I embrace words that accurately describe me, even if they may not be said in a way that is complimentary. These words include activist, dissenter, feminist and cantankerous. I cannot deny that they are accurate, because I know what words mean.
Am I a socialist? Well, if socialism is passionately supporting public education, social security, affordable health care access for all people, taxing the rich at rates greater than the poor are taxed, public lands (city parks, national parks, national monuments, etc.), and taxes paying for social and public services then, yes, I am part socialist, because there are aspects of socialism I want in the USA. However, I also want people to be free to invest money and make money, to own their own houses and their own property, to become wealthy, to buy luxury items, to buy things they want but may not need - and a socialist, nor a communist, would be down with any of that. Karl Marx said, "The theory of Communism may be summed up in the single sentence: Abolition of private property." And I own a house and I love my house and it's mine, and I love my motorcycle and really don't want anyone else riding it EVER...
But, still, if I'm willing to accept the word socialism as a word that accurately describes of some of my beliefs, no matter how incendiary it is to some people, then why do people who are racists refuse to accept the description that they are racists? Racism is the belief that members of a category of people - a category based on their ancestry, their ethnicity - possess behavioral characteristics and intellectual abilities specific to that category, that race, especially so as to distinguish people of that race as inferior or superior to people of another race or races.
That means that if you think most people who are Latino, because of their biology, have a predisposition to rape and kill greater than people who are of European descent, you are a racist. If you believe that the biology of people from Asia makes them predisposed to be smarter than people who are black from Sub-Sahara Africa, you are a racist. If you think black Americans are predisposed to commit crimes at a much greater rate than whites because of their brain makeup, you are a racist. If you believe culture comes not from external factors and history but, rather, a person's biological makeup, then you are a racist.
By this accurate definition, Donald Trump is a racist, as are his supporters. There's no getting around that. based on his frequently stated beliefs and the crowds that cheer those statements. By calling Trump supporters racists, yes, I am insulting Trump supporters - but I'm also being accurate.
The list of Trump's racist remarks is too long for this blog. But here are just some highlights:
Trump characterizes cities with a large black population as dystopian war zones. In a 2016 debate with Hillary Clinton, Trump said, “Our inner cities, African Americans, Hispanics are living in hell because it’s so dangerous. You walk down the street, you get shot.” Trump also said to black voters: “You’re living in poverty; your schools are no good; you have no jobs.” Trump frequently offers false crime statistics to exaggerate urban crime in cities with large black populations, including about Oakland, Philadelphia and Ferguson, Missouri. This comes from his racist belief that black people are more violent than people of other races.
Trump frequently talks about crimes committed by dark-skinned people, sometimes exaggerating or lying about them (such as a claim about growing crime from “radical Islamic terror” in Britain). Again, this comes from his racist belief that people who are identified as not white are more prone to violence.
Trump is very slow to decry hate crimes committed by whites against dark-skinned people (such as the killing of an Indian man in Kansas last year). Trump called some of those who marched alongside white supremacists in Charlottesville, Va., last August “very fine people.” This comes from his racist belief that white violence against other races is somehow justified, or not as bad as violence by people from other races.
Trump said a federal judge hearing a case about Trump University was biased because of the judge’s Mexican heritage. This illustrates his racist belief that people of Hispanic or Latino descent are inferior in their abilities to white people.
In June 2017, Trump said 15,000 recent immigrants from Haiti “all have AIDS” and that 40,000 Nigerians, once seeing the United States, would never “go back to their huts” in Africa. Do I even have to explain what makes this racist?
At the White House, Trump vulgarly called for less immigration from Haiti and Africa and more from Norway, because he believes people from Scandinavia - white people - are superior to other races because of their biology.
His favorite insult of black Americans seems to be that they have a "low I.Q." or are not "smart": he's used this insult for Don Lemon, LeBron James, Maxine Waters. By contrast, he likes to use sexist remarks to insult white women, and insults about character and appearance for white men.
In the 1990s, Trump took out advertisements alleging that the “Mohawk Indian record of criminal activity is well documented.”
Trump once referred to a Hispanic Miss Universe as “Miss Housekeeping.”
Those are just some of the racist remarks he's made. If words have meaning, then Donald Trump is a racist. Why doesn't he embrace the title? He almost has: he's now admitted to being a nationalist, which is an extremist form of patriotism and is a term beloved among fascists. And fascism is inextricably tied with racism - the two cannot be separated.
Trump's domestic and foreign policies are based on two things: increasing his family's wealth and promoting his racist ideology. So, if you support him, there is only one thing to call you: racist. Why not embrace it? The description CANNOT be wrong unless you also believe your ideology about race is wrong. Period.
There is no denying that the US, like most countries on Earth, was built on racist ideologies. It is my choice every day, not just on election day, to embrace that or to fight against that continuing. Regardless of the election results, I'm going to continue to fight. I won't be "coming together" with racists. I won't be "looking for common ground" with racists. If it makes you uncomfortable when I speak out or walk out - it should, and that's your problem, not mine.
Not ready to make nice, not ready to back down...
Showing posts with label Party. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Party. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
For Bernie supporters, from a Bernie supporter
No, Bernie supporters, you do not have to vote for Hillary in November.
No one responds well to “You HAVE to vote for so-and-so.” As I mentioned on Facebook, when I caucused for Howard Dean in 2004, I had Kerry delegates smugly tell me how we Dean and Kucinich supporters would HAVE to vote for Kerry, how we were wasting our votes and wasting the time of the Democratic Party and giving a gift to the GOP by daring to not vote for the presumptive nominee. I was so angry at hearing it again and again that, when Dean dropped out, I toyed with not voting AT ALL - why would I vote for a man whose supporters think so little of me and MY values? I saw Clinton supporters doing the same as those Kerry supporters, especially in the last month, and it’s a shame, because all it does is drive potential supporters - VOTERS - away. I did vote for John Kerry that November, but many Dean and Kucinich did not, because Kerry spent his entire campaign trying to run down Bush and trying to deflect criticism of his own record; Kerry made no effort to appeal to those disenfranchised Dems, and the consequence was that he LOST to a wildly unpopular President. In 2008, many Hillary supporters talked repeatedly to the press about how they would NOT support Obama, so candidate Obama went out of his way to address the concerns of Hillary voters - and the result was that they voted for him in droves. It was NOT because Hillary said, "Vote Obama", it was because Obama worked to earn those votes. Hillary supporters - and Clinton herself - should take heed of this.
When Gore won the popular vote in 2000, but was robbed of the presidency by Florida and Ohio shenanigans, I blamed the GOP… and all those who voted for Ralph Nader. I wasn’t crazy at all about Al, for all the same reasons I’m not crazy about Hillary - but there was no question he was better than the Shrub, and the Supreme Court has always been enough of a reason for me to vote Democrat, so I was really bitter about Nader voters for not helping to stop George Bush. Plus, I don't think Nadar is qualified to run the country. But I changed my mind about Nader supporters a few months into 2001, as I read more and more about voter turnout and their points of view. Nader supporters voted their values and wanted to send a strong message to the Democratic Party - and I respect that, because that's what my country is about: voting your beliefs. If Al Gore, the Democratic Party candidate, didn’t appeal to them, that’s the candidate’s problem - no one else to blame. It’s up to the primary winner to work to unite the party - that’s part of his or her job. If she can’t do that, then how will she work with a divided Congress, like she keeps assuring us she can?
I am going to vote for Hillary Clinton in November, even though I’m frightened of what her foreign policy will be and have no idea where she stands on so many issues - she went from pro-Palestinian to staunchly pro-Israel, she was for the China trade deal before she was against it (though I’m hearing hints that she’s for it again), she never championed raising the minimum wage but now, ta da, is talking about it (though in TINY increments), she was so pro Gun the first time she ran for President that candidate Obama said she sounded like “Annie Oakley” (look it up!), she pushed HARD for fracking in Europe while secretary of state (much to the anger of Europeans, who do NOT want it) but now claims environmentalist credentials, she was staunchly against gay marriage and then, after every other Dem was for it, changed her mind at last - but denied she ever changed her mind - and on and on. Her comments regarding Nancy Reagan and AIDS were horrific and shameful, and her reasons offered as to why she did so were nonsensical. Looking at her record as Senator and Sec of State, she’s hawkish and pro-corporation and pro-banks, even those that almost bankrupted our country, and she has given workers rights and consumer rights only ocassional lip service - she has no strong track record on their behalf. Pressure from Sanders supporters compelled her to change her healthcare stance and suggest an early buy-in for Medicare, but once elected, I suspect she’ll abandon that stance. I fear for those of you with family members in the military while she’s President - we're invading somewhere (Syria? Libya? Somewhere new?). And I greatly fear for our economy, as she has made it clear she’s a staunch friend of the banks and institutions that almost brought down our economy a few years ago - and feels their support is more important than championing the working class. Gads, Clinton wore a jacket worth $12,495 during a speech on income inequality! Her actions and words show her incredibly out-of-touch with most people in the USA. It's heart-breaking.
I used to feel very differently about Hillary Clinton. When I voted for Bill Clinton in 1992, my vote was as much for her as for him. She then had a long track record for action and for speaking out about children’s rights, and was lauded for her legal work regarding children’s law. When Bill was President, conservatives said her work usurped traditional parental authority - and she just scoffed at them. I remember her going off script during a 1998 talk with Israeli and Palestinian teens meeting as part of the organization Seeds of Peace. I remember the controversy when she referred to “Palestine”. She was asked by someone at the meeting why she referred to a country that doesn’t exist, and she said: “I think that it will be in the long-term interest of the Middle East for Palestine to be a state, to be a state that is responsible for its citizens’ well-being, a state that has responsibility for providing education and health care and economic opportunity to its citizens.” The next year, she attended a speech at which Suha Arafat, the wife of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, and afterward, Clinton kissed Suha on the cheek, as is customary in the region - and Republicans lost their minds. Oh, yeah, THAT Hillary Clinton was *awesome*. She was her own person. I wanted to vote for THAT Hillary Clinton when she ran for President someday. But, unfortunately, that Hillary Clinton went away the moment she started running for the Senate, and I haven’t seen her since.
But I will vote for her in November, because I do know she will very likely appoint pro-choice candidates to the Supreme Court. An anti-choice candidate on the Supreme Court will be disastrous beyond measure. It will affect women you love in your life, women you work with - oh so many women in your life. The misery will be horrific. That’s why I’ll vote for Hillary Clinton in November. I just cannot sit by and let more anti-choice judges get appointed. I care about your daughters too much, folks.
Despite my problems with her track record and lack of action on so many critical issues, I also believe she is qualified to be President, that she has the capability to do the job.
I also know that Hillary Clinton will respond to the results of the mid-term elections - so that’s on us, Bernie supporters, to make sure those go Democrat - and our kind of Democrat, the one that is focused on our core party principles, on what’s best for the majority of people, not just the top 1%. We Sanders supporters have drastically affected Hillary Clinton's campaign for President. Let’s keep that pressure on and drastically affect her time as President, for the better. She will work to represent us only if we continue the pressure on her to do so.
I’ve said I will vote for Hillary Clinton in November, and why - but my reason is not enough for millions of other Sanders supporters. If Hillary Clinton wants to win, she needs to unite the Democrats - that’s her job, not Bernie’s. She needs to detail her capabilities and her VALUES and her GOALS. You were Secretary of State, but what did you accomplish as such? You were great defending yourself regarding those Benghazi allegations - but what did you do that brought the USA big benefits, that made USAID more effective, that made the world a better place? Bernie energized the party with plans to make attending public universities affordable again, to stop the unreasonable burdens of student debt, to make health care truly universal, to help working families, to make the 1 percent pay their fair of taxes - heck, to return us to the higher tax rates of the Reagan era! - so what are you going to offer those Democrats so they know you represent all tax brackets and classes? Show us your values, in practice, because many of us just do NOT know what they are - there’s just so many, many contradictions in your actions and words since you left the White House as First Lady. Talk explicitly about how you will be different as President than your husband. Which policies of the Bill Clinton administration does Hillary Clinton still endorse, and which does she NOT? I’d rather hear how you are going to be like OBAMA than like Bill! We do NOT want Bill Clinton II! And be honest about how you’ve changed your positions - because you HAVE — and why. I can respect a candidate that disagrees with me - I disagreed with Bernie on guns, among other issues. I can respect a candidate that changes, that evolves. But I can’t respect denial - so drop that immediately, Candidate Clinton. Own your actions.
I have just criticized Hillary, in detail, for her job and candidacy performance. Not her makeup, not her hair, not her voice, not her physical shape, not her gender. And I have been JUST as hard on past Secretaries of State, male and female. So any of you that accuse me of not being a “real” feminist for my lukewarm support Hillary Clinton: bite my ass and unfriend me. I'm so tired of seeing people accused of sexism because they criticized Clinton's job performance or supported Bernie instead.
It will be nice to have a woman President in the USA, of course, and I'll celebrate that. I would have said something quite similar if Colin Powell had become the first black USA President, even though he's a Republican and I wouldn't have voted for him. I loathed Condoleezza Rice, but still found huge delight in watching a black American woman treated with such deference by deeply sexist, racist regimes. A female presidency is a cultural breakthrough, one that's long overdue, and it's worth celebrating by everyone.
Fellow Sanders supporters, we also have something more to celebrate: WE are the future of the Democratic Party. Look at the ages of Bernie supporters, look at the demographic trends of all voters. Despite the work of the Democratic leadership to stop it, despite the media coverage being mostly mocking and dismissive, Sanders did far, far better, with far, far less money than Clinton, than anyone every dreamed. His message resonated - even with Republicans. If the Dem party leadership continues to ignore us, the Dems are doomed, and Clinton will be their last Presidency for a long while. If Clinton supporters continue to say things like "Bern extinguished!", then the Democratic Party is dead - I'll bring the shovel.
Bernie supporters, if you don’t vote for Hillary, I hope you will vote for *someone* - but not Trump. There's candidates from the Green Party, the Socialist Party - probably even Prohibition (there usually is). Every state is different in terms of it is allowing on its ballot in November. By voting for someone - not Trump, please - your vote will be seen. If you don’t vote, you aren’t seen, and you are written off as not caring and not worth reaching - if you have doubt of that, look at the Kentucky Governor’s race from 2015, when a fraction of the population chose the government, and only a bit more voted at all. If everyone who is disappointed in the GOP and Dem candidates for President would vote for someone - but not Trump - as a protest vote, it would have a huge impact on how the two big parties respond - because they would know you exist and want your vote and work for it. There are many millions of Sanders supporters - don't disappear at the polls! Secondly, get on the mailing list for the local Democratic Party and go to meetings a few times a year, let your voice be heard, maybe even become a delegate or a precinct captain yourself (I intend to do the latter). That’s the only way to vote OUT people like Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Alison Lundergan Grimes that are currently in Democratic Party leadership positions - they are COUNTING on your apathy or anger to keep you from participating, and to keep them in those positions, so they can keep the Democratic Party the way it is. They need to GO. There’s a mid-term election in two years - let’s dominate it.
I hope Hillary Clinton, as nominee and, eventually, as President, surprises me, as President Obama has surprised me. I wasn’t at all googly eyed when he was elected, and I found his aloofness for his first four years disturbing - and I believe it contributed to the loss of the House to the GOP, and a closer race in 2012 than should have been. But his accomplishments over eight years are jaw-dropping, and now I’m a blathering idiot fan. Make me a blathering idiot fan, Hillary. At least make me respect you as much as I respect Angela Merkel, whom I loathed in the years before she became Chancellor of Germany - she's surprised me so much with her daring decisions that have put human rights first.
I keep hearing Clinton supporters say, "It's time to get behind our nominee!" Right now, the most you will get from me is my vote and this blog saying why I'll be voting for her. If you want more, you'll have to earn it.
Hillary Clinton, you’ve got a lot of work to do to win over several million Democrats. And I'm open to your overtures. But such support is up to you - not Bernie Sanders. And I mean it in all sincerity that I hope you do it. We'll be watching and listening. And if you work to address our very serious, real concerns, you'll earn a lot more votes than by trying to appeal to disaffected Republicans.
Update many hours after I wrote this: Is there an echo in here, New York Times? Hillary Clinton’s Triumph, and Burden: "Unless she makes a substantial effort to win them over, they might stay home, and low turnout historically helps Republicans."
No one responds well to “You HAVE to vote for so-and-so.” As I mentioned on Facebook, when I caucused for Howard Dean in 2004, I had Kerry delegates smugly tell me how we Dean and Kucinich supporters would HAVE to vote for Kerry, how we were wasting our votes and wasting the time of the Democratic Party and giving a gift to the GOP by daring to not vote for the presumptive nominee. I was so angry at hearing it again and again that, when Dean dropped out, I toyed with not voting AT ALL - why would I vote for a man whose supporters think so little of me and MY values? I saw Clinton supporters doing the same as those Kerry supporters, especially in the last month, and it’s a shame, because all it does is drive potential supporters - VOTERS - away. I did vote for John Kerry that November, but many Dean and Kucinich did not, because Kerry spent his entire campaign trying to run down Bush and trying to deflect criticism of his own record; Kerry made no effort to appeal to those disenfranchised Dems, and the consequence was that he LOST to a wildly unpopular President. In 2008, many Hillary supporters talked repeatedly to the press about how they would NOT support Obama, so candidate Obama went out of his way to address the concerns of Hillary voters - and the result was that they voted for him in droves. It was NOT because Hillary said, "Vote Obama", it was because Obama worked to earn those votes. Hillary supporters - and Clinton herself - should take heed of this.
When Gore won the popular vote in 2000, but was robbed of the presidency by Florida and Ohio shenanigans, I blamed the GOP… and all those who voted for Ralph Nader. I wasn’t crazy at all about Al, for all the same reasons I’m not crazy about Hillary - but there was no question he was better than the Shrub, and the Supreme Court has always been enough of a reason for me to vote Democrat, so I was really bitter about Nader voters for not helping to stop George Bush. Plus, I don't think Nadar is qualified to run the country. But I changed my mind about Nader supporters a few months into 2001, as I read more and more about voter turnout and their points of view. Nader supporters voted their values and wanted to send a strong message to the Democratic Party - and I respect that, because that's what my country is about: voting your beliefs. If Al Gore, the Democratic Party candidate, didn’t appeal to them, that’s the candidate’s problem - no one else to blame. It’s up to the primary winner to work to unite the party - that’s part of his or her job. If she can’t do that, then how will she work with a divided Congress, like she keeps assuring us she can?
I am going to vote for Hillary Clinton in November, even though I’m frightened of what her foreign policy will be and have no idea where she stands on so many issues - she went from pro-Palestinian to staunchly pro-Israel, she was for the China trade deal before she was against it (though I’m hearing hints that she’s for it again), she never championed raising the minimum wage but now, ta da, is talking about it (though in TINY increments), she was so pro Gun the first time she ran for President that candidate Obama said she sounded like “Annie Oakley” (look it up!), she pushed HARD for fracking in Europe while secretary of state (much to the anger of Europeans, who do NOT want it) but now claims environmentalist credentials, she was staunchly against gay marriage and then, after every other Dem was for it, changed her mind at last - but denied she ever changed her mind - and on and on. Her comments regarding Nancy Reagan and AIDS were horrific and shameful, and her reasons offered as to why she did so were nonsensical. Looking at her record as Senator and Sec of State, she’s hawkish and pro-corporation and pro-banks, even those that almost bankrupted our country, and she has given workers rights and consumer rights only ocassional lip service - she has no strong track record on their behalf. Pressure from Sanders supporters compelled her to change her healthcare stance and suggest an early buy-in for Medicare, but once elected, I suspect she’ll abandon that stance. I fear for those of you with family members in the military while she’s President - we're invading somewhere (Syria? Libya? Somewhere new?). And I greatly fear for our economy, as she has made it clear she’s a staunch friend of the banks and institutions that almost brought down our economy a few years ago - and feels their support is more important than championing the working class. Gads, Clinton wore a jacket worth $12,495 during a speech on income inequality! Her actions and words show her incredibly out-of-touch with most people in the USA. It's heart-breaking.
I used to feel very differently about Hillary Clinton. When I voted for Bill Clinton in 1992, my vote was as much for her as for him. She then had a long track record for action and for speaking out about children’s rights, and was lauded for her legal work regarding children’s law. When Bill was President, conservatives said her work usurped traditional parental authority - and she just scoffed at them. I remember her going off script during a 1998 talk with Israeli and Palestinian teens meeting as part of the organization Seeds of Peace. I remember the controversy when she referred to “Palestine”. She was asked by someone at the meeting why she referred to a country that doesn’t exist, and she said: “I think that it will be in the long-term interest of the Middle East for Palestine to be a state, to be a state that is responsible for its citizens’ well-being, a state that has responsibility for providing education and health care and economic opportunity to its citizens.” The next year, she attended a speech at which Suha Arafat, the wife of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, and afterward, Clinton kissed Suha on the cheek, as is customary in the region - and Republicans lost their minds. Oh, yeah, THAT Hillary Clinton was *awesome*. She was her own person. I wanted to vote for THAT Hillary Clinton when she ran for President someday. But, unfortunately, that Hillary Clinton went away the moment she started running for the Senate, and I haven’t seen her since.
But I will vote for her in November, because I do know she will very likely appoint pro-choice candidates to the Supreme Court. An anti-choice candidate on the Supreme Court will be disastrous beyond measure. It will affect women you love in your life, women you work with - oh so many women in your life. The misery will be horrific. That’s why I’ll vote for Hillary Clinton in November. I just cannot sit by and let more anti-choice judges get appointed. I care about your daughters too much, folks.
Despite my problems with her track record and lack of action on so many critical issues, I also believe she is qualified to be President, that she has the capability to do the job.
I also know that Hillary Clinton will respond to the results of the mid-term elections - so that’s on us, Bernie supporters, to make sure those go Democrat - and our kind of Democrat, the one that is focused on our core party principles, on what’s best for the majority of people, not just the top 1%. We Sanders supporters have drastically affected Hillary Clinton's campaign for President. Let’s keep that pressure on and drastically affect her time as President, for the better. She will work to represent us only if we continue the pressure on her to do so.
I’ve said I will vote for Hillary Clinton in November, and why - but my reason is not enough for millions of other Sanders supporters. If Hillary Clinton wants to win, she needs to unite the Democrats - that’s her job, not Bernie’s. She needs to detail her capabilities and her VALUES and her GOALS. You were Secretary of State, but what did you accomplish as such? You were great defending yourself regarding those Benghazi allegations - but what did you do that brought the USA big benefits, that made USAID more effective, that made the world a better place? Bernie energized the party with plans to make attending public universities affordable again, to stop the unreasonable burdens of student debt, to make health care truly universal, to help working families, to make the 1 percent pay their fair of taxes - heck, to return us to the higher tax rates of the Reagan era! - so what are you going to offer those Democrats so they know you represent all tax brackets and classes? Show us your values, in practice, because many of us just do NOT know what they are - there’s just so many, many contradictions in your actions and words since you left the White House as First Lady. Talk explicitly about how you will be different as President than your husband. Which policies of the Bill Clinton administration does Hillary Clinton still endorse, and which does she NOT? I’d rather hear how you are going to be like OBAMA than like Bill! We do NOT want Bill Clinton II! And be honest about how you’ve changed your positions - because you HAVE — and why. I can respect a candidate that disagrees with me - I disagreed with Bernie on guns, among other issues. I can respect a candidate that changes, that evolves. But I can’t respect denial - so drop that immediately, Candidate Clinton. Own your actions.
I have just criticized Hillary, in detail, for her job and candidacy performance. Not her makeup, not her hair, not her voice, not her physical shape, not her gender. And I have been JUST as hard on past Secretaries of State, male and female. So any of you that accuse me of not being a “real” feminist for my lukewarm support Hillary Clinton: bite my ass and unfriend me. I'm so tired of seeing people accused of sexism because they criticized Clinton's job performance or supported Bernie instead.
It will be nice to have a woman President in the USA, of course, and I'll celebrate that. I would have said something quite similar if Colin Powell had become the first black USA President, even though he's a Republican and I wouldn't have voted for him. I loathed Condoleezza Rice, but still found huge delight in watching a black American woman treated with such deference by deeply sexist, racist regimes. A female presidency is a cultural breakthrough, one that's long overdue, and it's worth celebrating by everyone.
Bernie supporters, if you don’t vote for Hillary, I hope you will vote for *someone* - but not Trump. There's candidates from the Green Party, the Socialist Party - probably even Prohibition (there usually is). Every state is different in terms of it is allowing on its ballot in November. By voting for someone - not Trump, please - your vote will be seen. If you don’t vote, you aren’t seen, and you are written off as not caring and not worth reaching - if you have doubt of that, look at the Kentucky Governor’s race from 2015, when a fraction of the population chose the government, and only a bit more voted at all. If everyone who is disappointed in the GOP and Dem candidates for President would vote for someone - but not Trump - as a protest vote, it would have a huge impact on how the two big parties respond - because they would know you exist and want your vote and work for it. There are many millions of Sanders supporters - don't disappear at the polls! Secondly, get on the mailing list for the local Democratic Party and go to meetings a few times a year, let your voice be heard, maybe even become a delegate or a precinct captain yourself (I intend to do the latter). That’s the only way to vote OUT people like Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Alison Lundergan Grimes that are currently in Democratic Party leadership positions - they are COUNTING on your apathy or anger to keep you from participating, and to keep them in those positions, so they can keep the Democratic Party the way it is. They need to GO. There’s a mid-term election in two years - let’s dominate it.
I hope Hillary Clinton, as nominee and, eventually, as President, surprises me, as President Obama has surprised me. I wasn’t at all googly eyed when he was elected, and I found his aloofness for his first four years disturbing - and I believe it contributed to the loss of the House to the GOP, and a closer race in 2012 than should have been. But his accomplishments over eight years are jaw-dropping, and now I’m a blathering idiot fan. Make me a blathering idiot fan, Hillary. At least make me respect you as much as I respect Angela Merkel, whom I loathed in the years before she became Chancellor of Germany - she's surprised me so much with her daring decisions that have put human rights first.
I keep hearing Clinton supporters say, "It's time to get behind our nominee!" Right now, the most you will get from me is my vote and this blog saying why I'll be voting for her. If you want more, you'll have to earn it.
Hillary Clinton, you’ve got a lot of work to do to win over several million Democrats. And I'm open to your overtures. But such support is up to you - not Bernie Sanders. And I mean it in all sincerity that I hope you do it. We'll be watching and listening. And if you work to address our very serious, real concerns, you'll earn a lot more votes than by trying to appeal to disaffected Republicans.
Update many hours after I wrote this: Is there an echo in here, New York Times? Hillary Clinton’s Triumph, and Burden: "Unless she makes a substantial effort to win them over, they might stay home, and low turnout historically helps Republicans."
Monday, May 9, 2016
Why I'm voting for Bernie Sanders
In 2004, I worked for the first time on behalf of a presidential candidate: Howard Dean. I chose him after reviewing the web sites of all the Democratic Party presidential candidates. He was, for me, the obvious choice. I was living in Germany, and I got the opportunity to caucus for Dean in Frankfurt. It was a surreal experience: I didn't fully understand what was going on. What I wasn't expecting was how ugly it would be; the John Kerry supporters said things like, "You have to vote for John Kerry. He has the best chance. You're wasting your vote and our time." No policy positions were discussed - and it's policy positions that drive how I vote. I should have left feeling like, wahoo, I participated in my country's democracy even though I'm thousands of miles away! Instead, I felt marginalized and dismissed. I left feeling angry. I did vote for John Kerry in the general election, but it was without enthusiasm, and I didn't work for the campaign at all.
Four years later, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton squared off. I was still in Germany. And I was torn. I literally made lists of why I should vote for one or the other. They were so alike, policy-wise. I loved Obama's energy, but I loved the idea of a woman President at long, long last. I felt like both would compromise later on most of what they stood for in the election - they were both very much Clinton Democrats, in that regard. I would wake up for one and go to bed for another. I cried over it at one point. How did I decide? I'm not going to tell you. Because it was a rather random reason that I finally decided.
Barack Obama's Presidency was brilliant in ways I never imagined. But it's been disappointing in others. He saved our country in terms of its economy - there's just no debate in that regard, the facts speak for themselves. But not one person went to prison for the criminal acts that almost brought down the world's economies. Not one. People lost their homes, they lost their houses, their credit was ruined - and billionaires stayed billionaires. I'm also disappointed that he turned his back on Elizabeth Warren, that he has not been aggressive at all on financial reform. President Obama stood firm on reproductive rights, just as Bill Clinton did - no compromises - and I am grateful - and I am unforgiving regarding any compromise on that issue. I think history will show that President Obama's foreign policy of not putting more troops on the ground was right on, but it will also show that his policy of drone bombing has been a disaster. He ultimately came out against the Keystone pipeline - and I think that's because of relentless, well-organized and well-spoken grassroots pressure. I wish he had led on the issues of gun control, gay marriage and human rights abroad - particularly Saudi Arabia - but I'm glad that he has spoken about the rights of gay people in other countries, often to a great deal of derision, and has not shied away from talking about the economic and social realities of being a black person in the USA.
Now, it's 2016, and all signs are that the financial crisis is going to happen again. Bankers are engaged in most of the same reckless behavior that almost killed the world's economy. Dodd-Frank is becoming toothless. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is being marginalized. Banks are getting bigger. Pension funds are being raided. Privatization of public services, from prisons to schools, is rampant. There's a strong push to give the corporate sector control of universities, of national parks, of so much that has been the domain of the government of the people. People are working longer hours for less money, and are experiencing a level of financial insecurity that should scare everyone.
I'm scared.
I want a candidate that is going to address those economic issues, that's going to put the USA back on track in terms of the financial security of the 99%. And that's the primary reason I'm supporting Bernie Sanders. He's got the ideas, the skills and the experience to do what needs to be done in terms of our economy and our future. We need dramatic action, bold action, regarding our economy, and he's going to bring that action. He's been talking about this for decades, and so much of what he warned about has come true. He's not just a wide-eyed idealist; he has the knowledge and capability to protect our financial security.
There are other reasons I'm voting for him as well: he's got a long record of supporting environmental causes, abortion rights, civil rights and the rights of workers. He was against the invasion of Iraq and will be against other foolish foreign interventions. I don't see him flip-flopping on issues the way Hillary has regarding Palestine and Israel, foreign trade deals, minimum wage, gay marriage, and on and on and on. I don't see him saying things just to please a certain group of people, particularly when saying such would go against what he's supposed to support. I know where he stands, even on some issues on which I don't agree with him. I know what I'm getting with my vote.
Yes, I know, he's not going to win the primary. But his huge percentage of votes nationally, particularly among young people, is a wake-up call to the Democratic Party: you have ignored progressive issues, you have cow towed to banks and corporations, and we aren't going to take it anymore. Ignore us and lose future elections, it's that simple.
I'm not a wide-eyed optimist either. I'm 50. I've been all over the world. I've lived in other countries. I've seen what works, economically speaking. And I'm voting for Bernie Sanders.
Four years later, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton squared off. I was still in Germany. And I was torn. I literally made lists of why I should vote for one or the other. They were so alike, policy-wise. I loved Obama's energy, but I loved the idea of a woman President at long, long last. I felt like both would compromise later on most of what they stood for in the election - they were both very much Clinton Democrats, in that regard. I would wake up for one and go to bed for another. I cried over it at one point. How did I decide? I'm not going to tell you. Because it was a rather random reason that I finally decided.
Barack Obama's Presidency was brilliant in ways I never imagined. But it's been disappointing in others. He saved our country in terms of its economy - there's just no debate in that regard, the facts speak for themselves. But not one person went to prison for the criminal acts that almost brought down the world's economies. Not one. People lost their homes, they lost their houses, their credit was ruined - and billionaires stayed billionaires. I'm also disappointed that he turned his back on Elizabeth Warren, that he has not been aggressive at all on financial reform. President Obama stood firm on reproductive rights, just as Bill Clinton did - no compromises - and I am grateful - and I am unforgiving regarding any compromise on that issue. I think history will show that President Obama's foreign policy of not putting more troops on the ground was right on, but it will also show that his policy of drone bombing has been a disaster. He ultimately came out against the Keystone pipeline - and I think that's because of relentless, well-organized and well-spoken grassroots pressure. I wish he had led on the issues of gun control, gay marriage and human rights abroad - particularly Saudi Arabia - but I'm glad that he has spoken about the rights of gay people in other countries, often to a great deal of derision, and has not shied away from talking about the economic and social realities of being a black person in the USA.
Now, it's 2016, and all signs are that the financial crisis is going to happen again. Bankers are engaged in most of the same reckless behavior that almost killed the world's economy. Dodd-Frank is becoming toothless. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is being marginalized. Banks are getting bigger. Pension funds are being raided. Privatization of public services, from prisons to schools, is rampant. There's a strong push to give the corporate sector control of universities, of national parks, of so much that has been the domain of the government of the people. People are working longer hours for less money, and are experiencing a level of financial insecurity that should scare everyone.
I'm scared.
I want a candidate that is going to address those economic issues, that's going to put the USA back on track in terms of the financial security of the 99%. And that's the primary reason I'm supporting Bernie Sanders. He's got the ideas, the skills and the experience to do what needs to be done in terms of our economy and our future. We need dramatic action, bold action, regarding our economy, and he's going to bring that action. He's been talking about this for decades, and so much of what he warned about has come true. He's not just a wide-eyed idealist; he has the knowledge and capability to protect our financial security.There are other reasons I'm voting for him as well: he's got a long record of supporting environmental causes, abortion rights, civil rights and the rights of workers. He was against the invasion of Iraq and will be against other foolish foreign interventions. I don't see him flip-flopping on issues the way Hillary has regarding Palestine and Israel, foreign trade deals, minimum wage, gay marriage, and on and on and on. I don't see him saying things just to please a certain group of people, particularly when saying such would go against what he's supposed to support. I know where he stands, even on some issues on which I don't agree with him. I know what I'm getting with my vote.
Yes, I know, he's not going to win the primary. But his huge percentage of votes nationally, particularly among young people, is a wake-up call to the Democratic Party: you have ignored progressive issues, you have cow towed to banks and corporations, and we aren't going to take it anymore. Ignore us and lose future elections, it's that simple.
I'm not a wide-eyed optimist either. I'm 50. I've been all over the world. I've lived in other countries. I've seen what works, economically speaking. And I'm voting for Bernie Sanders.
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