In Hoosier State, Clinton Ramps Up 'Bitter' Talk
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- For the second straight day, Sen. Hillary Clinton blasted Sen. Barack Obama for comments he made that voters in small towns in Pennsylvania and other states were "bitter" because of the loss of job in their states.
"I was taken aback by the demeaning remarks Senator Obama made about people in small town America," Clinton told several hundred voters in a speech in a factory in Indianapolis. "Senator Obama's remarks are elitist and out of touch. They are not reflective of the values and beliefs of Americans, certainly not the Americans that I know. ... Americans who believe in the Second Amendment believe it's a matter of a constitutional right. Americans who believe in God believe it's a matter of personal faith."
"My dad grew up in a working-class family," she continued, "I grew up in a church-going family and a family that believed in the importance of living out and expressing our faith. People of faith don't cling to religion because they're bitter, people embrace faith not because they are materially poor but because they are spiritually rich."
At a private fundraiser in San Francisco on April 6, Obama explained his struggles with working class voters by saying they were frustrated with the loss of jobs under both Republican and Democratic administrations over the last two decades, saying "it's not surprising that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment."
Clinton's campaign is seizing on the remarks, seeking to win over working-class and white male voters who have become the key swing groups in this election. Both candidates will spent today in Indiana, which votes on May 6, but head back to the Keystone State on Sunday ahead of its April 22 primary. Obama could force Clinton out of the Democrat race with a win in either state.
On Friday, Clinton had only slammed the "bitter" notion, but she expanded her critique to the religion and hunting remarks on Saturday.
"People of all walks of life hunt and they enjoy doing so because it's an important part of their life, not because they are bitter," Clinton said.
Asked about Obama's remarks, Tom Hair, a undecided voter who works at a factory in Indianapolis that Clinton visited on Saturday, said he felt the comments about people from small towns were "condescending."
He noted that he and many other workers at Allison Transmission, which manufactures automatic transmissions for military vehicles, are frustrated by the influx of illegal immigrants and trade deals Hair said don't help American workers.
"You have to be realistic about it," Hair said. "There are a lot of angry people."
Les Slatinksy, who also lives in the Indianapolis and works at Allison, was sitting beside Hair and then delivered a long diatribe about the problems brought on by illegal immigration. "We've got to figure out how to keep good jobs here," he said.
"Well, that answers your question," concluded Hair.


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