Hillary Clinton Enduring More Attacks

She Will Not Be Your President

Prudence suggests I should hold off posting this diary. The tone will probably not be appreciated. It will be seen as provocative, not healing or uniting. I should probably just count to 2,383 first. But so many writers seem to take satisfaction from echoing right-wing attack points on Hillary Clinton. Posts declare how the writers will NEVER vote for her, something rarely expressed by Clinton supporters regarding Bernie Sanders. Speakers coyly suggest they will waste their vote rather than give her support in November (eye on you, Sarandon). It overcomes my restraint.

The writers generally declare that the loss of their votes will not matter, as they live in a red state, or the numbers won’t make any critical difference. (Remind me again how many votes it took to give the presidency to George Bush when he was given red Florida in 2000?) I finally am coming around to believe that the votes of the protest voters might not matter after all. I think the Republicans have made their party so nasty and dysfunctional, and have offended so many segments of our society, that, in a year when they could be competitive if they offered a good candidate, they have no chance of getting close to 50% and winning the presidency, certainly not with our Electoral College. That means the Democratic Party will retain the presidency.

Senator Sanders will probably win Wisconsin, part of a winning streak, but probably not by the numbers needed to eliminate his delegate deficit. We will listen to two weeks of argument about momentum, how he will win New York huge, sweep the eastern states, dominate California, and then the super delegates will defect to him and give him the nomination.

Personally I think Hillary Clinton will be the nominee of the Democratic Party and thus will be elected president in November. I will vote for her. But I understand, protest voters, how she will not be your responsibility. She will not be your president.

She will be my president when the Democratic Party elects the first woman president in the history of the United States. But, protest voters, you will be able to tell your children and grandchildren how you did not contribute to that historic achievement, that barrier coming down.

She will be my president when, hopefully, the Democratic Party retakes the Senate and makes big inroads in the House of Representatives, setting the stage for more progress in 2020 and an end to gerrymandering.

She will be my president when new Supreme Court justice appointments move the Court away from its false right-wing originalist bent and back to the progressive force for justice and civil rights that the Court once provided.

She will be my president when we preserve the Affordable Care Act and continue to make improvements in the health care system towards the goal of total coverage for all, building support as citizens begin to appreciate its benefits, much like Social Security. But, protest voters, she will not be your president, you will take no blame for that.

She will be my president when we use new regulations to rein in Wall Street excesses, enforce fair taxation on corporations, and protect consumers, perhaps led in these efforts by Senator Elizabeth Warren, who encouraged Clinton to run.

She will be my president when the United States pushes for fair trade deals that protect American workers without sinking into a protectionism that only hurts economies and workers throughout the world.

She will be my president when we use diplomacy as our first tool in international relations (see Iran, Cuba, China) but also lend support where needed, and use the force of international coalitions to defeat ISIL and Boko Haram and other terrorists, not just settle for isolationism and letting other countries face all problems on their own.

She will be my president when our national budget is refocused on infrastructure spending and providing more basic services for children and families. Yes, this will require us to pay more in taxes. But that does not bother me, as long as the money is well spent, and the richest individuals and corporations are made to pay a fair share. Tax cuts as the solution to all governmental and social problems, that long disproven corpse that has refused to die, will finally be laid to rest. But don’t worry, protest voters, you will not be accountable, she will not be your president.

In many areas of our national life (equal pay for women, tackling environmental issues, early childhood education, family leave, etc.), I see a Clinton presidency as having great prospects for progress, and infinitely preferable to the alternative. Protest voters, you will have expressed your disdain for Clinton by refusing to vote for her against Trump, or whichever disappointment the Republicans offer the American people. But you know, the old saying still applies. If you refuse to be part of the solution, you really are more a part of the problem.

Have a Happy April Fool’s Day!