Bill Clinton in Dallas: ‘We ... need to make America whole again’

Former President Bill Clinton came to Texas with a message for Republicans who disparage his wife on a daily basis as she seeks the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.

“America never stopped being great,” Clinton told a crowd of thousands gathered at Paul Quinn College, a private, historically black college south of downtown Dallas. “We just need to make America whole again.”

Clinton said his wife offers a sharp contrast to Republican presidential candidates, and noted that GOP candidates seem to primarily be “in the blame business.”

“One of them wants to build a wall,” he told the crowd. “Hillary says, ‘I want to build ladders of opportunities and tear down barriers.’”

The former president’s visit to Texas comes on the heels of his wife’s Saturday night victory in Nevada over fellow Democratic front-runner presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

Candidates and surrogates for them are expected to flock to Texas — a state with a generous number of delegates that are highly sought after by presidential candidates of both parties — over the next several days as both the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations remain undecided.

Hillary Clinton was in Houston Saturday, telling supporters, “We’re going to work hard for the Texas primary.”

But Republicans say Hillary Clinton is not the right person to become president.

“Facing an FBI investigation and her struggle to fend off a self-avowed socialist, Hillary Clinton demonstrates her weaknesses as a candidate,” Republican National Committee officials said in a prepared statement. “Clinton’s recent waffle on a simple question about whether she is a liar is precisely why two-thirds of the American people think she’s dishonest and untrustworthy.”

Early voting continues through Friday; Texas’ primary election is next Tuesday, March 1.

Texas ties

Hillary and Bill Clinton have deep ties to this state, going back to the 1970s, when they worked to register Texans to vote.

Vee Bierens, a 65-year-old woman from Richardson, was first in line to hear Bill Clinton Monday, showing up around 1:30 p.m. for the 5:45 p.m. speech.

“I wanted to hear Bill’s message and see him in person,” she said, adding that her vote is locked up for Hillary Clinton. “She’s for women’s rights, equal pay, equal work and children.

“I believe she’s the only person that is qualified at this time to do what the whole group (of candidates) is wanting to do.”

Trying to rev up support among Latino and black voters, former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson spoke to supporters on Hillary Clinton’s behalf in San Antonio. And, before speaking in Dallas Monday night, Bill Clinton rallied a crowd in Laredo.

They all followed Republican candidates, who have been in and out of North Texas for months, participating in a North Texas Presidential Forum in Plano as well as holding individual events such as a Ben Carson book signing in Fort Worth, a Donald Trump rally in Dallas and a Ted Cruz rally in Fort Worth.

Fellow Democrat Sanders, who held a rally in Dallas last year that drew a crowd of thousands, already is drawing support from a number of grassroots Texans.

U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas, told the crowd Monday night that Sanders is “OK,” but doesn’t have the history with Texas or experience that Hillary Clinton has.

“He is not ready to be president as Hillary is,” she said.

Campaign issues

Bill Clinton’s speech at Paul Quinn College marked the first time a sitting or former president has ever visited the campus, said Michael Sorrell, president of the college.

“It says we matter nationally, that people are paying attention,” he said. “All of us matter, all of us have a voice at the table. ... It is our time and it is our turn.”

Hillary Clinton’s last public appearance in North Texas was a public rally at Mountain View College in Dallas a few months ago.

For more than half an hour Monday evening, Bill Clinton talked about many of his wife’s plans, including making the workforce more inclusive, ensuring that all workers receive equal pay for equal work, modernizing the country’s infrastructure, protecting the country and becoming the world’s energy superpower.

He talked about college plans, such as making tuition free for middle class people on down as well a tuition payback plan that would give students and graduates as much as 25 years to pay off their debt. And part of their debt would be forgiven if they worked in public service, as anything from a police officer to a teacher.

The former president also said it’s time to improve the country’s health care plan known as Obamacare, reducing the cost of copays, deductibles and prescription medicines. He also noted that “eventually, Texas will have to take the Medicaid expansion. It’s a good deal for you.”

He said it’s time for the country to end loopholes in universal background checks. “It doesn’t interfere with the Second Amendment, I don’t care what anyone else says,” he said. “It is not too much to ask all of our citizens that there ought to be universal background checks.”

And he said his wife believes that it’s time for Congress to once-and-for-all pass comprehensive immigration reform.

“It’s crazy to tell people working here, paying taxes, obeying the law, ... that the solution is to send them all home,” Bill Clinton said.

‘Make things happen’

Supporters gathered at the event say Hillary Clinton is the right candidate for them.

“She is an amazing advocate for women, children, families and America,” said Pam Durham, a Fort Worth woman who volunteered for Clinton’s campaign in 2008 and now. “She listens to people and what their issues, concerns and problems are.

“Then she brings out policies to make things happen.”

This story was originally published February 22, 2016 at 7:58 PM with the headline "Bill Clinton in Dallas: ‘We ... need to make America whole again’."