Former President Bill Clinton returned to West Memphis, Ark. on Nov. 2. Clinton spoke at Mid-South Community College as part of a push to reelect Sen. Mark Pryor to a third term and elect Mike Ross for his first term as governor. Attendees at the event screamed “I love you” and “Hillary 2016” as Clinton waved to the people and promoted Arkansas Victory 2014.
“You have got to vote for Sen. Mark Pryor and Mike Ross for governor,” Clinton said. “You have got to do it. Your future depends on it.”
Clinton rallied support for Arkansas Democrats and joked about Mike Ross’ portrayal in campaign ads.
“Look at these ads against Mike Ross,” Clinton said. “You would think Mike Ross and Mark Pryor are the last surviving members of the Communist party in America. I thought communism was dead when I became President. Turns out we had these two communists in Arkansas the whole time.”
Ross and Pryor have been previously criticized by liberal members of the Democratic Party for choosing to work with Republican politicians. Clinton steered around those negative comments and built up Ross and Pryor during his 15-minute speech on the effects of the election.
“Think about this community college,” Clinton said. “Doesn’t this place work like the way you think America should work? Open to everybody without regard to income, race, or background. The curriculum is constantly changing based on what the economic needs of the region are.”
Clinton boasted of the progress that has been made to secure jobs for Americans.
“Here’s what’s going on,” Clinton said. “Last month we recovered all the jobs that were lost in the country on the day of the great financial collapse. It took six years. That sounds like a long time doesn’t it?”
Clinton used his own accomplishments as president to bring credibility and relevance to his speech.
“I’m trying to get a little credibility here and ask you to walk down memory lane with me,” Clinton said. “Under President Reagan we got 15.8 million jobs. Under my administration we got 22.7 million jobs.”
But despite the improving economy, Clinton believes that there is still more work to do, especially in lower-income areas like West Memphis, Ark.
“Everybody knows our economy is coming back, the question is how?” Clinton said. “It’s a question. In West Memphis it’s a question. It’s a question in schools. It’s a question all across America. What works best is when we grow together.”
