I've supported Bernie Sanders throughout this primary season. I've never been a "Hillary Hater", but I preferred Bernie's views on some key issues including how he has acted on his commitment to addressing the corrupting influence of big money on our politics. I've also been wary of Hillary's tendency to support military intervention as a key piece of foreign policy; we've lost too many lives and wasted to much money on unnecessary wars already. I was proud to caucus for Bernie in Colorado, but I've never had any doubt about voting for Hillary if she is the Democratic nominee.
But I want more. I don't want to simply vote against Trump and the GOP, I want to capture some of the enthusiasm that has generated such strong support for Hillary from her backers. While I will vote for her in November, I'm not going to be volunteering or donating if I don’t have enthusiasm. So I've been trying to find that energy, to truly get "ready for Hillary" and support the campaign fully.
Some of my fellow Bernie supporters may not be ready to start that journey yet, especially those in states that haven't yet voted; I respect that, take your time and keep fighting for what you believe! For those like me who have voted and are starting to shift to the general election, who want to understand and maybe even come to share in the pro-Hillary energy of her supporters, I will describe steps I've started taking — and that are helping.
1) Spend less time in the rec list pie fights. Whether it is Bernie or Busters pushing Clinton hate or conspiracy theories, or Clinton partisans denegrating Bernie (and by extension supporters like me), these battles do nothing to help those of us seeking common ground with and enthusiasm for our presumptive Democratic nominee.
2) Read positive Hillary diaries, with an open mind and heart. When I read about why these supporters believe in Hillary, it helps me view her through their eyes and move beyond the caricature the right wing has made of her over the past 25 years. I’ve waded through the DK list of Hillary Clinton diaries (the vast majority of which, sadly, are of the Rox/Sux variety) but found some gems that I’ve bookmarked and plan to revisit periodically — and that you can visit, to avoid slogging through the full list.
Some highlight how the Hillary campaign has reminded the authors of the progressive values they learned from their parents:
Feminist Fighters: Hillary Clinton and My Mom
Why this Millennial Supports Sec. Clinton
Some touch on Hillary’s accomplishments during her Arkansas days, particularly on initiatives for children:
Hillary Clinton’s Impressive Arkansas Legacy
One writer spoke of how Hillary’s persistence in the face of repeated attacks helped inspire her with her own battle against depression:
In My Quest to Find Self-Esteem, I Stumbled upon a Role Model in Hillary Clinton
These diaries offer a good cross-sectional view of Hillary’s accomplishments and personal strengths:
The Quick Start-up Guide to Hillary
I am Proud to Be a Staunch Supporter of Hillary Clinton — Here’s Why
What Hillary Clinton Means to Me
A stem cell advocate described meeting the Clintons and the strong impression Hillary left with him:
This author wrote about Hillary’s work on an important but far from glamorous global issue — indoor air pollution and clean cook stoves:
One of the Reasons I Support Hillary Clinton
Finally, I’ll link and quote from one that highlighted the way that time Hillary spent with him at a series of campaign events helped influence his life.
A 17 Year Old Meets Mrs. Clinton in 1991... And It Changes His Life: A Look At The "Real" Hillary.
THAT is the real Hillary Clinton. The woman filled with warmth and compassion and took the time to talk to a goofy 17 year old boy on the campaign trail ... I still see the wonderful person who stopped to make a difference in the life of a young person. And make a difference she did! Her words always stayed with me, and after a year of college, I changed my major to education and social work and have spent a lifetime in service to improve the lives of others.
That’s got to be one of the best endorsements I’ve seen for any candidate.
3) Visit Hillary's campaign "issues" page, and compare her platform to the issues that Bernie has emphasized. The approaches are different, but there's far more shared in their underlying goals and values than heated campaign rhetoric suggests.
Some of her stated goals and plans (from www.hillaryclinton.com/...) include:
Campaign Finance: overturn Citizens United (recall that the case originated with a hit piece film attacking Hillary) Climate Change: generating enough renewable energy to power every home in America Criminal Justice: end the era of mass incarceration, reform mandatory minimum sentences, and end private prisons College affordability: invest $350 billion so that students do not have to borrow to pay tuition at a public college in their state Gun control: keep assault weapons off our streets and reinstate the assault weapons ban Health care: support a “public option”—and work to build on the ACA to make it possible Immigration: fight for comprehensive immigration reform legislation with a path to full and equal citizenship LGBT rights: fight for full federal equality for LGBT Americans Social Security: expand Social Security for today’s beneficiaries and generations to come by asking the wealthiest to contribute more. Voting rights: repair the Voting Rights Act and implement universal, automatic voter registration Wall Street: give regulators more authority to force overly complex or risky firms to reorganize, downsize, or break apart; impose a tax on high-frequency tradingLooking back to when Hillary launched her campaign, she framed her agenda around “Four Fights”. Two of these should sound very familiar to those of us who have been supporting Sanders: “to make the economy work for everyday Americans, not just those at the top” and “revitalizing our democracy so that it works for everyday Americans.” In announcing her candidacy, Hillary said:
Prosperity can’t be just for CEOs and hedge fund managers.
Democracy can’t be just for billionaires and corporations.
Prosperity and democracy are part of your basic bargain too.
time.com/...I’m very proud of the energy and focus that those of us supporting Bernie have brought to these issues, but reading Hillary’s “four fights” speech was an important reminder for me that Hillary was also speaking to these issues, literally from the day she announced her candidacy.
4) Reread Hillary's "women's rights are human rights" speech. When she spoke in China to the UN 4th World Conference on Women, it was a great example of Hillary at her best as an eloquent and passionate advocate.
These abuses have continued because, for too long, the history of women has been a history of silence. Even today, there are those who are trying to silence our words. But the voices of this conference and of the women at Huairou must be heard loudly and clearly:
It is a violation of human rights when babies are denied food, or drowned, or suffocated, or their spines broken, simply because they are born girls.
It is a violation of human rights when women and girls are sold into the slavery of prostitution for human greed -- and the kinds of reasons that are used to justify this practice should no longer be tolerated.
It is a violation of human rights when women are doused with gasoline, set on fire, and burned to death because their marriage dowries are deemed too small.
It is a violation of human rights when individual women are raped in their own communities and when thousands of women are subjected to rape as a tactic or prize of war.
It is a violation of human rights when a leading cause of death worldwide among women ages 14 to 44 is the violence they are subjected to in their own homes by their own relatives.
It is a violation of human rights when young girls are brutalized by the painful and degrading practice of genital mutilation.
It is a violation of human rights when women are denied the right to plan their own families, and that includes being forced to have abortions or being sterilized against their will.
If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights once and for all.
5) Think about my daughter. When I look at my 11 year old daughter, I can't help but feel excitement about the chance for her to see a woman in the White House, for her to know that gender doesn't foreclose even the greatest of possibilities for her future. Of course that's not enough reason to vote for just any woman (think of Fiorina, Palin, Bachmann), but that’s no reason to dismiss the significance of breaking the ultimate glass ceiling. I want that ceiling shattered, for my daughter and for every other little girl growing up with big dreams.
6) Prepare to keep fighting for my values on those issues where I remain doubtful about Hillary. Notably, I'm concerned that Hillary is too eager to rely on military intervention which could entangle us in unnecessary foreign wars; that means I need to roll up my sleeves and stay involved with anti-war efforts and protests, to keep visibility and pressure on Hillary and other elected officials.
7) Commit to the "political revolution" beyond 2016. I’m looking forward to the Brand New Congress initiative - basically an effort to take many of the issues Bernie has raised, and to nationalize the 2018 Congressional elections around them. We can work to create a better Congress that would empower a President Clinton to move forward on progressive ideas she shares - and to pressure her to do more on progressive proposals where she may be reluctant. It's the next phase of movement building, the brainchild of a group of Bernie supporters and staff who are looking at what comes after the presidential race. brandnewcongress.org/...
So there you have it. While I didn’t start the campaign season “Ready for Hillary,” I'm working on it. I hope these ideas may help those of you making the same journey.