Hillary Clinton essentially locked down the Democratic bid for the presidency a few weeks ago, much to the chagrin and disbelief of many Bernie supporters and to the horror of the vast majority of the nation, whose hatred for Hillary is unparalleled and honestly astounding in its vehemence and spread. And as the news of her presumptive win spread, so did the rumors and myths about her – and about why people simply can’t stand her – at almost record-breaking speed. But let’s go through some of those myths and figure out where the truth actually lies.
1. “She’s dishonest.”
According to Politifact, a Pulitzer Prize-winning project that fact-checks candidates, 72 percent of Hillary Clinton’s statements are “half true” or better, with a measly percentage falling into the “false” category. She has been the most honest candidate this election cycle – for comparison, only 25 percent of Donald Trump’s statements have been “half true” or better, with an overwhelming 60 percent falling into the “false” or “pants on fire” categories.
2. “She isn’t qualified.”
Not only was she the First Lady in the White House for four years with her husband Bill Clinton during his term as president as well as during his two terms as Governor of Arkansas, but she was also a senator for eight years from 2001-2009. She was a Democratic candidate for the nomination in 2008 before Barack Obama won the bid. She was the Secretary of State for four more years. She is an attorney, with her JD from Yale University. Her background not only in politics but simply in the field of law provided vital insight, experience and growth for Clinton. (If you check her comparison with Donald Trump, he has neither held elective office nor has he been involved in politics prior to this run for presidency.)
3. “She isn’t for anyone except herself.”
And yet others don’t seem to think so. Despite Bernie supporters championing him as a forerunner for civil rights in modern America, it is Clinton who has clinched support from the mothers of the Black Lives Matter movement, the Human Rights Campaign, and Planned Parenthood. She may have lost the millennial vote to Bernie, but she won nearly every other minority vote, including votes among African-Americans and Hispanics. She maintained a sizable lead over Bernie the entirety of the primaries because she doesn’t just have one demographic voting for her – she has all of them. And why do you think that is?
4. “She doesn’t rally people behind her. They aren’t fired up about her.”
True, Trump and Sanders hold massive rallies to thousands of people. They are the headlines we see broadcasted, the stories people tell. But as Eric Sasson noted in an article for "New Republic", “Perhaps [Clinton supporters] are a bit less passionate on Facebook, share fewer articles, give less money to their candidate (she does have a super PAC, after all). But what they are doing is perhaps the only thing that actually matters in an election. They are showing up to vote. In numbers that no other candidate can boast.” And that’s the only true way to test loyalty in an election: it’s not by how many buttons you pin to your backpack, by how many posts you make on Facebook or Twitter or Tumblr. It’s about votes. And people obviously believe in her enough to do just that.
5. “She doesn’t care about the LGBT+ community.”
Admittedly, Clinton’s past was not particularly in support of LGBT+ rights, specifically when it came to marriage. However as Politifact reports, as public opinion shifted towards support for same-sex marriage, so did Clinton. (She publicly supported it in 2013). And after she changed her mind, not only did she fight, she fought hard: she “transformed the State Department by expanding LGBT+ rights and promoting equality for employees” and spoke at the Geneva Accord where she stated, “Gay rights are human rights.” Furthermore, her campaign manager is an openly gay man who has been involved with her campaigns for eight years.
6. “We shouldn’t vote for someone just because she’s a woman.”
You’re right. But you also shouldn’t not vote for someone just because she’s a woman. And despite the manners in which the word “sexism” breeds almost instant and vehement backlash from the WASP corners of the world, the reality still exists. If Hillary Clinton were a male, with the exact same experience, credentials and history that she did now, there would be no question about whether or not she was qualified. There would be no insane upheaval about her expensive jacket and somehow relate that to how she is “superficial.” As Facebook user Michael Arnovitz posted in his lengthy discussion of Hillary, “Bernie would have been done before he even started.” And he likely would have quit when, like now, it seems very obvious that his fight is useless.
Hillary is not perfect. There does not, nor will there ever, exist a candidate that is “perfect” by every stretch of our imaginations, that will never disappoint or frustrate us in office. She has had her struggles the same way every political candidate and public servant has – including the conservatively canonized Ronald Reagan. But she is not the villain here. You are faced with an easy choice: a qualified, respected and unarguably outstanding politician versus a Hollywood celebrity whose words are dripping with lies and racist bigotry, whose campaign has fostered and exacerbated a fear entrenched in ignorance and outright delusions. November isn’t very far away.
Get registered here.
