From Hero to Zero

My mother is a moderate Republican, and I’m a liberal Democrat. Thankfully, we have enough common ground on social issues to engage in political discussions without getting into an heated argument. But there is one subject of conversation that is guaranteed to make my mother’s blood boil - Hillary Clinton.

My mother is a very even-tempered and rational woman. But when it comes to Hillary Clinton, all sense of reason goes out the window. She’s bought into every ridiculous rightwing attack that has ever been launched at Hillary. For example, my mother truly believes that Hillary somehow arranged to have Vince Foster murdered. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I tried for many years to reason with her, but at some point I realized that I was just beating my head against the wall. She was never going to find one thing to like about Hillary.

And then came Trump.

My mother called last night, and after a few minutes of chit chat, she said she had something important to share with me. She then asked if I was sitting down.

I laughed, and said, “All right Mom, I’m sitting down, what’s up?”

“Well, after a lot of thought, I’ve decided that I’m going to vote for Hillary.”

I was in complete shock. After a few moments, I managed to blurt out, “But Mom, you HATE Hillary!”

“Yes, I do. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that I know she’s competent and she won’t be an embarrassment on the international stage. I don’t like most of her policies, and I’ll never like her. But I don’t really have another choice. You know how I feel about voting, I can’t just not vote. And I can’t vote for Trump. He’s a pompous clown, and he’ll destroy this country. So, Hillary it is.”

I wanted to whoop for joy. But knowing this admission had to be killing her, I did my best not make a big deal of it.

But it is a VERY big deal. I can’t help but laugh at the irony. My mother has hated Hillary for 25 years, and has dreaded the prospect of her ever becoming president. And now she’s going to vote for her, all thanks to Trump. I realize this story is just anecdotal. Still, I’m certain that she’s not alone. I think there are many more Republicans out there who are beginning to resign themselves to pulling the lever for Hillary this fall.