Former Secretary of State and potential Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, recently canceled her plans to appear as the keynote speaker for the 17th Annual Western Healthcare Leadership Academy, taking place April 11th in San Diego, amid planned fervent protests from local San Diego residents.
Protesters have organized under the banner of “The Difference Matters” coalition, a group that primarily consist of local San Diego women who refuse to allow Clinton into their community because of her alleged role in the Benghazi cover up scandal.
Clinton originally planned to deliver the speech in person, but it is now understood that she will speak to the audience via a satellite feed displayed onto a large projection screen during the conference, PR Newswire reports.
“The Difference Matters” coalition attribute Hillary’s appearance by satellite instead of in person, as a direct result of their efforts and planned protests.
“She frankly is not welcome here in San Diego by many of us, and we don’t want her,” Jan Iverson, a local mother and coalition protestor told FOX5 San Diego.
Mary Kafka, one of the women organizing the protest rally, said that Clinton’s change of plans will not stop the protest from happening.
A leadership figure for the major healthcare conference, Dr. Ted Mazer, told FOX5 San Diego, “The protest has nothing to do with us. … We are trying to talk about where we are and where we are going in medicine. Who is better to talk about that than someone with a history of about 20 years or more now dealing with health care reform.”
Pat Smith, one of the protest’s original organizers and the mother of Sean Smith, an American soldier who was killed in the Benghazi attacks, will be a key figure leading the protest beginning April 11th.
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