I Made The Wrong Choice In 2016

Hillary Clinton showed her true colors once again and it’s time to admit I was wrong for choosing her over Bernie Sanders.

Hillary Clinton’s recent appearance on Howard Stern’s radio show is just the latest installment of Clinton blaming others for her embarrassing loss in 2016 to Donald Trump. The target this time is Senator Bernie Sanders. This isn’t the first time she has gone after him and it probably won’t be the last.

In the interview, Clinton claimed that Bernie did not endorse her quick enough after the primary process and hurt her chances against Trump. This is simply not true. Not only did Bernie endorse her, but he also traveled all over the country doing rallies to get her elected. He went to places like Wisconsin and Michigan — states the Clinton campaign had largely ignored.

I guess Clinton forgot what she said back in 2008 when asked if she was bothered that Sanders was fighting on in the primary even when his chances were dwindling. She told Rachel Maddow,

Remember, I’m the person who went all the way to the end in June in 2008, so why would I expect anybody running against me to give up or quit before the process is done? I don’t expect that at all.”

It’s no surprise Hillary Clinton has decided to interject in this primary as Sanders continues to gain in the polls. It’s petty and it’s disappointing. Centrist Democrats like Clinton, preach “party unity” but endlessly undercut progressive Democrats for thinking too big or going against the establishment. She is incapable of accepting any blame for the loss in 2016 and instead continues to push a myth that Bernie Sanders cost her a victory against Trump.

This Howard Stern interview was a reminder of how much I regret voting for Clinton over Sanders in the Democratic primary.

Shaping My Political Views

Growing up, I was always into politics. I remember as a kid watching the 2000 election coverage and enjoying every second as the results came rolling in. The Electoral College made the event exciting. There was suspense involved in predicting which direction each state was going to go. I was hooked. I was rooting for Al Gore, which was ultimately a letdown many weeks later when the Supreme Court handed the Presidency to George W. Bush.

My parents were not very active politically. Neither voted but my Dad had a lot of strong views on things. I recall many arguments between him and my Aunt in our kitchen. My Aunt hated President Bill Clinton and my Dad just didn’t get why. In his mind, he was doing a good job and the impeachment was unwarranted. He tended to be more on the liberal side of things, my Aunt more conservative. They could at least agree that they both liked Jimmy Carter.

As I continued on throughout my high school tenure and into college, I took an increasing interest in politics and government. Growing up without a whole lot, living in poorer but diverse neighborhoods, and attending public schools helped shaped my political views. Of course, we should have social programs to help out the less fortunate and everyone deserves health care. It was real-life experiences that confirmed these thoughts. There were times where my father was in-between jobs and things got difficult. Medical bills piled up when he was sick and we lost our house. What was there to keep us afloat were programs like SNAP that allowed my younger sister and I to eat. Medicaid allowed us to see a pediatrician regularly. We went to one of the best public high schools in the city and Pell and TAP grants from the federal and state government helped me get through undergraduate school without much debt. I understood that government was capable of doing good things.

Hope & Change

When I turned 18 years old, I registered to vote and I chose the Democratic party. It felt great and I was excited to vote. The first Presidential vote I ever made was for Barack Obama. Seeing him get elected was magical. In 2008, he represented everything that I was looking for in a politician. Coming out of a financial crisis and a failed Republican presidency, he represented a huge shift in leadership. He ran a campaign based on hope and I certainly bought in.

The Republican and right-wing response to the Obama presidency was repugnant. The Tea Party emerged shortly after his election and went after the President with racist attacks, under the guise of wanting lower taxes and less spending by the government. Political commentator Glenn Beck led the way on Fox News comparing Obama to the worst people in history on a daily basis, all for pushing for health care reform.

It was around this time where I became a full-blown partisan Democrat. Republicans had nothing to offer me and millions of others. While the Democrats had full control, they accomplished a few things — the Affordable Care Act, Dodd-Frank legislation, and the Recovery Act to help lift us out of a recession. At the time, I was satisfied with most of this. However, I was still quite young and still learning. At the same time, Occupy Wall Street sprouted up and focused on big banks and the power they yielded on America. I did join a protest once but never fully bought in. Altogether, I supported our President at the time and felt like he deserved a chance to right the ship.

Over the President’s tenure in office, I became somewhat complacent politically. It was easy to simply oppose the Republicans. They were in favor of things like cutting social programs, slashing taxes for the wealthy, and fought against civil rights at every turn. However, during these eight years, the promise of hope and change from 2008 faded.

President Obama failed to turn around many of the negative trends we faced as a country. Wages remained stagnant despite falling unemployment. Wealth became more unequal and poor Americans were left behind. The decision to bail out large financial institutions while people lost their homes had lasting consequences. Young Americans were saddled with massive student loan debt, increasing every year. The military was still scattered all throughout the Middle East.

A Shift in Perspective

In 2015, my life changed quite a bit personally. At the start of the year, I was still finishing up graduate school and worked a job that paid just above minimum wage. I only went to grad school because it was such a struggle to find a decent job after receiving my Bachelor’s degree. And this was a degree in Economics and Finance.

As my debt piled up, I felt lost at times. I worked this job for over three years. Then, in late April, Senator Bernie Sanders announced his candidacy for President of the United States. I had seen Sanders on MSNBC a handful of times during the Obama years and mostly liked what I heard. When he announced, he spoke of taking on Wall Street and big corporations. Also, he would fight for a single-payer health system. I was on board. To me, Sanders was checking all the boxes on what I thought a Democrat was growing up.

Two months later, I began a new job at one of Bernie’s main villains — a large global bank. My salary almost tripled. In my first six months, I was still all-in on Sanders. I had a Bernie bumper sticker on my car and still believed in everything he was saying. However, as 2016 came into focus, I started to teeter. Co-workers started to persuade me by saying that Bernie wasn’t serious, or couldn’t break up the big banks and that his policies would kill the economy. Also, I would engage on social media with both Sanders and Clinton supporters and I found myself becoming more upset with Bernie’s crew. The Sanders campaign also made some mistakes that I didn’t like.

As the primary progressed, I became an undecided voter. This was the first time in my life that I had a real career and I started to sway to the “safe” choice in Hillary Clinton. Did I really want to jeopardize my future by voting for Bernie Sanders? It was selfish and short-sighted thinking. I believed in what Bernie believed in. But, I caved — I voted for Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders. It’s a decision I regret to this day.

When I made the switch, I continued to engage with friends on Facebook about issues and the election. I entered into many heated exchanges and there were times where I was a real dick in defending Clinton and going after Bernie. I apologize to all of the people I tussled with. You guys were right and I had it wrong.

Redemption

Luckily, I may get a second chance and this time, I’m fully committed to the Bernie Sanders campaign. The best part is he has a real chance at winning this time around. I hope I’m right and I get to pull the lever for him in New York’s primary in April and in the November general election. I have already donated and volunteered with the campaign. I’m ready to make this happen.

There are a lot of forces that will try to prevent a President Sanders from happening. There have been reports of Obama stepping in if Bernie gains too much traction. Secret meetings have taken place to plot against him. Then, you have Hillary Clinton still relitigating 2016, while failing to accept any responsibility for losing to a reality television star.

During the Howard Stern interview, Hillary Clinton mocked Bernie Sanders’ policy of free public college by comparing it to, “Chocolate Milk for Everybody!” in 5th grade. It’s a disgusting analogy because milk should be free for all students in school but she also takes it a step farther by making it chocolate milk. She makes it seem like college is a treat and maybe everyone shouldn’t attend.

Clinton and Stern mock Bernie’s college proposal.

Bernie Sanders has shown us that we can have nice things. We can have chocolate milk. We can have free public college and health care as a human right. We just have to be willing to fight for it. Bernie has taught the United States how to think big again. It’s been far too long since a Presidential candidate has provided a vision for giant systemic change. I will not make the same mistake this time — Bernie Sanders for President!