Elvia Díaz

opinion columnist

If Hillary Clinton is bitter against women, she sure isn’t showing it.

You’d think she would sit moping and pondering her inability to galvanize women as multitudes of them marched to protest the man who denied her the presidency.

It sure must be difficult for her but whatever Hillary Clinton’s political shortcomings, she has shown grace and dignity during the past few days.

First, she showed up at Republican Donald Trump’s inauguration despite the nasty campaign where he even pledged to lock her up upon his arrival at the White House.

“I'm here today to honor our democracy & its enduring values. I will never stop believing in our country & its future. #Inauguration,” she tweeted.

Then, she struck just the right tone praising the women's march Saturday in Washington and across the nation.

“Thanks for standing, speaking & marching for our values @womensmarch. Important as ever. I truly believe we're always Stronger Together,” she tweeted prior to the massive protests.

She subsequently followed up:

Can we follow her lead?

The number of women – and men – who took to the streets was indeed inspiring. I’ve written that they were already too late for her, but is abundantly clear that Saturday’s march wasn’t about Hillary Clinton.

It was about civil, reproductive and immigration rights, among other issues -- ironically, everything she promised to protect as president.

The organizers, who by all accounts exceeded their own crowd expectations, have their work cut out for them to sustain the enthusiasm.

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It’ll be arduous work to keep inspiring people to do the unglamorous tasks necessary for Democrats to take back Congress in midterm elections.

Leaders already have been contemplating what the next steps should be. At the top of their list should be massive voter-registration drives and a sustained civic education to galvanize people at the polls in local, state and federal elections.

All of us must speak up and remain vigilant about Trump’s presidency, which threatens our core democratic values. And as we do so, let’s not forget Hillary Clinton. After all, she has paved the road to the White House for somebody else to become the first Madam President.

Elvia Díaz is an editorial columnist for The Republic and azcentral. Reach her at 602-444-8606 or elvia.diaz@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter, @elviadiaz1.

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