A defiant Hillary Clinton Friday night unleashed her harshest attacks on Republicans yet, bringing a rowdy crowd of Democratic activists to its feet by accusing the GOP of embracing policies that — “like New Coke, shoulder pads and big hair” — belong in the 1980s.
In a 20-minute speech before 2,000 people at the Iowa Democratic Wing Ding dinner here, Clinton dismissed congressional Republicans’ inquiry into her emails, accusing the House of “the same old partisan games we’ve seen.”
She attacked three Republican presidential contenders by name, blasting Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush over education funding.
She hit Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — again, by name — over his accusation that Clinton is playing the “gender card,” saying, “If calling for equal pay and paid leave is playing the gender card, then deal me in.”
And she warned Democrats not to be distracted by the rise of Donald Trump, saying the rest of the field is “just like Trump without the pizzaz and the hair.”
Clinton also ripped the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision that allowed conservative lobbying group Citizens United to produce the attack film “Hillary: The Movie.” She said the decision allowed unfettered amounts of money into politics, and “was about me.”
“How do you think that makes me feel?” Clinton said. “They ended up damaging our entire democracy. We can’t let them pull that same trick again.”
“I don’t care how many super PACs and Republicans pile on. I’ve been fighting for families and underdogs my entire life, and I’m not going to stop now,” Clinton said.
“If this election is about the future, our future, we’re going to win against a Republican Party that is hopelessly out of touch and out of date,” she added.
Clinton was the first of four 2016 presidential contenders to take the stage. She was followed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee.
The crowd had crammed into the Surf Ballroom, which became a rock and roll landmark on “The Day the Music Died” — when, after a 1959 performance there, musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson were killed in a plane crash.
The Democratic candidates — and most of their 17 Republican opponents — are barnstorming the Hawkeye State this weekend, packing town hall events and organizing meetings around visits to the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines.
Sanders, O’Malley tout progressive platforms
She was followed by Sanders, who supported many of the same policies, but highlighted three positions of his that clash with Clinton: His opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline, the Trans-Pacific Partnership and his opposition to the Iraq War, which Clinton supported in the Senate.
He also trained his fire at Republicans, accusing them of being “hell-bent to get us into other wars.”
Sanders’ biggest applause line, though, came when pitched a “Medicare-for-all single-payer health care system,” adding, “Health care is a right, not a privilege.”
O’Malley was the third Democrat to take the stage. He touted a progressive record as Baltimore’s mayor and Maryland’s governor, pointing to gun bans, the legalization of same-sex marriage, pro-family policies similar to those Clinton has touted and a state-level “Dream Act” allowing undocumented immigrants brought into the United States as children to stay and receive some benefits.
His refrain: “Action, not words.”
O’Malley latched himself to Obama, but said that “there is a growing injustice in our country — an economic inequality that threatens to tear us apart.”
As he began speaking, however, photographers below the stage had their backs to him. Their lenses were trained on Clinton, who had taken a seat in the crowd.