Dear Hillary Clinton,
I am writing this letter to you not as a journalism student, not as a government student, but as an American citizen betrayed by the political process.
You did it. You got my vote. You have successfully won the vote of someone who is fundamentally against what you stand for: corporate greed, oligarchy, and secrecy. Your neoliberalism managed to gain the vote of someone who was betrayed by the “democratic” primary process.
Hillary, I do not trust you. I do not trust that you will appoint a liberal supreme court justice like you say you will. I do not trust that you will overturn Citizens United, a bill that has allowed you to take millions of dollars in donations. I do not trust that you will move toward renewable and clean energy, no matter how many times you say you will.
So, why did I vote for you?
Secretary Clinton, you have been very lucky this past year. Your friends Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Donna Brazile did a great job of feeding you debate questions and scheduling debates in a convenient way for you. Your campaign did a great job of preventing young people from voting against you. But luckiest of all, you got to run for president against a disgusting, sexist, racist, orange pig of a man.
Hillary, you’ve successfully perpetrated the two-party system. You’ve scared me away from casting a rebellious vote for fear of a petty misogynist and alleged rapist having his Twitter fingers on the nuclear codes. I’ve become complacent with this for the time being.
My vote is no indication that I support you. You will be under a tighter microscope than ever before, and everyone, if you win tomorrow, will be especially critical of you for the next four years. Despite these things, I do have faith that you will stand up for women’s and LGBTQ+ rights, and I will be proud to say that my president is a woman.
The most important thing you can do as a president is to remember that my vote does not equal my support. If you enter the white house on January 20th, you’ll have more baggage than the bags you’ll be unpacking. If you don’t win, then it is no one’s fault but your own.
So Hillary, congratulations, you’ve won the votes of those who were disenfranchised during the primaries. I will endure your neoliberalism until I no longer have to.
Sincerely, an Angry and Reluctant Liberal
