Former President Bill Clinton challenged fellow Democrats on Friday to resist the urge to meet negative rhetoric with more negativism.
Clinton began his hourlong speech at the Jefferson Jackson Dinner with a solemn survey of recent tragedies -- terror attacks in France, police shootings in Minnesota, the slayings of officers in Dallas.
"You can be forgiven for thinking things are going to hell in a handbasket," Clinton said. "There's a lot of road rage in the electorate, in both the Democratic and Republican parties."
Why? Clinton asked. Well, in part, he said, because 80 percent of the country hasn't seen a raise since the economic meltdown in 2008.
Economic inequality, Clinton said, is the greatest obstacle facing the nation, and it feeds other problems, from drug abuse in rural communities to the heated rhetoric over policing in America.
There is anger among conservative, working-class whites voting for his wife's rival, Republican Donald Trump, and there is ire within the Black Lives Matter movement, Clinton said at the event in Verizon Arena in North Little Rock.
But it is important, he urged, not to give in to a culture -- and a politics -- that plays to such frustrations.
"The thing is, when people get mad, there's a reason," Clinton said. "Resentments, even those that are justified, are a lousy basis for constructing a life, much less constructing a response to the complicated challenges we have today."
Clinton's remarks came roughly a year after his wife, Hillary Clinton, a former U.S. senator and secretary of state, spoke to a packed Jefferson Jackson crowd of 2,000 in Arkansas, early on in her presidential candidacy. That event raised about $500,000.
Bill Clinton said Friday that his wife's current electoral foe -- Trump, the New York businessman and reality TV star -- is a champion of the type of rhetoric he warned against.
That kind of mindset, Clinton contended, will prevent the nation from moving forward through embracing its diversity and developing educational and business partnerships that can further America in the modern, global economy.
Clinton said a leader should measure themselves only on whether children have a future, things are coming together instead of falling apart and people are doing better now than when the leader started.
"All the rest is background music" he said. "... If you believe that, then we need to find a better way of turning that into good politics."
Clinton championed his wife's policy proposals, which he said would cut into inequality by investing in a better national infrastructure.
He also emphasized the need to make it easier for young people to finance a higher education. In an information economy, Clinton said, the loads of debt being accrued by students -- those looking to learn the tools to compete and to create -- stymies economic growth.
"A college loan is the only loan in America you cannot refinance. How crazy is that?" Clinton said. "We have hogtied and hemmed up millions of young people under 35 [with student debt]."
Facing a warm crowd, Clinton shared stories about his wife's accomplishments and bragged on others, saying that the Democratic candidate has a proven record and temperament to not only lead but collaborate.
Clinton argued that America is well-positioned to once again dominate a global economy but that the nation needs quality leadership.
"I can't remember a single time in my life where anything big came out of being small," Clinton said "But I can think of a lot of times in my life where being small won elections but not much came after. ... This is a time to be big."
The annual Jefferson Jackson event, now in its 35th year, will continue, according to Democratic Party officials, but under a different name.
Over the past two years, there has been much discussion among Democrats across the country about whether using the names of two former slaveholders to mark a marquee party event is appropriate in a modern age.
Missouri, Indiana and a few other states have dropped the name.
Earlier this year, state party officials announced they will change the name of the fundraiser to be a better reflection of the contemporary Democratic makeup.
Vince Insalaco, chairman of the Democratic Party of Arkansas, said a committee is forming and that they will select a new name in about eight months. He said he'd like to see a title that doesn't rely on the name of one or even two popular figures.
"If they put a person's name on it, 10 years from now, they're going to want to change it," Insalaco said. "They'll take a serious look at what's good for what we represent rather than naming it for a person."
Just before the event, Fayetteville Democrat Hershey Garner said he's fine with talk of a name change.
"There's a time to turn the page," Garner said. "I'm more concerned about the future than the past."
Tickets for seats in the gallery were about $20, while seats on the floor for the dinner were $200. Other premium tickets ranged from $1,000 to $1,500.
Party officials expected to raise about the same amount as last year, with roughly the same number of attendees.
Insalaco said he thinks Hillary Clinton's presence atop the ticket will help the state party revitalize after recent elections that have left Democrats in the minority in the state House and Senate and bereft of any constitutional office.
"There is such a deep and personal connection between the Clintons and Arkansas," Insalaco said. "If you haven't met Bill Clinton, it's because you've deliberately tried not to, in Arkansas."
Insalaco said that Hillary Clinton is polling much better than President Barack Obama at this point in 2012 and Trump is polling worse than Obama at the same period.
Despite a long, and at times, heated primary between Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders -- one where much of the youth vote supported Sanders -- Insalaco said big, and older, names like Pryor and Clinton are not antithetical toward building support among young Arkansas voters.
"This is a fundraiser. Not a fun raiser. This is about the life and blood of the Democratic Party. We have to have funds in order to operate ... President Clinton has been unbelievably good to us," Insalaco said. "I think this is the future. I don't think it's the past at all, particularly when you think about what we stand for and what the Republicans in Arkansas don't stand for ... The future to me is not about a person. It's about the agenda."
At Friday's event, Democrats also honored Arkansas' David Pryor, a former governor and U.S. senator. Former Gov. Mike Beebe and the 2nd Congressional District candidate, Dianne Curry, also spoke.
Other speakers included Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-North Little Rock; Sen. Keith Ingram, D-West Memphis; and Rep. Michael John Gray, D-Augusta.
Metro on 07/16/2016