As most of you reading this know, I'm a proud Democrat. I'm very excited for our party to show the world next week that we're the exact opposite of what we've seen at the Republican National Convention this week. We're smart. We're positive. We offer a vision for the future of the United States that focuses on bringing more opportunities to more people without regard for race, religion, gender, sexual orientation. Democrats stand for equality, justice, fairness, building a nation of cooperation rather than divisiveness. We embrace progress, not anger. We take our frustrations and build tomorrow with confidence rather than fear. We're the party of liberal attitudes, not reactionaries. We're thoughtful and take educated, reasoned approaches to problem-solving.
All that said, let's acknowledge the elephant in the room...there is a lot of irrational hatred of Hillary Clinton on both sides. Republicans. Former Bernie Sanders supporters. Voters in general who think Trump and Clinton are both miserable choices. In an earlier post, I "yadda-yadda'd" away the accusations of corruption and ethics but I feel like I need to do more to address it. Because, frankly, Hillary Clinton deserves your vote even if she wasn't simply running against someone worse. I know many of you won't vote for her no matter what. Your inability to listen to rational arguments is unfortunate, but it is what it is. No candidate is perfect. But Hillary is, by far, the most-reasonable, forward-thinking, mature, and best choice this November.
For the rest of you, here are the positive reasons to vote for Hillary...in no particular order.
--You would be helping end nearly 250 years of male-only dominance in our nation's highest office and give hope to millions of little girls who aspire to leadership.
--Hillary Clinton is, by far, the most experienced and successful candidate in the field when it comes to public service, running a government, and listening to constituents.
--Hillary has been the most-admired woman in the world a record 20 times.
--As a Senator in New York, her work included redeveloping the World Trade Center site post-September 11, leading the investigation of health-issues for 9/11 first responders, leading a bipartisan effort to bring broadband to rural communities, encouraging research for nanotechnology, voting against prohibitions on same-sex marriage, working for universal health care, and investigating the federal response to Hurricane Katrina.
--While Secretary of State, the US hosted a record 25 female ambassadors from other nations thanks to Hillary being in that position.
--As Secretary of State, Hillary presided over the first budget that included a breakdown of specific programs aimed at the well-being of women and girls around the world.
--Hillary wants to modernize crumbling American schools, have every child learn computer science, and reform overly punitive discipline policies that target African-Americans.
--Hillary favors paid family and medical leave, making college debt-free, and a tax credit for businesses who provide on-the-job training for new workers.
--Hillary believes in climate change and is dedicated to investing in clean energy. She would cut tax subsidies to oil and gas companies and generate enough renewable energy to power every American home via solar panels.
--Hillary is in favor of expanded background checks, removing gun industry protections, and new efforts to prevent the mentally ill from purchasing a gun.
--Hillary supports immigration reform, LGBT rights, campaign finance reform, women's rights, voting rights, disability rights, labor and worker rights, and criminal justice reform.
--Hillary proposes an effort to cure Alzheimer's by 2025. She wants to increase autism services and reduce bullying against those with autism in schools as well as expand insurance coverage.
--Hillary wants to reform Veterans Affairs, offer new job and education opportunities to military spouses, and improve healthcare for military women and reduce veteran suicide.
There's really only one intelligent choice for the White House. Please call her Madam President.