Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was a keynote speaker last Wednesday at the third annual Day in Blue, held at the Columbia Marriott Hotel.
The event was co-hosted by the South Carolina Democratic Women’s Council and South Carolina House Democratic Women’s Caucus.
The former Secretary of State was well-received by South Carolina Democratic women at the event and elicited applause before Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter could finish introducing her.
“All of us here believe that a woman’s place is in the house and in the senate,” Cobb-Hunter said as applause broke out. “And also, in case there is any doubt, also at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,” she added.
Clinton, whose campaign depicts her as a champion for the everyday American, focused largely on quashing the obstacles women face in South Carolina and nationwide.
Launching the 25-minute speech with a pledge to make sure the Democratic Party “recruits and trains and fields more women for public office right here in South Carolina,” Clinton immediately touched on a sore spot for South Carolina women, a state with only 13.5 percent female legislators and one female member of the senate.
Integrating more women into public office, would “[give] women in this state a chance to not only be at the table but at the head of the table, carrying with them their democratic values and their life experiences,” Clinton said.
But Clinton was even more emphatic about the gender wage gap, and related it to all Americans—not just women. “This is not a women’s issue; this is a family issue and an American economic issue,” she said before proposing a three-tiered solution. The steps involve a push for the Paycheck Fairness Act, pay transparency and a wage increase for the lowest paid jobs—which are held disproportionately by women, according to Clinton. This was preceded by a jab at the Republican Party, who Clinton blamed for standing in the way of equal pay.
Paralleling her campaign message, Clinton discussed the middle class and her idea for its future. “It’s time to make the words ‘middle class’ mean something again,” she said.
In that regard, the Democratic presidential candidate expressed a goal to distribute wealth across America’s economy, rather than keeping it at the top: “[Being middle class] should mean that you have a little more so you can worry a little less.”
In 2008, Clinton suffered a humbling loss to Barack Obama in South Carolina, with the final count being 55 percent to 27 percent. After humorously mentioning this, Clinton began recounting a story for Obama’s insistence that she be his Secretary of State.
Critics argue that Clinton must create deeper Obama-like resonance with black voters. She has to handle the “potentially combustible task of differentiating herself from Obama without angering or demobilizing his base,” wrote Politico staff writer Glenn Thrush in an article published on politico.com.
One thing Clinton claimed would not happen to her should she be elected President is having her hair turn white.
“You are not going to see me turn white in the White House,” she said. “I’ve been coloring my hair for years.”
During her one-day stop in Columbia, Clinton met with small business owners at Kiki’s Chicken and Waffles and stopped by the Main Street Bakery and Gift Shop to buy cupcakes.