Huge Crowd Greets Hillary in Brownsville

Candidate promises to begin troop withdrawl within 60 days of inauguration
By Rachel Benavidez and Aaron Nelsen/The Brownsville Herald
2008-02-20 20:15:00

"Buenas noches, Brownsville!" Henry Cisneros said and took the stage for what he called a "classic South Texas political rally."

Cisneros, former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, introduced state and congressional dignitaries who joined him to speak about their pick for the Democratic presidential nomination.

"This is an exciting date for us. We are going to greet in a very short time the next president of the United States of America," State Rep. Rene Oliveira said and announced that Clinton had just crossed the Brownsville city limit sign.

"What you’re going to have to do is yell a little louder, so that she can hear you," Oliveira said and again offered his support for Clinton and her husband, whom he called "the best president we’ve ever had."

"And she’s going to be the next best president we’ve ever had," he said.

Students, voters, children and media mixed in the crowd of an estimated 5,000 supporters.

With a U.S. flag painted on her forehead and stars on her cheeks, Jevalya Smith waited anxiously a top her father’s shoulders for presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton to arrive.

“(Jevalya) didn’t believe Hillary was going to be here,” said Vonia Smith, Jevalya’s mother.

“She thought it would just be somebody in a costume.” Smith and her husband Ricardo Juarez are both students at UTB-TSC and the parents of two daughters.

Smith and Juarez lack health care as do their daughters. Because they believe Clinton offers the best health care plan the couple said they would vote for her.

“We need help,” Vonia said. “We need health care. We need this country to be competitive again.”

The crowd erupted in cheers when Mike Trujillo, statewide field director for the Clinton campaign, asked, "Is this Clinton Country?"

"Yes!" was the hearty response.

"Are we gonna give a Texas-sized winning?" he asked and received the same big ol’ "Yes!"

Trujillo and a handful of Hillary Clinton staff workers moved the crowd from their Tejano music rhythm to chants for the candidate.

Sen. Clinton had not appeared on the stage but the energy was high in the standing-room only Student Union lawn.