Like a whole lot of Republicans, I've got a problem or two with Hillary Clinton. But, unlike Republicans, they have nothing to do with her personal email server or Benghazi.
I'm a Bernie guy. My issues with Mrs. Clinton have to do with her shameful compliance when the chips were down in 2002. She voted "aye" to the lies. She cut Junior loose on Iraq. I haven't forgotten.
But you better believe I'm going to vote for her.
And, although in itself it is incentive enough, the fact that her opponent is a mob orator, an avatar of the ugliest parts of America, is not the only reason I'm going to give her my vote. I'm going to vote for Hillary, not just against Donald Trump.
Here's why: Bernie Sanders and his supporters won a great victory this primary season. Although they could not carry the nomination, that awoke something. The groundswell of support the Sanders campaign received surprised everyone. Sanders ran a fully-funded campaign, receiving donations from some 7 million people! Even with an average donation of $27, that's a lot of money. But more importantly, Sanders won the votes of young people by overwhelming numbers, outpacing Trump and Hillary combined!
Folks, we're at the dawn of a new era. The Sanders campaign, progressive politics, is the future of the Democratic party. Access to health care, racial and religious tolerance, justice both economic and social, affordable education: there is a great groundswell of support for these ideas.
Hillary, the consummate politician, can smell what's in the wind. Just as her husband did, when he mastered the art of political triangulation halfway through his first term, Hillary will position herself to be at the front of this new movement.
And as for the caricature that Fox News and the Republicans created? Well, they've been doing a multi-million dollar hit job on the woman for 25 years now. One can hardly be surprised that many people believe she is Jezebel incarnate.
She has her warts, like all politicians. But I believe she's a competent, even an exceptional, administrator. She will surround herself with competent people. And, far from fighting progress at every turn, she will encourage it.
So, yes, Hillary. Hillary 2016!
3 comments:
Here here. Well stated Dade!
A counterpoint (from here: http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/08/11/leftists-against-clintonism-its-not-just-about-lies-its-about-record):
Democrats, for their part, have long been infected by electoralitis; they have come to view the election of more Democrats as an end in itself, not as a means to push for a more equitable society. But, long-term, we must be focused on more than merely defeating Trump; we must also defeat the appeal of Trumpism.
For that to happen, we need a strong left with a working class core.
Corporate centrism may be enough to pull off an electoral victory this time around, but it is not nearly enough to address unprecedented income and wealth inequality, environmental degradation, or — for obvious reasons — the corporate capture of the political process.
And it most certainly won't be enough to win over the diverse coalition of young progressives that overwhelmingly repudiated Clinton in the primaries.
If recent history is any guide, it is unlikely that Democrats will change course in any meaningful way, having been restrained by their own ideological and financial commitments. For that reason, it will be necessary to revisit, and to take very seriously, the words of Michelle Alexander: "I hold little hope that a political revolution will occur within the Democratic Party without a sustained outside movement forcing truly transformational change. I am inclined to believe that it would be easier to build a new party than to save the Democratic Party from itself."
I will not be voting for Hillary. I'm from the never Hill crew. I also will not be voting for Trump. I don't want any part of electing either of these tools to a position of power.
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That said, I believe Hillary will win the election. Before the 2018 mid terms Hill will be forced to resign or be impeached. The Clinton foundation will be exposed for the cesspool of corruption that it is.
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