It's taken me awhile to write this for a number of reasons. Don't bash Hillary, they say. You're only fueling the right. If Bernie wins, he'll need her supporters. She's the most qualified. Don't be such an idealist. But in all sincerity it's been a challenge for me to get behind Clinton, especially next to Bernie Sanders. I've listened. And I've tried. But do just a little bit of investigating beyond the hype, the headlines and the parroted soundbites, and there are many important contrasts that I believe are worthy of deep reflection.
Let me be clear: I will vote for whoever becomes the Democratic nominee. One can be both pro-Bernie and pro-Hillary. So why write this? For me, this is a selection of records that anyone following along can observe for themselves. And given the recent mudslinging at Sanders, spinning with Chelsey, and establishment backlash, we know that the race is heating up. Most importantly, I'm feeling the Bern. This primary race is pivotal and will determine the future of the Democratic party and our country. As voters hit the polls in just a few days, here are 9 matters that I believe should be considered when voting in the upcoming primaries:
1) Clinton's campaign is funded by corporate money: pharmaceuticals, Wall St., media conglomerates, corporations, and Super PACs. Sanders' is funded by everyday citizens.
Together, the Clinton's have created a massive $3 billion dollar fundraising network of donors to their political campaigns as well as The Clinton Foundation. A report from Princeton University has shown that we're currently living in an oligarchy, that power is concentrated in the hands of a few elites who exercise pay-to-play politics, and that our politicians no longer represent the average working, middle class American. To say that Clinton's interests are independent of these powerful donors is naive to the way the world works. When Clinton told Wall St. to "cut it out" did anything happen? The Boston Globe recently reported on her very hands-off approach. Our too-big-to-fail banks are now bigger than they were before the TARP bailout. And when Bernie Sanders questioned her ties to Wall St. in the second debate, how did Clinton respond? By playing the 9/11 card.
Clinton has played the political game and worked the mechanisms of our political system masterfully. She's brilliant and I respect her for her work. But, for once in a very long time, we have an Independent candidate with a spotless record, who reaches across the political spectrum to find common ground, and who is almost entirely funded by individual donations averaging $30. We have a candidate who has set a record for 2.5 million individual contributions entirely without any super PAC money, and who, for his entire Congressional career, has spoken out against Wall St.'s reckless practices. Corporate control of our politics is the very real battle we are fighting. When Bernie Sanders speaks of political revolution, he wants to bring back power to the people - and the outcome of this primary election can sever the ties that bind the billionaire class to Washington. Who is better suited to tackle campaign finance reform: the candidate who's benefitted from it or the outsider who's free from it?
2) Clinton once accepted money from the Private Prison Complex.
It is contradictory to claim one supports social justice and Black Lives Matter when receiving donations from for-profit prisons in an industry that disproportionately incarcerates minorities for low-level crimes up until October 2015. Clinton has since addressed this issue, refusing to continue accepting those donations. And while I understand that candidates can evolve--with Sanders, we have the opportunity to nominate a candidate who has stood up for civil and racial justice as early as the 1960s and who has consistently spoken up for underrepresented people. Clinton only took action to reverse and redistribute the donated money to charity after Sanders had released legislation to end the private prison complex.
3) Their responses to Rahm Emmanuel.
Pressure for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to resign has continued to mount as allegations of his office failing to release footage of LaQuan McDonald's shooting amid a reelection year continue. A majority of Chicagoans believe he should resign.
Here is how Sanders and Clinton initially responded:
Sanders said that "any official who helped suppress the videotape of Laquan McDonald's murder should be held accountable."
When asked whether she still had confidence in Emmanuel, Clinton said: "I do. He loves Chicago and I'm confident that he's going to do everything he can to get to the bottom of these issues and take whatever measures are necessary to remedy them."
Clinton has since softened her support for Emmanuel. But their first responses are telling: does one stand up for what's right or who they know?
4) Clinton's evolution on Marriage Equality/LGBT Rights.
Gays seem to be singing "Yaaas, Hillary!", but prior to 2013 Clinton was like "No, kweens." That's not a direct quote. But she's on record as speaking out against gay marriage. This is another recent evolution. Clinton then tried to spin it and claim that it was in defense of a constitutional amendment, which didn't mesh well with other historical accounts. How an LGBT voter can support a candidate who flip flops on what I see as a human rights issue - among other questionable judgments - is beyond me. I can't. Clinton is now proposing a bill for LGBT rights, but when she says "As President, I will continue to fight so that LGBT Americans and families can live, work, and pray free of discrimination," I give the Sanders side eye. Many others were forced to take a centrist position in the 2000s, including Obama. But we can also opt for the leader who has understood and fought for what's right even when it's been unpopular. We can opt for the trailblazer who backed the first Gay Pride Day in Burlington, VT in 1985, who publicly defended gays and voted against Don't Ask, Don't Tell and DOMA. No evolution necessary.
The Human Rights Campaign also recently endorsed Clinton for president, which caught many by surprise. But looking at HRC's own questionable internal reputation as a non-inclusive space, I would take this with a grain of salt. As many have observed, endorsements that are determined by its members rather than its leaders tend to back Sanders over Clinton.
5) Clinton voted for the Iraq War as well as the Patriot Act and its reauthorization in 2006.
Remember when we got into one of the largest quagmires of the 21st Century, Iraq? A devastating, costly war that was sold to us under false pretenses that largely led to the rise of ISIS? The number of human lives lost is staggering. The financial cost is in the trillions. Clinton voted for it then later admitted it was a mistake.
Clinton also voted in favor of The Patriot Act and its reauthorization in 2006, which was seen by many as a gross invasion of privacy on Americans. The FBI later admitted that it didn't really do all that much. And as Wikileaks and Edward Snowden showed us, the FBI has used that authority in unintended ways to track Americans illegally.
I can appreciate when someone admits a mistake. It demonstrates courage and humility. But when presented with identical evidence, Sanders voted against both the Patriot Act and the Iraq War, and correctly predicted the turmoil and instability it would cause. Sanders often gets critiqued for having little foreign policy experience (as did Obama), but what this indicates to me is someone who possesses sound judgment and foresight to move this country in the right direction.
It is also worth mentioning that Sanders has received recent criticisms for his foreign positions. The Intercept has also drawn the connection of half of these experts to military contractors. On the other hand, journalists without ties to the military-industrial complex have called Sanders' policy "refreshingly sane".
6) The DNC has stacked the odds in Clinton's favor.
This year's DNC debate schedule brought fewer party debates than in 2007. Compare the DNC's 6 to the RNC's 12. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, head of the DNC, has been called out by many for stacking the odds in Clinton's favor and trying to protect the inevitable candidate. And though Wasserman-Schultz claims the schedule maximized "opportunity for voters to see our candidates," the last four have suspiciously been on weekends, including the Saturday before Christmas, the Saturday night of a New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys NFL game, and the Sunday night of Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. Very early on, Martin O'Malley, Sanders, citizens, as well as many within the Democratic party called for more debates but were met with a stiff arm from Wasserman-Schultz. Yet, when polls cite Sanders gaining momentum in the days leading up to Iowa and New Hampshire, a new CNN town hall date suddenly appears. There's now a push to add another MSNBC debate on February 4th. Sanders is proposing three more.
The American public does not appreciate having our "choice" made for us. If you want to make a case for your party, you allow your candidates to present their ideas before the public, not hidden on weekends when no one will be watching. This is the establishment politics that many Americans are tired of.
7) The email delay.
I've avoided reading into Clinton's email server debacle, giving her the benefit of the doubt that this is another takedown from the right. But on the Friday before the Jonas Blizzard, the State Department sought to delay the release of the final batch by a month citing "overlooked" emails as well as heavy snow. Lawyers for Vice News journalist Jason Leopold have since filed a motion to stop the department from granting the extension citing "irrevocable harm" for voters who must decide on a candidate in the four early primary states before the release. If there's nothing in them, release them and be done.
8) Polls show Sanders outperforms Clinton against the GOP in the general election.
To beat the Republicans, we must put forth the candidate we believe will have the best chances to do so. Recent polls have shown that Sanders beats his Republican opponents with greater margins than Clinton, including Trump. Polls also reveal that 61% of voters believe Clinton is not honest or trustworthy. Yet we're supposed to believe the narrative that she is somehow more electable than the Socialist Jew. It's also worth mentioning that if there's one thing Republicans can unite behind, it's their disdain for Clinton.
What the mainstream media has been mum on is the thousands of supporters Sanders has had at his rallies, numbers that by far exceed Trump's: 20,000 in Minneapolis, a record breaking 20,000 in Boston, the Marches for Bernie across the country. Additionally, Millennials overwhelmingly support Sanders. As the largest demographic, who have now surpassed Baby Boomers in size, if half of them showed up to the polls and voted for Sanders he would win. Social media has altered the political landscape: more people are better informed as politicians can no longer count on the mass media to spread misinformation. Why? Because there's a wealth of online documentation to point out otherwise. Millennials are no longer consuming traditional media. Sanders is winning the Internet and is mobilizing an incredible grassroots movement.
9) The dynasty and money ties must end.
This primary election is more than just Sanders vs Clinton, idealism vs. pragmatism. This election is about tackling an unjust system that favors corporate interest over the people's. It's about reclaiming our democracy. So while organizations and corporate media propaganda have unleashed a fury of editorials and fear-mongering articles pushing the public toward Clinton, it's because Sanders has struck a chord; the establishment is afraid of a political revolution that will restore power to us. That is the battle we are fighting. And in true fashion, the revolution has not been televised.
Both factions of the Democrats, left and center, want progress. But why settle for watered down progress? We shouldn't. Why should we strive for a $12 minimum wage when we want $15? Why just change the classification of marijuana from Schedule 1 to Schedule 2 when we want to end the federal prohibition and end the failing war on drugs, which has costed over trillions of dollars and ruined countless lives? In 2008 we were at a similar crossroads: the grandiose, idealistic vision for the future vs. the pragmatic know-how. Where we've arrived at this moment in time, despite a Republican-controlled Congress, is quite admirable: gay marriage, the Affordable Care Act, withdrawing from Afghanistan. America is moving left. We have before us a leader who is inspiring a generation to take action, who is working to unite both sides of the political spectrum, and who has a record of doing so. Those who feel the Bern know what the traditional media has largely ignored: that he rallies people with a refreshing honesty, truth, and passion. Something we've been sorely missing from our public servants. As Jon Stewart said on the Daily Show, "The problem isn't that Bernie Sanders is a crazy-pants cuckoo bird. It's that we've all become accustomed to stage-managed, focus-group-driven candidates that authenticity comes across as lunacy."
To the cynics who agree with Sanders' principles but say, "America could never vote for a Democratic Socialist," I'd invite you to focus that energy into action. Get involved. Sanders has spoken time after time that change will not come through him alone, but that change will come when millions of Americans stand together to say "Enough is enough." When your conviction leads you, solutions will always be found. 2016 will be the year to #FeeltheBern - and I invite everyone to join the movement. It's time to return the people's power. And the leader who will get us there is Senator Bernie Sanders.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -Margaret Mead
10) BONUS: Perceptions of pandering.
Submitted without comment, here are a few ways the Clinton campaign has chosen to connect with her base: My Abuela, a Kwanzaa logo change, celebrities, and May the Force Be With You.