MILWAUKEEâ_ Former President Bill Clinton stumped for Gov. Jim Doyle and state Democrats in Milwaukee Friday as the 2006 election approached its critical weekend homestretch.
It was Clinton's 29th national stop on behalf of his party.
Clinton spoke at the Milwaukee Theater packed to its 4,100 capacity with the state's Democratic heavyweightsâ_""Doyle, Lieutenant Gov. Barbara Lawton, U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, attorney general candidate Kathleen Falk and U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee.
With the Democrats poised to take the House of Representatives, Clinton said the party ""is in an amazing position this year"" and has ""an enormous responsibility"" to mobilize voters on Nov. 7.
Clinton said the Republicans were resorting to scare tactics in the mid-term elections by ""demonizing"" Democrats and frightening voters.
Mocking the Republicans' campaign strategy, Clinton said, ""If you vote for those terrible Democrats, they will tax you into the poor house. And on the way to the poor house you'll meet a terrorist on every street corner. And when you're running away from the terrorist you will trip over an illegal immigrant.""
Accusing the Republican party of being a group of ideologues, Clinton said Congress needs to face the reality of a failing Iraq war and a growing national deficit.
After being in total control of the government for six years, Clinton said the Republican party's numerous failures are causing shifts in party lines and drawing in people who have never voted Democrat before.
""[Democrats] have become by default both the progressive and the mainstream conservative party in America,"" he said.
Clinton accused the Bush administration of ""ignoring the realities and evident complications"" of the Iraq war. He criticized Republicans for labeling the Democrat's policy as ""cut and run.""
""‘Stop and think' is not the same as ‘cut and run,'"" he said.
However, Clinton spent the most time addressing the economy of the state and nation, the theme of the event. Addressing the nation's growing deficit, Clinton attacked the Republican party for unequally distributing wealth, cutting student financial aid, and voting against raising the minimum wage.
Clinton compared Doyle's success in bringing the state out of a $3.2 billion deficit to the surplus the nation experienced under his presidency.
""[People] ask me all the time, ‘What great economic idea did you bring to Washington?' and I say—arithmetic.""
A handful of local members of American Federation of State, County and Municipal employees, the second largest labor union attended the rally to support Doyle's economic plans.
Among them was Kurt Zunker, the Local 882 president, who said if Green wins, the government will downsize causing state workers to lose their jobs, especially the mentally disabled and handicapped.
Gerald McEntee, the International President of the 1.4 million member union, emceed the event, said the public had to vote for Doyle to raise the minimum wage.
""We're going to buy [Mark Green] a one way ticket out of town,"" McEntee said.
At the nearby Pabst Theater, FOX news personality Sean Hannity and other Milwaukee talk show hosts rallied for Republican gubernatorial candidate U.S. Rep. Mark Green.
The theater was sold out, as Green supporters paid $75 to hear Hannity, who criticized Clinton, Doyle and Democrats for blaming the Bush administration for everything.
