I told Jackie that in a few years, I would like to have a license plate that says DUN WRKN. She suggested that probably 1,000 other people had already thought of that. I checked the plate for Washington State -- someone already has it. Bummer.
This is really a post about why this Bernie supporter will enthusiastically support Hillary Clinton this fall. So why don't we start by listing some reasons:
- Donald Trump.
- Hillary Clinton. Hillary is a perfectly good candidate. She is experienced, smart, capable, very knowledgeable. I have no fears that she will be an incompetent President. Heck, compared to number 1 there, she is Abraham Lincoln reborn. If there were someone I was a bit more excited about, like Bernie Sanders or Barack Obama, I would vote for them, and I did when I had the chance. Now she is clearly the best remaining candidate, and she is a fine choice.
- But here is the most important point: If you want the changes Bernie Sanders talked about, if you want the revolution, the best way to get it is to vote for Hillary Clinton. No, she is not suddenly going to implement universal health care or free college, but then, neither was Sanders. The best way to move the country to the left is to get out and vote, and vote for the best candidate. And no, that does not mean the Green Party, because that is not really a candidate, not in the sense of having one chance in a million of winning.
To me, what Bernie Sanders really represents is the chance to look at other countries and ask why they have it better than Americans do. Why do they take 6 or 8 weeks of vacation while we start with two? Why do they have better public transportation, more parental leave, a higher minimum wage? How is it that they can afford universal health care, but we cannot get there? Why do their college students graduate with no debt?
Why can't the so-called and self-proclaimed greatest country on earth have some of the good things that other countries have, things that make life better for their citizens? And now the question is, how do we get there, now that Hillary Clinton won the nomination and not Bernie Sanders?
Well, for now we have two major political parties, and between them they control virtually every political institution in the country, If you want to get things done, you almost have to work with one of those parties. So the question is, which one is most receptive to the type of ideas that Bernie
Sanders championed? Which one is closer to being the party that, for example, might want to increase the minimum wage or institute universal health care?
How about the one that supported Bernie Sanders to such an extent that he came reasonably close to getting their nomination? How about the party that actually wants to raise the minimum wage and make college affordable and extend health care coverage to everyone? Certainly, you are not going to achieve any of those things by electing Donald Trump or any other Republican. And you won't achieve anything by voting for a third party candidate who will lose the election and never get into office.
What might achieve something, though, is to elect Democrats, lots of Democrats. Remember Obamacare? That was only possible because Democrats held the Presidency, the House of Representatives, and 60 Senators in the Senate, at least for a while. The more Democrats in office, the more the agenda will move to the left, and the easier it will be to elect more progressive Democrats who will make real changes.
That may sound more like evolution than revolution, but then, when I was born, long ago but not that long ago, segregation was still the law in some places, gays were criminals, and abortion was illegal everywhere. Things change. And the way to change them is to vote, and keep supporting and electing the best people you can. Right now, the best person running for President with a chance of winning is Hillary Clinton. The first step in the revolution is to get her elected.
Why can't the so-called and self-proclaimed greatest country on earth have some of the good things that other countries have, things that make life better for their citizens? And now the question is, how do we get there, now that Hillary Clinton won the nomination and not Bernie Sanders?
Well, for now we have two major political parties, and between them they control virtually every political institution in the country, If you want to get things done, you almost have to work with one of those parties. So the question is, which one is most receptive to the type of ideas that Bernie
Sanders championed? Which one is closer to being the party that, for example, might want to increase the minimum wage or institute universal health care?
How about the one that supported Bernie Sanders to such an extent that he came reasonably close to getting their nomination? How about the party that actually wants to raise the minimum wage and make college affordable and extend health care coverage to everyone? Certainly, you are not going to achieve any of those things by electing Donald Trump or any other Republican. And you won't achieve anything by voting for a third party candidate who will lose the election and never get into office.
What might achieve something, though, is to elect Democrats, lots of Democrats. Remember Obamacare? That was only possible because Democrats held the Presidency, the House of Representatives, and 60 Senators in the Senate, at least for a while. The more Democrats in office, the more the agenda will move to the left, and the easier it will be to elect more progressive Democrats who will make real changes.
That may sound more like evolution than revolution, but then, when I was born, long ago but not that long ago, segregation was still the law in some places, gays were criminals, and abortion was illegal everywhere. Things change. And the way to change them is to vote, and keep supporting and electing the best people you can. Right now, the best person running for President with a chance of winning is Hillary Clinton. The first step in the revolution is to get her elected.
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