talking about what every family needs in our country.

Then the moment came.

The speech ended. I had printed up signs about my daughter, Kimber, that said: THANK YOU HILLARY, FOR SAVING MY DAUGHTER's LIFE. She began to take questions. I held up my sign and moved around the room to try and get her to see it. She took about 8 questions from the audience, then announced she wanted to take time to meet people. So I started to move closer to her. Two guys, one in front and one behind me, about Jeni's age, literally propelled me towards her in their desire to meet her, too. Then they realized their batteries did not work in their camera. So I volunteered to take their picture and email it to them. We were so close that I could frame them in such a way that Hillary was in the middle. Then I gave one of them my sign to pass on to her. He was right in front and handed it to Hillary, who was doing circles trying to sign autographs for everyone.

Then she stopped.

She looked at the sign and asked, "What is this about?" The guy pointed to me and I leaned forward. We were about three feet away. I told her: "A few years ago you fought for funding in Congress, for my daughter's disease, Rett Syndrome." And she nodded and smiled and said, "Yes, I remember." And I told her, "Since then, that research led to them being able to REVERSE the disease in mice. YOU SAVED MY DAUGHTER's LIFE! - and... I Thank You!" Never have I said those words with such meaning. She kept looking at me, and then thanked me for telling her. Then I asked if we could have our picture taken together. She came forward and we stood just inches from each other. I couldn't even pose. We stood there looking right at each other. Our eyes saying what our words could not. I began to cry. I was so thankful, and so grateful and so happy at that moment to see the look in her eyes. It was not a candidate for President, it was one Mother to another, with a chance to share something deeper. I will never forget her eyes. My mother always said, you can tell a person by their eyes. And I knew at that moment, that she was for real. That she does care about everything and yes, everyone, she fights for.

We both then turned and looked at the camera, and it is the prettiest, happiest picture you will ever see of Hillary, and the worse cry-baby picture you will ever see of me, but I don't care. The important thing is, I have always believed, and now I know for SURE, that she is THE ONE.

Tuesday, all of us here in Wisconsin, will have a chance to propel her to the White House. Some of you will later on. And I am pleading with you, with everything I have within me, it is something we have to do. She has been bullied and annihilated in the press long enough. I know, without a doubt, from the depths of my heart, that she is the ONLY CANDIDATE that really, truly wants to make a difference in our country. She is also the strongest, one. Look at what everyone has done to her, and she still fights hard for all of us, especially, those like Kimber, who do not have a voice. If she can stand up to Congress, her own peers, she can stand up to other countries. She has earned this privilege. Everyone forgets all the good she has done for our country all these years. Her record far surpasses that of Obama's or McCain's when it comes to defending the middle and lower class...the poor, the elderly, the handicapped. She believes anyone who goes to school to be a teacher, firefighter and police officer (my daughter, my son, my sister) should not have to pay for their tuition. She believes we should all have as good an insurance policy that Congress gets (Kimber would never have been refused care under Hillary.) She places her values on what is important.

I am asking all of you, please, vote from your heart. She changed Jeannie's mind. She thinks so much of her now, she's voting for her. I think it's probably safe to say, none of you has never met anyone of these candidates personally. I have. None of you has been DIRECTLY affected by the ACTIONS of any one of these candidates. I have. Please, look deep in your heart. If anything will stand out and make you vote for Hillary on Tuesday, or whenever you have the chance...please remember one very important message...without her, Kimber would never of had the chance to live a normal life. Hillary made that happen.

Please THANK HER, with your vote, next time you get the chance.

I thank you!

Sherry

Mary said...

That's a very moving story, Sherry.

All the best to you and your daughter.