Former President Clinton Stumps For Brown, Newsom In SoCal
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Young Californians who overwhelming turned out to vote for President Barack Obama in 2008 must follow through this year by turning up at the polls for Democrats, Former President Bill Clinton told thousands of supporters Friday night as he cast the November election as a "conflict of ideas."
Clinton addressed about 6,000 cheering supporters at an outdoor rally at the University of California, Los Angeles for gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown and lieutenant governor hopeful Gavin Newsom. He said Republicans such as Brown's GOP rival, Meg Whitman, want to roll back college benefits and student loan programs.
"If every student on the UCLA campus knew that, the voter turnout would be as least as high as it was two years ago," he said.
Clinton is on a nationwide barnstorming tour on behalf of Democrats, many of whom are thought to be disillusioned. He said he never expected to spend so much time on the campaign trail, but he felt compelled to get out because of this year's negative tone.
"We've got an electorate that is motivated, they say—the experts—by anger on the right and apathy on the left and amnesia all around," he said.
Clinton, who drew the loudest cheers of any of Friday night's speakers, later lingered, shaking hands with supporters who ran across the courtyard to greet him.
Brown also sought to appeal to the young crowd in a brief speech, telling them that Whitman's proposal to eliminate the capital gains taxes paid by the wealthiest Californians would carve a hole in education budgets. He vowed to protect students if elected.
"We have enough wealth to continue to have a great university and get every kid in this school that can qualify. And when I say every young man and young woman, I mean everyone, whether they're documented or not: if they went to school, they ought to be here," Brown said to loud cheers.
The comment was a reference to the Dream Act, which Brown said would be the first bill he would sign after the budget if elected. The act would let U.S. high school graduates who were brought into the country illegally as children become legal residents after spending two years in college or the military.
Whitman, who is neck-and-neck with Brown in public opinion polls, opposes the plan. The former eBay chief executive is on her own get-out-the-vote swing this weekend and has made pit stops in a new campaign bus at burger joints and hot dog stands this week.
At an In-N-Out Burger in Sacramento earlier Friday, Whitman said Clinton's visit to boost Brown is more evidence of national interest in the governor's race in a year in which Republicans are thought to have the momentum. She noted she has recently campaigned with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and other well-known Republicans.
The rally at UCLA was Clinton's second stop in Southern California Friday. Earlier, he drummed up support in Santa Ana for Democratic Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, who is facing her first serious challenge in 14 years against Republican state Assemblyman Van Tran.
The former president credited Democrats with helping to stem the economic downturn, noting Sanchez voted for the federal stimulus package that he said helped prevent a bad situation from getting worse.
"You have a choice. Don't let this election be a referendum on people's disappointment and anger. Don't let amnesia get in the way," he told the crowd after running through a list of votes taken by Tran.
While Sanchez's district is predominantly Democratic, she could be hurt this year by a tide of anti-incumbent sentiment sweeping a nation frustrated by the economy.
Sanchez is also under fire after she told a Spanish-language television interviewer the "Vietnamese and Republicans" were trying to unseat her—prompting Tran to accuse her of going on a "racial rampage."
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