Joel Ebert

USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton swung through Tennessee Sunday, seeking to energize voters during campaign stops in Nashville and Memphis ahead of Super Tuesday's pivotal slate of presidential primary contests across the South.

Fresh off a commanding victory in South Carolina, Clinton used a speech at Meharry Medical College to tout her plans to continue building on President Barack Obama’s agenda, including finding a way to encourage states such as Tennessee to deepen their participation in the Affordable Care Act.

“We can’t go back,” she said as she reeled off statistics, pointing out that 19 million people have received health insurance as a result of the president's effort to expand health care coverage nationwide.

Clinton said states, including Tennessee, which did not expand their Medicaid coverage, have seen rural hospitals close at increasing rates.

“I’m really sorry that your state did not extend Medicaid to 200,000 working Tennesseans,” she said. “I’m going to do whatever I can as president to convince governors and state legislatures — it’s a pretty big deal.”

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The reference to Tennessee was one of many that Clinton made during her nearly 30-minute speech in front of a lively audience that included Nashville Mayor Megan Barry and U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Nashville.

Clinton stressed her desire to help small businesses.

“I want to be a small-business president,” she said, calling for a minimum wage hike and equal pay for women.

Highlighting that idea, Clinton made a brief stop at local coffee shop Fido, where she met with Barry and actor Tom Goldwyn — who plays the president of the United States on the television show "Scandal" — as well as patrons of the store.

Throughout her speech, Clinton occasionally noted the differences between herself and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont on topics such as health care and education.

Criticizing Sanders' plan to offer free college to everyone in the country, Clinton cited a line she's used several times on the campaign trail.

"As taxpayers, I personally don't want us paying to send Donald Trump's youngest child through college," she said, adding that her approach to higher education would be to allow students to refinance loans and create special funds that would be dedicated to helping those attending black colleges and universities.

The reference to African-Americans was one of many that Clinton made during her appearance at the Nashville event.

Discussing the country's criminal justice system, Clinton said although there are good police officers in the United States who deserve support, it is time to "be honest about systemic racism."

Pointing out that black families are more likely to be turned down for a mortgage than a white family with similar financial standing, Clinton added, "African-American men are much more likely to get stopped, arrested, charged, convicted and incarcerated."

Although she did not specifically call out GOP presidential candidates — with the exception of front-running Donald Trump, whose mention drew boos from the crowd — Clinton said her vision of America is significantly different than that of her Republican rivals.

She pointed to their positions on a variety of issues, ranging from climate change to pay equality, saying that she looks forward to debating the eventual Republican nominee.

As she has done throughout her campaign, Clinton continued to praise Obama for his efforts to pass the Affordable Care Act, as well as his work to fix the country's economy after the 2008 financial crisis.

"You have to ask yourself, why did we need to recover? Because the Republicans crashed the economy," Clinton said to raucous applause.

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As she made her final argument while wrapping up the event, Clinton played off Trump’s "Make America Great Again" slogan, saying, “America is great right now. What we need is to be whole.”

Clinton’s return to Tennessee, which also included stops at a pair of African-American churches in Memphis, came as a new poll released on Sunday by NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist showed the former first lady with a strong lead over Sanders in the Volunteer State.

The visit tops off an event-filled weekend as nearly every presidential hopeful made their way through Tennessee one last time before Tuesday’s primary.

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On Friday Republicans Ted Cruz and Ben Carson came through the state, followed by John Kasich and Trump, who held their own events on Saturday. On Monday Marco Rubio, who was endorsed by U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander on Sunday, will be joined by Gov. Bill Haslam at an event outside Knoxville.

Reach Joel Ebert at 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.



