Clinton comes to Syracuse, praises local politician Maffei’s support of education
Former President Bill Clinton touched down in Syracuse on Monday to urge voters to support Dan Maffei for a second term in U.S. Congress.
Hundreds of people packed the airport hangar to capacity to hear the former president give his 67th speech on the 2010 campaign trail. The president, who was in Binghamton earlier Monday rallying Maurice Hinchey’s congressional bid, apologized for his hoarse voice.
Maffei is running in a tight race for re-election in the 25th Congressional District, which includes Onondaga, Wayne and parts of Monroe and Cayuga counties. His Republican challenger is Ann Marie Buerkle, a nurse and attorney who has worked in health care.
Mayor Stephanie Miner introduced Maffei and Clinton, who started his speech by criticizing tea party candidates, whose success in the polls comes from ‘anger, not facts,’ Clinton said.
Clinton touted Maffei’s support for small businesses, clean energy and infrastructure. He praised Maffei’s backing of the economic stimulus package.
And to the students in the crowd, Clinton emphasized the importance of education, job training and student loan reform. He said Maffei was the candidate who had supported legislation and would continue to push to alleviate the financial burdens of a college education.
‘People are under so much economic stress, a lot of them have to drop out to go work for their family.’ Clinton said. ‘People can’t borrow any more or think they shouldn’t, in case they can’t pay it back.’
Clinton also gave a nod to Syracuse University’s Saturday win over South Florida, saying he bet nearly every supporter in the crowd could tell him the details of the game. He encouraged a similar investment in issues facing the country.
‘When we care about something important like football, we know the facts; but when it comes to something really important like the economy, we just know we’re mad,’ he said.
Madison Vick, a junior psychology major, attended the rally to support Maffei. She works for Obama for America, encouraging voter registration and political involvement at SU.
Vick, who is from Atlanta and has two Republican parents, said she has always had a deep interest in politics and particularly in Clinton.
‘When I was nine, I wrote him a letter,’ she said. ‘It basically said ‘keep up the good work.’ Even then I had a respect for his charisma.’
Published on October 11, 2010 at 12:00 pm
