I’m not your average middle aged, poorly educated, rural white male. I never have been. Now I could be wrong, but I believe I hold every liberal position there is… Black lives matter, marriage is between you and the one you love, women have a right to choose, war is unhealthy for children and other living things, fur is murder, gun ownership is for people who would rather feel safe than be safe, healthcare is a right, and so on, and so forth... Race and gender have never entered into my equation when choosing a political candidate. I choose candidates based on their merits.
I voted for Obama in 2008 because he was the best candidate plain and simple. I had seen him speak out against the Iraq War while in the Illinois Legislature and voted to make him a U.S. Senator shortly before moving to Wisconsin. When I started supporting him for President I really considered it just a pipe dream. I felt that it was probably too much to expect of my countrymen to look beyond the color of his skin to the content of his character. I became enraged as Clinton’s campaign used every dirty trick in the book to try and destroy him as he gained support and delegates nationwide. Needless to say I was overjoyed when he finally won the nomination and I likewise feared for his life when in the end he won the general. I celebrated triumphantly with the entire world nonetheless.
Here we are eight years later and again I have a chance to vote for a candidate representing hope and change. He faces the same primary opponent that Obama did. He’s being fought just as vociferously by her. She again insists it’s her turn. I feel that Bernie, like President Obama, has always had the best interests of the American people at heart while Hillary on the other hand simply covets the power and prestige of the Presidency. Bernie’s got just as much chance of getting an agenda passed as Hillary does. Which is to say I don’t think either has a chance in hell until we extricate the obstructionists from the halls of Congress. The only difference is that Bernie’s got the better agenda. In my opinion Bernie’s got just as good a chance of winning the general as Hillary. His favorability has consistently been trending up while Hillary’s has meanwhile been trending down.
I was worried back in ‘08 that the American people would take a pass on the historic candidate that we Democrats presented them with. In Bernie and Hillary we have the two sides of Obama. Hillary is the savvy politician, while Bernie is the wonderful human being. In our two candidates we again have an opportunity to make history with the first woman President or the first Jewish/Socialist President. Either way we’re undoubtedly going to provide America with a better candidate than the Republicans with Trump, Cruz, or Rubio and it’s going to be historic.
Heading into Super Tuesday today I wish both candidates the best of luck. I’m trying to appreciate the political process, but the bashing around here has gotten real old real quick. One can’t help but notice it’s been somewhat divisive. Hillary says she can make America whole again. While I think that’s the right message, I don’t think Hillary’s the candidate that will get it done. I feel that to her it’s just a slogan while to Bernie it would constitute an actual goal. But hey, in the end the responsibility really lies with us. Bernie Sanders can only show us the way. We’re the only ones that can actually take this nation anywhere. We the People. Whichever candidate wins the primary in the end will need our support to win the general and be an effective President.