Do you have a uterus? Are you voting with it? That’s a trick question and an irrelevant distraction because it implies that the only reason to vote for Hillary Clinton is shared womanhood. And it’s irrelevant because, as the results have shown thus far, that is clearly not the case.



Hillary Clinton, objectively the most qualified candidate for president in pretty much ever, is cleaning up. After her huge win in South Carolina (yuge!) and as voters turn out today on this Super of Tuesdays, Clinton’s path to the nomination seems clear. So, haters – it’s time to make the call.

I’m not talking to Republican haters. They can keep themselves busy pretending the US constitution doesn’t call for a president to replace US supreme court judges. (Good luck with that, see you in November!) I’m talking to the haters within the Democratic party, and those who otherwise fear a Trump candidacy with the ice-cold terror of thinking, feeling people who aren’t terrible.

I’ve seen them on my Facebook wall and in my Twitter feed, swarming on me with hot anti-Clinton conviction as they feel the Bern, beseeching me with their long, fervent comments. It’s clear that they love their candidate and to be honest, I love them for not loving any of the Republican candidates because, wow.

(And while I’m being honest, I also love that you can vote at all, because I can’t – I’m Canadian! But I have a tiny American baby so allow me to care about the country she lives in for a moment here.)



But haters: the moment has come to start putting our differences aside. Hillary Clinton is a vetted, tested candidate. She and Bernie Sanders have had numerous debates filled with intelligent exchanges on policy and principle and their respective records and proposals and visions for the country. They have pushed each other to the left where it’s counted for progressives (Keystone pipeline, Hyde Amendment, gun control) and have both been united in their conviction that the clown show on the other side of the aisle must be defeated at all costs.

They have both emerged from the fracas a little bruised – it’s the primary after all – but as the dust has cleared it is evident that the Democrats have two strong, smart, principled and dedicated public servants running for the leadership of this country. That’s no small thing. (See: aforementioned Republican clown show.)



By the end of today, though, the writing will be on the wall. The Democrats will have a pretty good idea about which candidate their party prefers for the presidency and it seems fairly likely that person will be Hillary Clinton. This is not to suggest that Sanders should drop out of the race – that would be premature, and rude – but it does suggest that the time to come together as a party behind a strong, supported nominee is nigh.



While the stakes for the primary are high, the stakes for the election are even higher. And there’s a giant Republican machine which, once it figures out what to do with Donald Trump, will be ready to consolidate itself against whomever the Democrats pick. (And if anyone’s been “Ready for Hillary” on day one, it’s them.) That’s why it is all the more important to get behind Clinton now.

I’m not going to hammer you with article after article after article after article about how terrific and qualified Hillary Clinton is, or even about how she’s actually pretty nice, and even cool. (You can read them when you’re ready. Grief is complicated.) I’m just going to say, it’s time to stop hating on Hillary Clinton. Because she’s probably going to be the Democratic nominee.



And if so – well then, back to our uterus. (Yes, I just put the “us” in “uterus” – where it belongs.) As a woman, Clinton will be a historic candidate – and a magnet for all the sexist, gendered attacks the Republicans has been flinging at her for years. Democrats don’t have a positive duty to vote for Hillary Clinton because she’s a woman, but if you are progressive – or even just the thinking, feeling person referenced above – you do have a positive duty to stand up against sexism.



When she comes under fire for her tone, for her ambition, for her likability, for somehow not being inspirational enough; when she’s asked about who will pick out china or when yet another smear email goes viral, ready to be added to her Snopes archive; when someone muses that it’s not that she’s a woman, but they just don’t like her, or even worse, proclaims hotly that they’d rather not vote than vote for Hillary – it’s time to step up. Because that is the language of undermining your potential and likely candidate for president.

If you care about what Bernie Sanders stands for, you will need her. If you care about who sits on the US supreme court you will need her. If you care about women’s reproductive self-determination, you will need her. If you care about racial justice, you will need her. If the alternative is one of the dudes that look reasonable compared to Donald Trump, you will need her.

Not only that – you will be grateful for her. Because Hillary Clinton is a tested, qualified, prepared, passionate, compassionate and progressive candidate for president. So, it’s time to get behind her. Because, just like “uterus” you can’t spell “White House” without a “u” and an “us”.