Hillary Clinton.
I know it’s a divisive name these days. Some people love her. Some people hate her. For several reasons, it would seem, there is no in between. Whether or not today’s radicalized social climate that likes to ignore nuance or moderation is to blame for that is another debate that I am not about to have. Instead, I’m going to focus on Secretary Clinton and why she really isn’t as bad as several of your conservative uncles or your hyper-liberal college peers make you believe she is.
Let’s talk some of her popular criticisms:
She “flip-flops”.
This criticism always baffled me because I have one central concern here: are people not allowed to change their views over the course of a public career spanning about 40 years? People grow, people learn, and people evolve. The heart of this concern is typically surrounding gay rights and marriage. Let’s be real for a second, back in ‘96 a lot of the country didn’t believe in gay marriage. Hillary was one of those people of the majority. However, as time progressed, she shifted with the majority and rallied in support of marriage. And guess what: it’s legal now! She’s garnered endorsements from the HRC, LPAC (Lesbian Political Action Conference), and countless gay icons and celebrities.
We can’t argue that dishonesty necessarily follows opinion change because how are we willing to evolve as a society at all if we’re just focusing on damning people for their “wrong” opinions. I once said in high school that “we don’t need feminism” and that “feminists are annoying” but then I decided to actually grow up, do some learning, and now I proudly try to be feminist as I can be, even if I have some missteps or misunderstandings along the way. If you only wearing inclusionary labels like feminist or pro-LGBT rights or whatever it is JUST to shame people who have unfortunate views, you aren’t moving towards inclusion. It’s unnecessary and childish takedown culture.
She’s been given “big money”.
Okay, first thing’s first, we wouldn’t need to worry about lobbyists and interest groups and super PACs “buying” elections if everyone just came out to vote. So, instead of typing away about how Hillary is corrupt or how Bernie Sanders is an angel for staying away from a flawed campaign finance system, GO VOTE and encourage everyone around you to do so. Voters matter, and I don’t care how much skepticism you have in the political system or in our government, that is a fact.
Also let’s be clear about something else, you can critique a candidate without hyperbolizing the criticism into a stake through the heart. I maintain my support for Hillary both in the Democratic primary and in the general election, but I think it is a fair criticism that she gets tangled up when it comes to Wall Street and campaign finance. I can pressure that while not also claiming that she is the devil or that she would be worse for the country than Donald Trump. That’s ludicrous.
She’s stealing the election from Bernie who would be winning without superdelegates or all this voter fraud!
Now I’m not going to fight you on voter fraud and how state Board of Elections literally make it SO HARD to vote (like just this past week my registration was bounced back at me saying it was “incomplete and unsigned” which is literally false, and once I re-submitted my application “completed and signed” I have received no notice of confirmation or anything). But claiming that this voter fraud or the difficulty that has to be endured to vote in primaries is solely being orchestrated by Hillary Rodham Clinton’s own hands is just hysteria and conspiracy that contributes nothing but even more misinformation in this era of media where a “no-spin zone” does not exist anymore. Hillary is not stealing any election. She has the backing of the party (and as such its superdelegates) because she has +3 million individual votes on Sanders which has translated to a massive delegate lead. If Bernie ever came close to that voting lead, Democratic superdelegates would just the Hillary ship faster than you can say Wall Street. Just because many of us, as college students, live in this Sanders echo chamber of unwavering, fervent support does not mean that the rest of the country is the same or that it is reality.
She “panders”.
Ok, this word has got to go. Every politician panders. Like, everyone. She tries to reach voters of different demographics just like everyone else. If we’re going to level the criticism of pandering at her, then we should be fair and aim it at every other candidate who has done the same thing (sometimes in a less subtle manner than her). This whole hot sauce incident was ridiculous. It’s funny because it is actually true, Hillary loves her some hot sauce and spice, but everyone already has their narrative and can’t actually see past it with an semblance or thought or rationale and endlessly criticized her. This skeptical view of American politics does nothing but furthers the hole we have dug. If Hillary “pandering” to the LGBT community means that she is leading the fight for the Equality Act or if Hillary “pandering” to the black community is her putting pressure on our broken and racist criminal justice system and acknowledging her white privilege openly, then let her pander away.
It is probably the case that I have forgotten or missed out on some of her other criticisms, but it all boils down to essentially the same idea for me. I think that Hillary Clinton is running a platform of optimism (as opposed to Sanders’ constant negativity and skepticism about the American political system) and is really trying to bring people together (as opposed to Trump’s campaign to find who doesn’t belong in America and to remove them). Being Secretary of State, a senator, and a First Lady, I believe that she undoubtedly has the experience and the qualifications to lead our armies and represent the country on the international stage. Watching her at any debate, she has the political and historical knowledge to handle policy and move our country in a direction that builds off of President Obama’s very successful last two terms. I also could go into how, as a woman, she is held to a different standard and war chest of criticisms in the media and in social discourse, but I’m not going to go there. I’m not here to tell you to jump the Bernie ship or to suddenly register as a Democrat. I just think that we can really have interesting, and developed conversations about politics once we cross the threshold of buzzwords, groupthink, and misinformation, especially when discussing the likely Democratic nominee (I mean, she’s only about 100 delegates out…). If you disagree with policy positions or social views, then that’s a whole other conversation. You can like Sanders without crying for a Clinton witch hunt. Can we all just collectively chill out and approach politics with a bit more tact and perspective? That’s what Hillary has been doing for the last 9 months and, frankly, I think it can only help us.
Saying that you are Bernie or Bust is the epitome of privilege and naivete. We can’t afford a President Trump, both literally and morally. But I don’t think that reprimanding supporters of a candidate is necessarily the best idea to garner support. No candidate can be perfect, but I think that Hillary Clinton is exactly what we need in our country: smart, savvy, with perspective, realistic, and with results.
