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A crowd of nearly 500 gathered inside the Old South Meeting House Monday afternoon to support former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton before Tuesday’s presidential primary in Massachusetts. Facing the stage, the crowd listened to multiple state officials before Clinton spoke.
U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano of the 7th district of Massachusetts told the crowd that Clinton’s strength is unparalleled by any other candidate in the presidential race.
“I have never seen anyone who’s had more sticks and more stones and stood up so tall and so true than Hillary Clinton,” Capuano said. “We have a combination here of someone who’s qualified, someone who’s tested, someone who can win and someone who knows how to get things done in Washington.”
Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey said Clinton would bring the country fairness and security.
“We are going to make it more fair, more just, more educated,” Markey said. “When guns are on the streets of this country killing our young people, we have more work to do. Hillary Clinton will make sure the NRA stands for ‘not relevant anymore.’ When women only make 77 cents to the dollar, when black women make 65 cents, when Latinas only make 59 cents on the dollar … Hillary Clinton will fight for you.”
Chants of “Hillary Clinton” and “H-R-C” were heard throughout the meeting house as attendees waited for Clinton to speak.
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey spoke to the crowd about why people should vote for Clinton on Tuesday.
“If you care about our rights for health care, workers’ rights and the environment, you know what you have to do,” Healey said. “If you care about ending gun violence and ending the heroin and opioid epidemic, you know what you have to do. And if you care about tearing down those barriers — economic, social, cultural — to create opportunities for all, there is one person we know who will deliver, and that’s Hillary Clinton.”
Boston Mayor Martin Walsh said Clinton would only win Massachusetts Tuesday if residents do their part.
“When we leave here today, don’t [go] home and get on with your life, but get involved in the campaign,” Walsh said. “That means if you haven’t knocked on a door, you haven’t made a phone call, go in your phone book, knock on your neighbors’ doors and let them know what’s at stake in this election to make sure we win our state tomorrow.”
The crowd erupted in cheers when Walsh introduced Clinton to the crowd.
Clinton said one thing she would fight to protect if she were to win the presidency would be the Affordable Care Act.
“The Republicans have been trying to repeal it — they’ve now voted to repeal it 63 times,” Clinton said. “But, you know, they never tell you what they would replace it with. So if you have a pre-existing condition, man, it’s going to be hard to get insurance. [If] you’re a woman, we’re going to pay more for our health care then men. If you’re a young person, no guarantee you could be on your parents policy until you’re 26.”
Clinton said that as president, she would work to make college tuition more affordable for middle-class families.
“If you go to a public college or university, you will not have to borrow a dime,” Clinton said. “Borrow free tuition, and we will work to get the cost down so everyone can afford it. I am not going to ask you to pay taxes to send Donald Trump’s kid for free to college.”
Several attendees expressed their support for Clinton and why they intend to vote for her.
Sterl Carpenter, a junior at The University of Rhode Island and president of the College Democrats of Rhode Island, said he supports Clinton because she can relate to young people.
“I’m supporting Hillary because I think she is the best candidate for all Americans, including young people,” he said. “I think she has the most pragmatic and achievable plan at making college affordable and making that dream a reality for a lot of people.”
Grace Fleming, 58, of Hyde Park, said she would vote for Clinton because Clinton is the most qualified to be president.
“I think she’s very qualified to be president, and she’s far better qualified than Mr. Trump, that’s for sure,” Fleming said. “I think she has a lot of experience, and I think she’d do well domestically as well as internationally.”
David Freedman, 34, of Brighton, said he would vote for Clinton because her foreign policy stance is better than all of the presidential candidates, especially Trump.
“I think she will be a good politician,” Freedman said. “I think [Clinton] would win against Trump. Donald Trump[‘s] foreign policy scares me.”
