2016 Election: Kaine rallies for Clinton at Muhlenberg

On Wednesday, Oct. 26, Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Kaine gave a forty-five-minute speech to 700 Muhlenberg students and Allentown-area citizens in the Seegers Union Event Space.

The rally was announced on Monday night, and preparations began almost immediately afterwards. For much of the day on Wednesday, the normally well-populated Seegers Union was increasingly sectioned off by campaign organizers and security personnel. Due to the limited capacity of the Event Space, approximately 500 more attendees watched a stream of the rally from the Light Lounge or Red Doors.

Although the rally was not scheduled to start until 5 p.m., students began lining up outside Seegers beginning around 1:30 p.m. in order to secure a spot inside the venue.

Before the event started, many attendees expressed similar motivations for attending; some hoped it would improve ‘get out the vote’ efforts, while others felt it might discourage students from voting for a third party candidate.

“A vote for a third party candidate will lead to a Donald Trump presidency,” said Emily Hoolihan ’17. “Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine will allow voters to flip the system back to a Democratic platform and will allow Bernie Sanders supporters to get their voice in government.”

Some students, however, identified as undecided voters, and believed that Kaine might be able to affect their decision. Jarred Graber ‘18, for one, simply wanted to learn more about Kaine.

“I know about his ‘dad’ persona and that he often votes against his personal beliefs for the benefit of the public,” said Graber. “His ability to address some important issues may change my undecided status.”

After six introductions from various political figures that included local Rep. Mike Schlossberg (D-Lehigh) and U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), it was Megan Lafayette’s turn to speak.

Lafayette, a senior and the president of the Muhlenberg College Democrats—the group that sponsored Kaine’s visit—was selected to introduce Kaine by the Pennsylvania Democratic Coordinated Campaign (PADCC). The PADCC is an organization that is helping the Clinton campaign and other Democratic candidates in Pennsylvania and one that Lafayette has worked with as a fellow.

“They asked me to do the introduction as a recognition for all the hard work I’ve done and it was appropriate for a student to represent Muhlenberg on our campus,” said Lafayette. “It was a phenomenal experience. It definitely felt a little unreal.”

“I’m proud to support the ticket that understands that we cannot have a great society when we send our graduates, the leaders of our future, out into the world, weighed down by thousands of dollars in student loans,” said Lafayette during her introduction.

In the speech, Kaine outlined the campaign’s key issues, including the main theme of the campaign: equality. Often, the issues were framed through a historical lens.

“Our constitution says all men are created equal. The men who wrote it weren’t living equally but for some odd reason they said they want to be measured by this,” said Kaine. “Our whole history is based on this ideal that we are going to be measured by equality. This race is one of those challenges.”

With regards to equality, Kaine also addressed women’s health, religious freedom, gay marriage and LGBTQ+ rights.

“Women should be able to make their own healthcare decisions just like men can make their own healthcare decisions,” said Kaine. Then, in terms of religious freedom, Kaine added that “We need to treat faith and values equally; it’s our first amendment for a reason.”

But Kaine also tailored much of his speech specifically to the audience: Muhlenberg students. He discussed the campaign’s stances on affordable higher education as well as the role of Pennsylvania in the election.

Kaine outlined the three points of the campaign’s plan to improve access to higher education: creating debt free college, establishing free, in-state tuition for families who make less than $125K, and improving refinancing options for student loans.

“Other countries recognize that education is good for the entire economy because people get more skills,” said Kaine. “I want a president who understands that education is fundamentally about lifting society rather than an opportunity to put more money in his pocket." Pennsylvania, which has supported the Democratic candidate for president in every election since 1992, is often viewed as one of the most important swing states; Kaine acknowledged that from the beginning.

“Within the twelve to thirteen battleground states, there are four or five checkmate states. You guys are a checkmate state,” said Kaine. “If we win Pennsylvania, we will win the presidency for Hillary Clinton.”

The speech was not without some of Kaine’s popular zingers. He poked fun at Donald Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns, his close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and joked that the only way Trump would live on Pennsylvania Avenue is in his own hotel.

However, not all of the jokes were solely about Trump—Kaine humorously complemented Clinton’s stamina and made a light jab at climate change deniers: “I’m going to tell you all something controversial: Hillary and I believe in science...and that human activity is affecting the climate.”

Kaine emphasized that a win for his ticket is not a sure thing, and implored attendees to consider Clinton the underdog until the very end on Nov. 8.

“You have great fortune here at Muhlenberg and everybody in this room, you are participating in an election that is going to make history,” said Kaine. “Go out for the next 13 days with the knowledge that you will be able to tell your grandkids that you did something very special for this nation in electing Hillary Clinton as president.”

After the speech, Muhlenberg students had varied opinions on what Kaine shared. Many praised him for bringing up issues that have been oft-forgotten during this election season, as well as for reflecting the values and issues they believe are most important.

“I was actually pleasantly surprised that he brought up climate change,” said Emily Morton ‘18. In all four debates—three presidential and one vice presidential— climate change went unaddressed.

Sara Kass ‘18 appreciated that Kaine spoke about the importance of Pennsylvania in this election, in addition to the overall content of the speech. Kass, who wore a t-shirt supporting Planned Parenthood, ultimately acknowledged that she could not vote for any candidate who “chooses not to support the values of Planned Parenthood.”

Liz Katriel ‘17 agreed that the substance of the speech was strong, and appreciated that Kaine noted the impact this election will have moving forward.

“I appreciated that he made it very clear how much is riding on this campaign,” said Katriel. “It’s a time of standing together.”

Ultimately, Muhlenberg students understood the gravity of the situation facing America in terms of this presidential decision. No one reflected this better than Becca Anolick ‘17.

“I absolutely support Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine,” said Anolick. “As someone who is a queer Jewish female, it is my duty to not let history repeat itself.”

All photos courtesy of David Budnick. Chloe Gravereaux and Karl Schultz contributed to reporting on this story.