Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Slater Heaps Praise On President Clinton

It was an old-fashioned Yellow Dog Democrat kind of party when members of the Clark County Democratic Party gathered Friday night.

This was for the Second Annual Clinton Day Dinner, with Rodney Slater, federal highway administrator, the featured speaker.

Primarily, the evening was to help raise money for the party as it gears up for the 1998 General Elections.

Bill Wright, chairman of the Clark County Democratic Central Committee, said the Democrats are a large, cohesive group in the county and can get people elected.

State Rep. Percy Malone introduced Slater, saying Slater called him three times before midnight on March 1 after the tornado hit, destroying much of Arkadelphia.

Slater said it was good to be back in Arkadelphia and among friends. He reminded the audience, of nearly 400, all homecomings are not joyous occasions, saying Pres. Bill Clinton returned home to Hope to bury his Uncle Buddy recently.

He said the president often talked of how his uncle Oren Grisham helped him as a youngster, giving him sound advice and strength.

Slater said it is important for the party to reflect, when together, on its nature as a family. "We, in Washington, D.C., draw strength from you," he said.

"I'm glad to be here with people who know me as I am and how I want to be. This is the vision Clinton has for this country," Slater said. "He knows it can be a more perfect union."

Slater, who praised Clinton throughout his speech, said this president did much for Arkansas while governor, and is helping the state in his current duties as well.

Arkansas, he said, prepared Clinton for the difficulties he would face as president. "The spirit of the people captured Clinton when he was here," Slater continued, talking about the rebuilding process after the tornadoes, "and I will tell him this city will be better, more powerful and stronger in years to come."

He said Clinton laid it on the line to help all Americans because he wants to create a sense of community in this nation among all its peoples.

"He's given us a strong economy," Slater said, adding Clinton is fighting for a balanced budget as well.

He told the crowd the president has cut 300,000 from the government's work force, had cut the deficit and the U.S. now has an unemployment rate below 5 percent.

According to Slater, there has also been the biggest decline in income inequities there has been in three decades for working families. He said America is now the top nation in exporting goods and services.

"We have been led here by the Man from Hope," he said. "Clinton has not disappointed us once. Each time he's knocked down, he gets back up. He knows the real power is in the hope of the people."

Slater told the crowd Clinton has led the fight against crime, with crime statistics dropping for five years in a row.

Clinton, he said, has taken more people off welfare and put them to work than any other president. Some three million have went from welfare to work in two-and-a-half years, Slater said.

"He's committed to hard work," he said of the president. "He continues to work every day to get things done and prepare for the coming century."

Clinton, Slater said, wants America's children to be able to attend college and not be saddled with debt upon graduation. The president believes all children can learn and wants all of them to have the chance to enter the front door of life.

"He wants to create opportunities for everyone, but reminds them they must also be responsible," he said. "He wants to invest in our young so they will want to give something back."

Clinton wants to be tough on crime, but at the same time give young people something positive to say "yes" to. He wants to take this message to children in school and show them they can be anything they want if they work hard.

"Pres. Clinton wants us to come together as one," Slater said. "There's a new day when the U.S. will live together as one. There will be no majority, we will all be minorities. Our best days are yet to come."

Slater said the makeup of the U.S. in the future will see America as the most multi-racial and ethnic nation in the world.

Arkansas, he continued, can be the drum major in leading this effort and showing the nation and world we are not a backward state.

Malone started the a new trend, an annual recognition of a local Democrat in memory of former Gov. Bob Riley.

Riley, Malone said, exemplified what he believed all should strive for as a people and a party.

Riley was a former member of the U.S. Marine Corps, serving in Guam where he was wounded and left for dead.

However, Malone said, Riley survived, returned home and attended the University of Arkansas on the GI Bill, before entering public life.

In his memory, Malone said, the First Annual Clark County Democrat of the Year went to Bob and Elizabeth McCaskill, for the work they have done for the party.

The evening, though, got off with a flying start as a silent auction was held. People wandered around the items, looking to see what others were bidding and how their bids were holding up.

A live auction was also held, with five tickets to the Texas Rangers baseball team selling for $95 to Malone. A gold Bill Clinton money clip went for $160.

Several pies and cakes were also auction off to raise money for the party.