Bill Clinton stumps for Hillary Clinton in Phoenix
Former President Bill Clinton on Sunday returned to Arizona, the state he carried 20 years ago, to campaign on behalf of his wife, Hillary Clinton, two days ahead of the state's primary.
Clinton, the 42nd president who in 1996 became the only Democrat since President Harry Truman to win the Grand Canyon State, appeared at an afternoon rally at Central High School in Phoenix, introduced by former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and her husband, retired NASA astronaut Mark Kelly.
"Needless to say, we had a pretty tough campaign eight years ago, and Arizona voted with us. I hope you will again on Tuesday," Clinton said, recalling his wife's victory in that year's primary over future President Barack Obama.
Sounding a little hoarse, Clinton in a wide-ranging talk detailed several of his wife's policy proposals related to job creation and training, clean energy, affordable college, health insurance, law-enforcement reform, gun control, and fighting terrorism. He touted her foreign policy and national-security experience that came from serving as Obama's secretary of State and as a member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee.
Clinton also addressed the nation's mood, suggesting many Americans don't feel like they are part of the recovering economy — the "pretty picture" that Obama has painted — and that is helping fuel discontent.
"We've got all these young people with mountains of college debt they don't know if they can repay, they can't even move out of their parents' home," Clinton said. "They're frustrated. ... Hillary's running for president so we can all rise together and all be in the picture."
He also called on Arizona to "resume funding the children's health-insurance program."
Turning to a key topic in the Arizona race, Clinton emphasized that Hillary Clinton will work to fix the nation's broken immigration system.
"We've also got to have immigration reform," Clinton said. "I believe Congress made a mistake not to pass immigration reform several years ago, when Hillary voted for it, and Senator (Edward) Kennedy was behind it ... and it was killed. President (George W.) Bush would have signed it."
Clinton added that America is "strengthened by the diversity and youth of our workforce."
On gun policy, Clinton said Hillary Clinton agrees citizens have the right to bear arms, "if they are properly trained, (and) have the gun for hunting, for sport shooting and for personal safety."
"No one blames anybody for wanting to do what is necessary to protect themselves," Clinton said. "But it is not too much to ask people who value their gun rights to show a little flexibility to save the lives of all of these kids that are being killed by people ..."
In Phoenix, Clinton was joined by farm labor leader and Hispanic civil-rights activist Dolores Huerta, who spoke before him. The former president and Huerta were greeted by a capacity crowd of 1,100 in the school's gymnasium.
"This is Hillary's army right here," Huerta said, urging audience members to help get out the vote.
She led the supporters in a chant of "Viva Hillary Clinton!"
Why Arizona's presidential primary matters
Another speaker, former U.S. Rep. Ed Pastor, D-Ariz., echoed the "Viva Hillary Clinton" message.
"As Gabby Giffords would say, it matters who we vote for," Pastor said. "It's very important ... On Tuesday, we have to go out and vote for Hillary Clinton."
Giffords and Kelly brought the audience to its feet when the couple made their surprise appearance to introduce Clinton.
Hillary Clinton is the only candidate in the race who has the "determination" and "toughness" to stand up to the gun lobby, Kelly said, praising Bill Clinton for signing the gun-control Brady Bill. Giffords was shot in the head and nearly killed in a 2011 assassination attempt near Tucson.
Hillary Clinton, a former U.S. senator from New York, is the Democratic front-runner. A decisive victory in Arizona on Tuesday could help put the race away.
"We have too much to lose in this election, so we need to make sure we elect Hillary Clinton as our next president," Kelly said.
However, despite leading in the few public polls that have been released, Clinton is facing an unexpectedly fierce challenge in Arizona from her rival for her party's nomination, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Sanders, who went zero for five states in Tuesday's primaries in Florida, Ohio, Illinois, North Carolina and Missouri, has invested heavily in TV advertising and personal campaign time in Arizona, which is seen as the biggest prize on Tuesday, when Utah and Idaho also hold caucuses.
The Clinton campaign is serious about stopping Sanders from regaining momentum ahead of Saturday's Washington, Hawaii and Alaska caucuses. In April, delegate-rich states such as New York, Maryland and Pennsylvania will weigh in.
Hillary Clinton is set to appear Monday at a 3:30 p.m. rally at Carl Hayden Community High School, 3333 W. Roosevelt St., Phoenix, and may participate in other local campaign events.
She also has dispatched a small army of campaign surrogates to Arizona.
Bill Clinton, 69, has always been a popular draw for Arizona Democrats. In the past he has come to the state to lend a hand to Democratic Senate candidates Jim Pederson and Richard Carmona.
In 1996, Clinton edged Republican nominee Bob Dole 46.5 percent to 44.2 percent to carry Arizona, a traditional red state in presidential elections. Another 7.9 percent of the vote went to Reform Party candidate H. Ross Perot.
Sunday marked the second time Central High School was visited by a president. President Barack Obama spoke on the campus in January 2015.