Bill Clinton said Republicans hoped to make voters “very unhappy” as he slammed the GOP at a campaign rally in the final days before the midterm elections.
Clinton spoke Wednesday at a rally in Hurleyville, New York, where he was running for Democrat Josh Riley in a close race in the US House against Marcus Molinaro for the state’s 19th district.
“Republicans are actually pretty straightforward and pretty direct,” Clinton said to laughter from the crowd.
“They say, ‘I want you to be very unhappy and I want you to be very angry. And I want you to vote for us, and we’re going to make it worse, but we’re going to blame them.” President added.
Bill Clinton has said Republicans hope to make voters “very unhappy” as he slammed the GOP at a campaign rally in the final days before the midterm elections
Clinton was defeated by Democrat Josh Riley (left), who is in a close race for the US House against Marcus Molinaro (right) for New York’s 19th Circuit
Republicans have relied heavily on two main issues in their bid to regain majorities in the House and Senate: economic woes, including high inflation, and rising crime in many US cities.
In his remarks, Clinton acknowledged these are legitimate questions, saying, “Here is the truth. We have too much inflation and we have too much crime.’
“But all this tough talk isn’t a bunch of beans that Republicans make,” he added.
Citing the “two shining stars in the Republican firmament,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Clinton said that crime in those two states “is 50 percent higher than in New York “.
“But wait, you can’t think, you’re supposed to be crazy!” added Clinton.
Clinton also pounded home what has become the Democrats’ closing argument for the election: that Republicans will cut Medicare and Social Security if they regain control of Congress.
Taking aim at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (left) and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (right), Clinton said their “tough talk” about inflation and crime was not “a hill full of beans.”
The claim primarily relates to a proposal by Senator Rick Scott that all federal laws would automatically expire after five years, which would require Congress to re-legislate to keep them on the books.
Biden and Democrats have hammered out the plan, saying it would chop Social Security and Medicare “on the chopping block,” but Scott has insisted he “knows no Republican” about cutting retiree benefit programs.
Some key House Republicans have also suggested they could use next year’s debt ceiling deadline to push for spending and licensing requirements for the popular programs, according to Bloomberg.
Characterizing the Republican platform, Clinton said, “I’ll give you higher drug prices, weaken Medicare, weaken Social Security, but until then, we’ll find a way to blame [Democrats] Therefore.’
The race in New York’s 19th precinct, complicated by the redistribution of boroughs, has little polling data, but most observers consider it a failure.
Clinton’s remarks came on the same day that President Joe Biden delivered an ominous address warning that democracy itself is in jeopardy in the upcoming election.
President Joe Biden linked the attack on Paul Pelosi to former President Donald Trump and his refusal to accept defeat in the 2020 presidential election
Biden linked the recent attack on Paul Pelosi to former President Donald Trump and his refusal to accept defeat in the 2020 presidential election, warning that “dark forces with a thirst for power” will threaten democracy at midterm.
Biden did not name Trump, but it was clear he would make next week’s election a referendum on Trump’s “big lie” – his false claim that he won two years ago but was thwarted by voter fraud.
“American democracy is under attack because the defeated former President of the United States refused to accept the results of the 2020 election,” Biden said in a speech at Union Station in Washington DC.
“And he made the Big Lie, a MAGA Republican Party article of faith,” Biden said. “The great irony about the 2020 election is that it is the most attacked election in our history. And yet there is no election in our history where we can be more sure of its results. Any legal challenge that could be brought was brought. Every recount that could have been done was done. Every recount confirmed the results.”
Biden tried to steer the conversation back to protecting American democracy as voters said they were most concerned about the economy and the high cost of living due to inflation. Crime remains another major concern.
Republicans accused him of trying to change the subject as voters give Biden low marks for his handling of the economy and the GOP sees a pick-up in poll momentum ahead of next Tuesday’s election.