'I see a middle-class comeback,' Clinton tells small-town Ohioans
CAMPAIGN '08 | Wooing blue-collar voters, she pledges to create 5 million new jobs
ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio -- Clinging to a lead in the polls here, White House hopeful Hillary Clinton toured hilly, small-town southeastern Ohio on Wednesday, telling working-class voters she has the best plan to rescue them from tough economic times.
Blue-collar rural and small-town voters have been big supporters of the New York senator in some of the last contests in the Democratic presidential primary, and many responded with interest to her proposals to freeze mortgage foreclosures and pour $10 billion into infrastructure rebuilding programs.
(AP)
(AP)
"I work in the steel mill and . . . we're not getting any help," a man in the high school gym told Clinton. "The Chinese are killing us."
"Yes, they're dumping steel on us," Clinton agreed, pledging to go after the Chinese for unfair trade practices.
At a round-table discussion Clinton hosted in Zanesville, a couple from Dayton told how their home was foreclosed on Christmas Eve even though they never missed a mortgage payment. Former Sen. John Glenn told of Ohio's last General Motors automotive plant closing.
"We used to have nine," the former astronaut said.
Clinton told them she had answers.
"I see a middle-class comeback, and I see it starting in places like Zanesville," Clinton said.
Her prescription includes investment in new green technology, which she says will help bring 5 million new jobs.
In Tuesday night's debate, NBC News personality Tim Russert tried to call Clinton on her claim of creating 5 million new jobs, noting that when she ran for the Senate eight years ago, she pledged to bring 200,000 new jobs to New York, but instead there was a net loss of 30,000.
"I thought Al Gore was going to be president," Clinton told Russert. "I will have a lot more tools at my disposal [as president.]"
The rest of Clinton's economic blueprint includes: $30 billion to help stop foreclosures; cutting tax breaks for corporations that move jobs overseas; $100 million more to encourage the growth of manufacturing jobs; more college aid, and job training for those who aren't going to college.
While Clinton still leads Barack Obama in Ohio polls, her margin has tightened. And in Wisconsin and other states, Obama's popularity has been growing among these blue-collar voters who used to go for Clinton.