I’ve had a day to collect my thoughts on Hillary Clinton’s nomination—something I was personally hoping for, after a certain point, though I was excited early on for Bernie Sanders, who I’ve always admired. Most of my friends have remained dedicated to Bernie and I respected that. I respect their disappointment. This is my modest attempt to offer a bridge to them to come over to supporting the Democratic nominee. And we all love Game of Thrones so I thought a simile to it couldn’t hurt…
I know we're disappointed that Hillary Clinton is another centrist corporatist, and not the avowed socialist we'd prefer (and I'm gonna say Bernie Sanders is not that to me either--better, but not great). But it's really not the end of the world. We've already just had 8 years with Obama, also a centrist corporatist, and in many areas of social progress it's been fantastic.
Sure there are times we've been disappointed with Obama, and we'll be disappointed with Clinton (but no president will make us happy 100% of the time). But when I think of all we have accomplished with Obama I'm really excited for the future! I mean, even Obama had to "evolve" in his time in office on gay marriage--Clinton is going into the job with that a done deal and an absolute given. (Yes, she had to "evolve" on that too, but that will be already long since done for her by the time she gets into office.) And now the administration is full bore for queer and trans rights, and we can expect that to continue. And of course the progress hasn't just been in that area by any means, but that's what excites me the most.
(Well, the issue that matters most to me is the environment and climate change, where improvement has been far less meteoric than I would like and I'm still deeply worried about that, but hey Bill McKibben is going to be on the Democratic Party Platform committee so that's something right...?)
Also one of Obama's biggest mistakes all along was thinking that he could compromise with Republicans. This is what led to many of Bernie's criticisms of Obama in 2012--for example his apparent willingness to make social security cuts as part of a "grand bargain" with Republicans. And now? Just last week Obama made it clear that he wants to *strengthen* social security, and Clinton has echoed that call. I think that Bernie Sanders and his supporters can legitimately take credit for that, and other leftward movements of the Democratic establishment.
You all have demonstrated *clearly* that Bernie's brand of progressive economic populism can be seriously politically viable, and is a real motivator for a large swath of the electorate. In fact there are well-substantiated rumors that the Clinton campaign is looking very seriously at nominating Elizabeth Warren as her running mate. They say it mostly depends on how likely they think they can make sure a Democrat takes her place in the Senate (and of course if Warren herself really wants it). If that happens though, it could be Warren with an almost ensured path to the presidency in 2024 or even as early as 2020? (Hillary Clinton is 68--will she really want to stay president until she's 76? Very likely I think, but anything can happen.)
In any case, the movement behind Bernie Sanders is not going away--not entirely. Bernie has said that he will remain a Democrat in the Senate, and has been having a lot of talks with Harry Reid and the like. If he plays his cards right, as a high profile presidential nominee he'll have a lot of newfound power and influence in the Senate that he never had before, as well as enormous fundraising power for newer, younger progressive candidates. Even if we don't have Bernie Sanders himself for much longer, he'll help usher in new, fresh faces who share his goals and his socialist ideals. Better people even--people whose socialism has been intersectional from the start (not awkwardly tacked on as Bernie has had to do, as he evolves beyond his 60's style brocialism).
And with all that said can we have a moment to talk about how it really is a Big Fucking Deal that in about 7 months from now we'll all be saying Madam President? I'm really excited about that--watch her speech from Tuesday night if you haven't already; while it was still politically focused, she did not shy away from the historic significance of the moment. I'm looking forward to the fact that no child of mine will ever know a world in which the United States president can't be a woman, even if she's one we'll sometimes disagree with (and at that, far less than any Republican). And yes, have no doubt, she will be president. We'll still have to fight for it but it's pretty clear that Trump is toast.
I have to think that a lot of the problematic aspects of Hillary Clinton come out of how much she's had to fight for this--to keep her head afloat in the worlds of law and politics as a woman, starting from her early legal career in the 1970s(!). She made it where she did by fighting like a man and occasionally being gross like a man--and make no mistake also riding the coattails of a man. But she did it--she showed that it's possible. And our next woman president, hopefully, will come up in a world where at least much less of that garbage is necessary in order to get ahead.
A lot of people have been psyched about the appearance of Lyanna Mormont, the badass, confident, take no prisoners 10 year old Lord of Bear Island. And with good reason--there's no reason not to love her, and we hope she'll have a role in the future. But I’ve seen less made out of the incredible bravery of Sansa Stark, both in her plea to the Mormonts, and throughout the series. I was moved by her speech about how the awful things that she had done, she had done to survive. So that she could be standing there asking for help to restore House Stark. Sansa Stark is a survivor. I think Hillary Clinton could be reasonably compared Sansa. While she may actually have personal politics we disagree with, much of what she's done she's done to survive, to make it to this moment. Once *she's* in the seat of power, which she will be, she won't have to play games anymore. We'll get a better look at what her true character is. Maybe her true character will be awful, but I think after all she's been through she deserves the benefit of the doubt.
Let's all join and rally more troops her army. It's her or Ramsay Bolton.