Let’s be honest: Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont did the Democratic Party and the American people a great service during the primary season. Without Bernie Sanders the Democratic Party platform would have been a “safe,” middle of the road platform that didn’t stray too far into progressive ideas and tried to soothe the raging souls of the Republican Party voters.
For those of us who have been, for years, shouting at the Democratic Party to return to its progressive roots, Bernie Sanders hitting the campaign trail, changed the party with his calls for free college tuition, health care is a right so everyone should be guaranteed that right, plus income and wealth equality, judicial and law enforcement reform and conserving the environment. All of these issues (and more) are now in the Democratic Party platform, thanks to Bernie Sanders.
For over seven years we’ve been listening to so-called conservatives call Barack Obama a socialist and a fascist — sometimes in the same sentence. And those of us on the left are thinking, “Wait! He’s as centrist a Democrat to win the Oval Office as Bill Clinton!”
I don’t know, maybe that’s how he pulls off being a fascist and a socialist at the same time. And a secret Muslim surreptitiously born in Kenya.
Sure, Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have pushed some progressive ideas through what can charitably be called hostile Congresses, but for the most part they were centrist Democrats. Let me just state I like both of them. Obama especially has been a much better choice than either Senator John McCain or Governor Mitt Romney.
And as far as hostile Congresses go, if we remember back to 2009-10, not only did President Obama have Republicans in Congress against him, there was a large number of “Blue Dog” Democrats that sided with the GOP on everything from the auto industry bailout, to the infrastructure/jobs plan to the Affordable Care Act. So I give the President credit for getting those things done, even when members of his own party opposed him.
But here we are today with Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee to be president. Her running mate is a strong, centrist, Democrat, but both have embraced, at least in their words on the campaign trail, this very progressive platform.
The GOP, on the other hand, has put forth as their candidate a certifiable madman. People who usually never speak about politics have weighed in on Trump versus Clinton because Donald Trump is such an extreme megalomaniac people in the psychiatric and medical field are questioning his sanity, his mental health.
There are two other presidential candidates that are getting some attention from the press: Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein. Neither one is making much of a dent in the polls, although both have, as part of their messages, ideals that appeal to liberals and progressives.
Most of us agree marijuana should have been legalized years ago. We all agree there is too much money involved in politics.
Jill Stein and the Green Party want to transition 100% to green, renewable energy by 2030. They want to invest in public transportation, which we assume includes high-speed rail crisscrossing the Continental United States.
Stein also promotes sustainable farming, conserving the environment, ending poverty, healthcare and education a right. Every progressive agrees with these ideals. But the last poll I saw she only received 1% of the likely voters approval.
Gary Johnson thinks the government should stay out of everyone’s personal business, unless they are doing harm to others. Most people who smoke marijuana generally don’t harm others, for instance. He even admits to smoking pot, although he told Bill Maher he would never get high while president because it is a 24/7 job, 365 days a year.
Hillary Clinton leads most polls by 4-8 points, although in Oklahoma Trump is ahead by 24. Go figure.
The point is neither Gary Johnson nor Jill Stein, two very serious, very good people, register enough in the polls to get in any of the presidential debates. In other words they really have no chance of winning.
No one likes to vote for someone they don’t believe in, or maybe they want to vote their conscious and vote for the candidate they prefer, which is why Senator Sanders did so well in the Democratic Party primaries. Think of that: he got 45% of the vote — and he’s not even a Democrat. In his soul, in his heart, Bernie Sanders is and will remain a Democratic Socialist.
But even he understands that because Donald Trump is the Republican candidate for president, this is the scariest, most important election since Lyndon Johnson vs. Barry Goldwater in 1964. And this year Trump is a far scarier candidate than Goldwater.
Trump is a racist, he insults a man who died in combat because he and his parents are Muslim — as a Marine Corps veteran I find that incredibly appalling — he says women who are sexually harassed at work should just quit and find another job, as if it’s their responsibility for the sexual harassment. Not to mention how many average Americans can afford to just walk off the job these days and expect to find another job with decent pay? And what’s to stop any sexual harassment at the next job, and the next? How often would a woman have to sacrifice her economic security to try and avoid sexual harassment?
This post would be too long if I listed every reason, every instance, of Donald Trump’s racism, xenophobia, religious intolerance and isolationist statements. And oh yes, he asked a foreign government to commit espionage against the U.S. to aid his campaign.
But the truth is Donald Trump appeals to the dark underbelly of America that is populated by fellow racists and yes, some well meaning middle class voters who haven’t had a real raise in at least a decade and think Trump’s targets of hate are their enemies.
And the GOP establishment still supports this horrible person, even though GOP leaders like Paul Ryan and John McCain denounce Trump’s racism and religious intolerance.
Vote your conscience if you must, but the reality is it comes down to Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. I was on the Bernie Sanders wagon myself, not because I dislike Hillary Clinton — I don’t agree she’s dishonest. Fact-checking sites tell us she’s been very honest during this election cycle. Much of the reason even people on the left don’t like her is the constant, steady hate spewed at her for the past 25 years by the Republicans and the conspiracy nuts they travel with in politics.
The truth is I liked Sanders’ ideals more than Clinton’s. But thanks to his strong showing in the primaries we have a Democratic Party that more reflects my views. Not on all topics, but most.
But for damn sure I know this country would be in real trouble if Donald Trump were to become president. This year, for the first time in my adult life, I’m voting for a person not just because I like her and the party she belongs to, but because the alternative, Donald Trump, is the most horrific candidates the GOP has put up as their candidate on my life time — and I’ve lived through Nixon and Reagan.
That’s why I’m voting for Hillary Clinton and not Gary Johnson or Jill Stein. I like both of them but neither one can beat Trump.