EVERETT — Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton campaigned at the Machinists hall in Everett on Tuesday, pledging to pursue policies that create jobs and boost exports while defending the rights of organized labor.
Clinton, the former U.S. secretary of state and front-runner for the party nomination, also stressed the critical importance of the Export-Import Bank to the continued vitality of the aerospace industry and thousands of Machinists in Washington.
“It’s the lifeblood that makes it possible to export around the world,” told a cheering crowd. “I’m going to be the biggest champion of the Export-Import Bank.”
Several hundred people squeezed into the hall of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District Lodge 751 for the half-hour speech in which she also touched on her plans for making college affordable, lowering the costs of health care and defeating the “nefarious network” of ISIS.
She voiced support of an initiative to raise the state’s minimum wage and vowed that equal pay for equal work will become a political reality in her presidency, which elicited one of the loudest roars of her talk.
And she closed with a pledge to be a president who will strive to bring a bitterly divided nation together.
“That doesn’t mean we aren’t going to have differences,” she said. “But I will do whatever I can to find common ground to unite us.”
Although those standing in the back of the 400-person hall could barely see her, it didn’t diminish their enthusiasm for the Democratic front-runner.
“Inspirational. She hit on the things we care about,” said Billy Wallace Jr., political and legislative director for the Washington and Northern Idaho District Council of Laborers.
Washington’s Democratic U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, both ardent backers of the bank, joined Clinton on Tuesday. Jon Holden, president of District Lodge 751, introduced Clinton. The IAM has endorsed her, although the district does not make endorsements.
Among those standing behind Clinton as she spoke was Heather Jackson, of Monroe, who attended with her husband, a Machinist, and their daughter, who will be casting her first vote for president this fall.
“This election is completely different than any other I’ve seen in my lifetime. I just want to be part of it,” Jackson said.
She said she backs Clinton because the candidate supports Machinists.
“We’re a union family and it’s important to stand behind those who support the working class of America,” she said.
Clinton used the first part of her speech to contrast her steadfast support of the Ex-Im bank with her Democratic opponent, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who voted against its reauthorization in 2015.
She also expressed pride at being made an “honorary” Machinist years ago and said she “feels a particular connection to my brothers and sisters.”
She pledged to protect the rights of workers to organize and collectively bargain their wages and working conditions.
Clinton also boasted of her efforts as a U.S. senator and secretary of state to promote the reach of American companies in foreign countries as a means of creating jobs in the United States.
“We’ll do everything we can to create more manufacturing jobs and keep the manufacturing jobs here,” she said.
On foreign policy, Clinton backed use of strategic air strikes against ISIS to “cut them off from their nefarious network.”
She also stressed the U.S. needs to defeat terrorist cells online where they are recruiting soldiers. In a swipe at Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who talks of building a high wall to keep them keep terrorists out, she said, “How high does the wall have to be to keep the Internet out?”
After the speech, a smiling Carolyn Drake, of Mill Creek, told how she had wormed her way to the front to see the woman she also supported in 2008. She arrived a little before 9 a.m. and found herself first in line.
“I like Bernie but my concern about Bernie is he doesn’t have any track record to implement his ideas,” she said. While gender is not the main reason for her support, it can’t be overlooked. “Am I thrilled that a woman is running for president, oh yeah,” she said.
Doug Lambertson, of Lake Stevens, said he’s supporting Clinton this year because “I don’t see anything any better.”
Lambertson said he has gone back and forth between the two parties in past elections.
“In 2000 I voted for Bush. (In 2004) I didn’t care for Kerry back then and I liked Bush. But in 2008, it was Obama all the way.”
Lambertson said he’s turned off by the Republicans this year because they’re moving further and further to the right. It’s wrong for congressional Republicans to stonewall bills and policies just because they came from President Barack Obama, he said.
Not everyone at Tuesday’s event has made up their mind.
Jerry Banks, a Machinist who lives in Lakewood, in Pierce County, said he’s still undecided about a candidate to support, or even whether he’ll caucus with the Democrats on Saturday or vote in the Republican primary May 24.
“It’s kind of a world stage. I’d kind of like to hear what she has to say,” Banks said.
A former homebuilder in Florida and Georgia, he said he’s supported conservative candidates in the past.
“I’m trying to keep an open mind. It seems there’s a disconnect between the companies and the government as to the direction we should take,” he said.
As Clinton campaigned in Western Washington on Tuesday, Democrats voted in Arizona, Idaho and Utah, with 131 delegates up for grabs. Arizona held a primary, while Utah held caucuses for both parties. Idaho held only the Democratic caucuses Tuesday.
On Saturday, Democrats will caucus in Alaska and Hawaii as well as Washington. All together there are 142 delegates at stake.
Sanders is favored to win Saturday’s caucuses in Washington where his message of a “political revolution” resonates strongly, especially among millennials.
But Clinton — who lost to Barack Obama by 37 points in the state’s 2008 caucuses — isn’t ceding ground on what her advisers view as “Bernie Sanders’ turf.”
Asked about her expectations for the caucuses, Clinton said she’s been fortunate to win a lot of states, and votes, in primaries so far.
“And we’re just going to keep working until we secure the nomination,” Clinton said.
“The consequences could not be higher, and I want people to think about who can do all parts of the job, to be president, to be commander-in-chief, and I think if folks think like that, I’ll do as well as I can on Saturday,” she said.
Former President Bill Clinton campaigned in Spokane and Vancouver on Monday and their daughter, Chelsea, planned to visit campaign offices in Tacoma on Tuesday to join volunteers in contacting potential caucus participants.
Sanders, meanwhile, made his big push through the state Sunday with well-attended rallies in Vancouver, Seattle and Spokane.
Clinton began Tuesday with 1,163 delegates to Sanders’ 844, based on primaries and caucuses. Add in the superdelegates, who include party leaders and elected office- holders such as governors and members of Congress, and her lead over Sanders widens — 1,630 to 870. It takes 2,383 delegates to win the Democratic nomination.
Following the Everett event, Clinton headed to Puyallup to meet privately with tribal leaders and then to a nighttime rally at Rainier Beach High School in Seattle. Her calendar also included a private fundraiser in Medina.
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
Chris Winters: 425-374-4165; cwinters@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @Chris_At_Herald.
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