Looking through the comments, I saw quite a few people asking for reasons to vote for Hillary Clinton, rather than against the Republicans. I wrote this list in response to one, and it seems to have gone over well, so I thought I’d post it as a diary.
1. Hillary Clinton is very intelligent, knowledgeable, and experienced
She knows the issues better than pretty much anyone else, and she knows how to get things done in Washington. The presidency is the hardest job there is, and Hillary will be better prepared for it than pretty much anyone else in history. Competence is vastly underrated.
2. Hillary Clinton has been consistently liberal: (fivethirtyeight.com/...)
Clinton was one of the most liberal members during her time in the Senate. According to an analysis of roll call votes by Voteview, Clinton’s record was more liberal than 70 percent of Democrats in her final term in the Senate. She was more liberal than 85 percent of all members. Her 2008 rival in the Democratic presidential primary, Barack Obama, was nearby with a record more liberal than 82 percent of all members — he was not more liberal than Clinton.
Clinton also has a history of very liberal public statements. Clinton rates as a “hard core liberal” per the OnTheIssues.org. She is as liberal as Elizabeth Warren and barely more moderate than Bernie Sanders. And while Obama is also a “hard core liberal,” Clinton again was rated as more liberal than Obama.
Sometimes I wonder whether people are confusing Clinton with her husband. Bill Clinton’s statements have been far more moderate. He has also had a more moderate donor base, according to Adam Bonica’sfundraising scores. — fivethirtyeight.com/...
3. A vote for Hillary Clinton is a vote for a liberal Supreme Court majority
(Assuming the Republicans don’t give in on Obama’s nominee.) It is hard to overstate the importance of this: it means the end of Citizens’ United, it means that Roe V. Wade is safe for a generation, it means no more decisions watering down the Voting Rights Act. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Read more in the New York Times article “Supreme Court Appointment Could Reshape American Life.”
Hillary Clinton has always been to the left of her husband, and I don’t hear anyone complaining about Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
4. Hillary Clinton is Strong on Climate Change
She even endorsed the Kyoto Protocol in her 2000 Senate campaign, when it was very unpopular. Climate change is a global problem, which makes effective diplomacy of paramount importance. Hillary Clinton has the diplomatic skills to keep China and India at the table, and to strengthen the Paris Climate Accord.
5. She knows how to to take the fight to the Republicans
I am very much looking forward to a Clinton vs Trump debate. It is for very good reason that the prediction markets now give the Democratic nominee a greater-than-70% chance to win in November.
Here are 12 hours for your viewing enjoyment:
www.c-span.org/…
P.S. To my fellow Hillary supporters — please be patient with Bernie supporters who are perhaps coming to the realization that Clinton is all-but-certain to win the nomination, and are (I hope) beginning to look for reasons to support her. Confirmation bias is human nature, and in the heat of the primary battles it is very easy to lose sight of the fact that either Hillary or Bernie would be a good president.
