Clinton, in Cedar Rapids, rallies for ‘stronger, fairer’ America

CEDAR RAPIDS - Eighteen months after her first listening post visit of the 2016 campaign to Eastern Iowa, Hillary Clinton closed the loop Friday as she invited Iowans to join her and vote for a 'stronger, fairer America.”

Whatever the results of the election, 'change is coming,” the Democratic presidential nominee said. 'The choice is yours as to what kind of country we will have.”

But it's not clear what kind of change Americans will choose. Despite what the polls say, the effort made to register voters, make phone calls and knock on doors, 'we've got work to do,” she said at a rally outside the NewBo City Market.

In the Cedar Rapids rally, and later at an appearance in Des Moines, Clinton didn't mention news that could throw the last days of the campaign into more turmoil - although she held a brief event later with reporters to address it.

As she flew from New York to Iowa, news outlets reported that FBI Director James Comey had informed congressional leaders his agency will make new inquiries related to the private email server Clinton used while secretary of state to see whether any classified material was compromised.

At the rally, she said it's still possible Trump - the 'poster boy of bad business behavior,” she said - could win.

'I tell you, once again, Iowa can make the difference,” she said. 'If all of you vote … we will make history on Nov. 8.”

Making history by electing the nation's first female president as well as other female candidates who shared the stage with Clinton was the theme of the 'Women Win” rally that the campaign said drew about 2,000 people.

'When women vote, women win,” retired Cedar Rapids teacher Cindy Garlock said in her introduction of Clinton. 'We're going to vote, we're going to win and we're going to elect the first woman president of the United States.”

Clinton put in a plug for her female ballot colleagues, congressional candidates Monica Vernon and Patty Judge.

Judge 'sure would bring a lot of common sense and hard work and experience” to the U.S. Senate if she defeats Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, Clinton said.

'I need some reinforcements,” she said. Vernon, who is challenging GOP 1st District Rep. Rod Blum, and Judge 'would be just that … in making the case why this part of our country is so essential to the agriculture industry, to food production industry.”

Iowa has been essential to her campaign, Clinton said, thanking Iowa Democrats for their support - even though she won the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses against Bernie Sanders by a mere 49.9 to 49.6 percent.

Not all Democrats have moved on from that caucus fight. Kim Holder, 36, and her daughter, Larkin, 10, of Marion, came to rally while still carrying a torch for Sanders. Larkin's T-shirt declared 'Bernie.” They had attended several Sanders rallies, and noted the crowd Friday was much quieter and had less enthusiasm. Kim Holder noted she felt less connected to the people and the ambience.

'I don't necessarily love Hillary, but she is the Democratic nominee and I'm probably going to support her,” Holder said, gauging her commitment at 80 percent. 'Sometimes I think about not voting, or voting for a (third party candidate). She is very clearly paid for, in my opinion.”

That opinion was shared by pro-Trump demonstrators.

Dorsey Bents, 57, of Cedar Rapids, stood in quiet protest just outside the cordoned-off rally area, holding a sign saying, 'The Silent Majority Stands with Trump.”

'I'm just here because I want people to change their vote and come to Trump,” Bents said.

He said a few heading into the event called him a 'loser” or taunted him, but generally people were civil. A second more boisterous protester joined in, although wouldn't give his name.

Clinton joked about her lengthy list of policy plans. The list started back in April 2015 when she visited Iowa to hear what was on people's minds, she said.

'Boy did I hear a lot” about college cost, the epidemic of opioid abuse, mental health issues, the challenges of balancing family and work, Clinton said. 'All of those conversations in coffee shops and college campuses really put me on the path to understanding what your next president should do.”

Admitting defeat on her signature policy achievement, Republican National Committee spokeswoman Lindsay Jancek said, would be a good start.

Affordable Care Act insurance premiums next year are expected to increase by almost 30 percent on average, Jancek said.

'Clinton claims that Obamacare is based on ‘Hillarycare' and now Iowans can thank her for this latest double-digit rate hike and skyrocketing health care costs on Election Day,” she said.

But Clinton told her audience to 'vote for an agenda that will become a list to improve your lives and make country stronger and better.”

She urged voters to think about what issue is most important to them.

'Visualize that on the ballot and then compare, compare and contrast what I've done the last 30 years with what he has done,” she said referring to GOP nominee Donald Trump. 'What I will do as your president if given the chance to serve and what he will do. Think about every single concern you've got … because I want you to join me in voting for a better America.”

Rod Boshart of The Gazette's Des Moines Bureau contributed to this report