Wednesday, June 8, 2016

My two-bit presidential opinions

It looks like Hillary Clinton has clinched the Democratic Party's candidacy for president.
I've been a Bernie Sanders supporter essentially since he entered the race, and I will keep my Bernie car magnet on the back of my minivan until he officially concedes. However, I am not one of those "Bernie bros" who we continually hear about in the media. (I have yet to actually encounter one of these alleged "Bernie bros," but that's another story). I've been mulling over my options for some time now, and my feeling is that it is in my and everyone's best interests to vote for Clinton in November.

Now, I know that Clinton is not a perfect candidate. She is, at best, a moderate Democrat and has plenty of baggage. I hope that if Sanders remains in the race until the Democratic convention, he can at least influence the party platform and get more progressive policies instituted.
And then there's Trump.

The Donald is quite possibly the worst (allegedly) mainstream presidential candidate of my lifetime. I probably don't need to go into detail about why he is so despicable. Just watch or read the news any day of he week to learn about Trump's latest insulting, racist comment or sexist remark. I cannot fathom this man as President of the United States and leader of the free world.

I'd love for once to be able to vote for a person I believed in for president; someone I actually liked. (I actually DID do this when I voted for Obama, but it seems that more often than not I am voting against someone rather than for someone).

I'd love to vote for Bernie Sanders as a write-in, or for Jill Stein of the Green Party. It's not that I hate Hillary Clinton, it's just that she is far too mainstream and corporate for my tastes. But the stakes are too high in this election to waste my vote on a third party candidate who has no prayer of winning.
So, for now, I am biting the bullet and backing Hillary Clinton in November.

But, I just may change my mind again between now and November, so stay tuned if you care.

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