Voting for Hillary - Part V

Editorial, The Week in Review – Analysis, Commentary, Opinion

11.05.2016

Voting for Hillary - Part V

In three days I will be casting my vote for President of the United States, I will be voting as a nearly always have, for the nominee of the Democratic Party, Hillary Rodham Clinton; former Secretary of State, Former Senator from the State of New York, Former First Lady of the United States, Former First Lady of Arkansas. 

I have been an active partisan for her candidacy this entire campaign season, as I was in 2008 when she ran against our sitting President Barrack Obama. When she lost the nomination in that year, I turned became an ardent supporter of Obama. I did not hesitate, because eight years of Republican governance got us involved in two major wars, the near destruction of our economy, the housing collapse, Federal budget surpluses transformed into skyrocketing deficit spending, the collapse of the housing market, years of record high gas prices, a further coarsening of public discourse, a retreat into; anti-science, anti-intellectual fundamentalism, an expanded role for private religion in public policy, deep harm done to the reputation of the United States abroad; an abrogation of our duties under the Geneva Convention, the denial of constitutional rights and due process to people held under the aegis of American authority, an embrace of torture, murder, war profiteering, outing intelligence officer who threaten to expose lies being used to support a rationale for war, and the use of overseas/offshore prisons in order to carry out war crimes.

That is what we got with the last Republican administration.

The last Republican administration, the George W. Bush administration was comprised of people who believed, at least a little bit, in the institutions of government; that public policy can make a difference in the lives of citizens, that if you are “caught” committing crimes you need to be held accountable, that there is such a thing as due process, that freedom of religion is as important to our democracy as the right to bear arms, that freedom of speech and freedom of the press must be preserved, that America is a melting pot and a nation of immigrants.

The current Republican nominee, Donald J. Trump, does not believe in any of things, apparently. He may not believe in anything at all. He appears to most observers to be a classic narcissist, a megalomaniac, a nihilist, for whom winning is the only thing that matters. He has surrounded himself with the unwise and the unscrupulous, with “yes people”, he buys his own press and he would, if he could, deny the right of others to criticize him.

Hillary Clinton, has her flaws, but they are the ordinary flaws of all politicians. Her flaws may be slightly more magnified in her, or it may be that we are more aware of them because of the intense scrutiny she has endured over the past twenty-five years of her public life. Despite her flaws she is known to be a tireless worker, a dedicated public servant, a close observer of public policy, hyper intelligent, realistic, unflinching. A woman of resolve.

If we are fortunate enough to have her as our president we will have succeeded in electing the first woman to our highest office only a few years short of one hundred, since we gave women the right to vote.  

Hillary is not perfect. Nobody is perfect. She is not dangerous, Donald is.

Donald has been endorsed by the KKK, the American Nazi Party, and every other white supremacist, right wing hate group in the country. They show up at his rallies, they fly confederate flags, they are not “officially encouraged,” but they are not censured. They are not disavowed. They are in fact, a vital part of his constituency, with leaders from that wing of American political deeply embedded in his campaign, in the highest positions of leadership.

I am voting for Hillary because I know that she will be levelheaded, fair minded, and a competent manager of the federal government. The Clintons and their team already presided over one of the most successful administrations of modern times, and they will be joined by veterans of the current administration who are even handed and adept at what they do. That is what we need right now.

A Hillary Clinton administration is what we need right now. She will not advance the most progressive policies that have been proposed, but she will advance the progressive policies that she able to. Her administration will continue the track record of stability that President Obama has managed to engender. Her administration will be a continuance of that steady and calm leadership. In that place, verses a place of chaos and uncertainty, self-aggrandizement and profiteering, we will come away with the best deal possible.

Vote for Hillary if you have not already. Get out there and vote for the first woman to be president. 

Vote against the spiteful, erratic, mean spirited Donald Trump. Vote for clear headed, thoughtful, progressive policies. Vote against, the KKK, the American Nazi Party, do not give them the candidate they desire. Vote for the party that wants to expand the franchise, making it easier to vote. Do not vote for the party seeking to obstruct it. Vote for women’s rights, the freedom of choice, freedom of religion, and freedom of speech. Vote against those who seek to suppress those freedoms at the point of violence.

The election is in our hands, and we will get what we deserve.

Vote Hillary Rodham Clinton for President!

Bury Trump in a landslide!