Yesterday would have been my dad’s 93rd birthday. I had intended to write a post honoring my father, his World War II service, and his years as a Teamster. Then I watched the first presidential debate. My first thoughts were of my father watching the Carter/Reagan debate: every time Reagan would speak, my dad would wag his finger and mutter, “that asshole.” So dad, this is for you, as I have clearly become you.
I have a 16-year-old son. I’m voting for Hillary because I have no desire to see him go off to war just because someone baited our president on Twitter.
I voted for Bernie Sanders in the primaries. I supported him because his beliefs came closest to my own. He was not perfect though—just as Hillary isn’t perfect. However, she is not a narcissistic, misogynistic, lying, word salad-spewing, oompa loompa-looking man who does not have the intelligence nor the temperament to be president of the United States. Anyone who watched the debate on Monday night and thinks that Trump (that asshole) should be president over Hillary should really reconsider the life choices they have made. If you wait for the perfect candidate, you will will die waiting for him or her.
Here is why I am voting for Hillary: she is intelligent. I do not want a president that I’d like to have a beer with—I want the smartest damn person in the room, and in this election, that is Hillary.
She has experience as a working first lady, a U.S. senator, and secretary of state.
Several of my veteran friends say Hillary does not care about vets. They are wrong: she has stood up for veterans and service members alike. Here are some highlights:
- She sponsored the Heroes at Home Act of 2006 which provided assistance to families to care for veterans with PTSD, and brain injuries. Funding for programs that provide readjustment and mental health assistance to National Guard members, Reservists, and their families. This was enacted in September of 2006.
- Working with then-Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE), she sponsored the Military Survivor Benefit Improvement Act of 2005. Which increased death benefits for U.S. Service members from $12,000 to $100,000.
- Hillary Clinton worked with Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to provide full military health benefits to National Guard members and reservists.
- She wrote the 21st Century GI Bill of Rights Act of 2007 ensuring that our returning veterans could go to college, tech school, or receive licensing, ot certification training. This bill expanded the VA home loan program, and provided a micro-lending program
She has stood up for the underprivileged, and she came from a middle-class background. She has plans that will lower the cost of higher education, and she is not beholden to any foreign powers. She will appoint qualified federal judges as well as Supreme Court justices who will protect women’s healthcare, roll back Citizens United, and stop the madness in twisting the meaning of the Second Amendment.
I am voting for Hillary for all the women in my life—past, present, and future. For my mom, because she never lived to see a woman president. For my sister and my girlfriend, because they deserve better than a misogynistic president. And for any future granddaughters I may have, as they deserve to be treated equally.
To my Republican friends who are reading this: spare me your Benghazi arguments and your concerns about deleted emails. And I don't want to hear about your damned conspiracy theories. I am sick to death of your hatred for a strong woman. That is the only reason Benghazi matters, and that is the only reason emails matter—no one cared when embassies were attacked under Bush, and no one gave a shit when the Bush administration deleted emails. It is simply because she is a woman running for the highest office in the land, and you want nothing more than to get the black guy out of the White House and replace him with an old white man (hell, you don't even care if the old white man is competent).
I know that for the most part, I’m preaching to the choir. However, for those who are not in the choir, this is not an invitation for you to bash Hillary or question my intelligence and sanity. If you disagree with me: please, move along. I don’t want to hear arguments about you voting third-party for your conscience, or sitting this one out as you cannot stand either candidate. There were some folks in Florida in 2000 that voted their conscience or sat out. Do you remember what happened? I do, and I don’t want to repeat it. The stakes are too damned high.
You have a choice between someone who should not even be in the running for the office of dog catcher (let alone president of the United States of America), or someone who has the experience, intelligence, poise, and experience to be president.
If you choose not to vote—or opt to “vote your conscience” and cast your ballot for a third party—then you have voted for Trump.