There have been many diaries along the lines of “I was a Bernie supporter, but I’m now 100% behind Hillary.” Not so many of them anymore, but I wanted to add mine, even though I’m at still about at 80% — I always like to keep a bit of room for movement if needed. Sort of like Olympic scoring.
As many of you already know, I voted for Bernie Sanders enthusiastically. Since his loss I have said, many times, that I will definitely vote for Hillary (without hesitation), but I've always added that it wouldn't be an enthusiastic vote until I felt more comfortable with her, her team, and their combined decision making, etc. I won't deny that I still have my concerns, but I'm willing to put them aside.
Note: I always say this in my infrequent diaries (must be my insecurity), but my way with words are not the best. My sentence structure sucks, etc., etc. I struggle with the right words to use, and as a result my diaries and comments don’t always come out as intended. Kind of like singing a tune perfectly in your head, but when trying to actually sing it out loud, well, you know… So, that’s my upfront apology. This is just a simple diary, and mainly for my own posterity.
Along with all my prior misgivings (and there were a ton), it really bugged me when I read that Clinton was courting Republicans, long before I thought it seemly. Even when it was clear that Trump was the nominee and because there were states that had not voted yet, I bristled. That, to me, was "reaching across the aisle" before I thought it was necessary, so it made me (rightly or wrongly) uncomfortable and a poor decision by the Clinton team. I saw the results of that kind of “across the aisle” thinking with Obama.
Anyway, as of today, I can say that my feelings about her have changed. I’m now much more positive, especially with respect to her actions regarding the above. I can now say that I’m a much more enthusiastic voter than I was yesterday, and certainly didn’t think it would happen quite this soon.
Hillary and her team have demonstrated to me the management and style of leadership that I was looking for (at least in the above regard), and they’re getting results. Not just from Republican cross-overs, but from me as well. It bodes well for her as a successful President, which is all I want, and is what I needed to move my personal needle for her in the right direction.
All it took was a reading of the Politico article below. The information is probably quite obvious to most of you, but I just wanted to say it left an impression on me.
The campaign is beginning to reap the rewards of a behind-the-scenes operation that was months in the making.
The unprecedented desertion of the GOP nominee by leading members of his own party — and their embrace of Hillary Clinton — is partly organic, but for the most part it’s being midwifed by the Clinton campaign, which is beginning to reap the rewards of a behind-the-scenes recruitment effort that’s been months in the making. [. . .]
“In our lifetimes, we have not seen a nominee of a major party have so many members of his own party walk away and denounce them,” said Clinton’s senior strategist Joel Benenson. “It’s out of the realm of politics.” [. . .]
Armed with lists of potential targets compiled by the campaign — current and former CEOs of major companies — they made purposefully soft pitches, trying to gauge who might be open to supporting the Democratic nominee. [. . .]
For Matt Higgins, a proud lifelong Republican . . .the moment of truth came courtesy of his nine-year-old son, who asked his father one evening after Trump clinched the nomination: “Since you’re a Republican, do they make you vote for the Republican?”
“Switching sides is an agonizing decision,” said Higgins. “A lot of your identity is wrapped up in it — it’s not quite religion, or a favorite sports team, but it’s somewhere on that list. You want to put your toe in the water first.”
More is discussed in the article about the kid gloves used for recruiting Republicans that I find admirable. Doug Elmets and Michael Bloomberg were surprised by the latitude that was freely given to them by the Clinton campaign, to be able to say what they wanted at the DNC Convention.
So, to wrap this up, I’m feeling much better. I’ve always wanted to be able to vote FOR our nominee, and not just against theirs. A huge weight has been lifted.
To start with the “new” feeling, I took the Bernie birdie off my avatar. It will safely be in my heart as I move with Hillary towards the goals both she, Bernie, and all of us, are working for.
Thanks for taking the time to read.
