Hillary Clinton condemned Gov. Scott Walker Thursday for what she said was a close relationship with the Koch brothers and a dependency on corporate money, accusing him of “gutting” education and “demonizing” teachers.
“It looks like he gets his marching orders from the Koch brothers and just goes down the list,” Clinton said.
Clinton’s supporters gathered at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee student union, where Clinton spoke to students and members of the community at a “Women for Hillary” grassroots campaign event.
Fans packed into the crowded main auditorium, while overflow crowd watched on a screen in the lobby outside.
.@HillaryClinton on Walker "Maybe he doesn't realize when women are short changed, families are short changed." @BadgerHerald
— Nina Kravinsky (@ninakravinsky) September 10, 2015
But not everyone at the rally was a Clinton supporter. Some stood in the lobby with signs that read “Did you get my email?” in reference to the national debate over Clinton’s use of a private email server during her time as Secretary of State. Others waved signs reading “Hypocrisy,” which used Clinton’s campaign logo — the shape of the letter H — as the first letter.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Walker said in a statement Thursday Clinton could “learn a few things” from his reforms in Wisconsin.
But Clinton pushed a liberal economic platform by expressing support for an increase in the minimum wage and closing the gap between the rich and the poor. She said she would work for Americans who have trouble supporting themselves and their families.
She highlighted states where workers who make cash tips don’t even get minimum wage.
“Raising incomes and supporting families is the defining economic challenge of our time,” Clinton said.
Clinton supported easier access to childcare for families, calling it not just a women’s issue, but also an economic issue. She also brought up her leadership role at Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, where she said she fought for the underdogs.
She then took claims from opposition that she “plays the gender card” by the horns.
“If advocating equal pay for equal work is playing the gender card, then deal me in,” Clinton said.
Hillary Clinton takes stage at UWM in Milwaukee. pic.twitter.com/acVCy5ooVH
— Tom Kertscher (@KertscherNews) September 10, 2015
Clinton said her “heart breaks” for Dontre Hamilton, a Milwaukee man who was fatally shot by a police officer April of last year. She said it’s time to end the violence that has “cast a shadow” over Milwaukee. This is not a priority of the Republican presidential candidates, she said.
She made jabs at the GOP candidates themselves, and pointed to Donald Trump as evidence of the decline of the Republican Party. She joked about Trump’s theatrical campaign style and inflammatory character, but said he wasn’t so different from the rest of the Republican candidates.
“What was once the party of Lincoln has become the party of Trump,” Clinton said.
