Tonight, I need to see a different Hillary Clinton I saw in the last two debates. Truthfully speaking, My vote is not one she’ll need to win over. The undecided voters, or those planning to skip the election, are the bases she should consider walking into the debate tomorrow night.
Hillary Clinton should view tomorrow night’s debate as a chance to win those votes. A strong showing on some of the more divisive social issues can help her gain some voters. During the last two debates, I saw Hillary Clinton revert to familiar centrist language that has tarnished her image among millennials and minority groups.
In the first debate, when asked about the implicit bias by police against African Americans, Hillary Clinton stated, “Implicit bias is a problem for everyone, not just police.” Considering her shaky relationship with Black Lives Matter and her of past use of the phrase “super predators,” this was weak and middle of the line response about a topic with overwhelming literature supporting the validity of implicit bias. Institutional racism and implicit bias embedded in the structure of police institutions has been well documented. Supporting such a claim is in adherence to evidence and research.
Hilary Clinton, however, chose to hover over the divisive ideological line. She did the same when discussing stop-and-frisk. While she did say the practice does not work, she appeared to choose her words cautiously, as if being careful not to upset law enforcement enthusiasts.
Hillary Clinton also appeared to back track on the comments she made about Trump supporters being a “basket of deplorables.” But, let’s face it, the “deplorables” she to which she was referring will not vote for Hillary in November, regardless of how much she sugar-coats tough issues. Trump has a portion of his voting base that will vote for him and no one else. Wavering along the lines on these issues will not convert any of them, and her focus should be on those who will vote independent or not vote at all.
Instead of talking about the issues that are important to minorities and millennials, Hillary Clinton’s strategy appears to rely on showing voters how unfit Trump is for office and how she should be president based on this. Although the thought of a Trump presidency makes me shiver, Hillary Clinton’s strategy of presenting herself as the only thing preventing Trump from taking office can come across an admission that she’s not the best choice but simply the last choice.
This approach paints her as a candidate who is worthy of being president only because her opponent is not. This tactic appears to not only diminishes her qualifications, but also uses fear as a vehicle to drive votes – something the Trump campaign has been doing since its inception. Taking this approach seems to be one of the tactics she’s employing to steal voters from Trump’s base. As Hillary Clinton recently stated in a New York Times interview with Mark Leibovich, she is “the last thing standing between you and the apocalypse.”
While I agree that people should be aware of the dangers of putting someone like Donald Trump in office, I believe making fear the center of your strategy is superficial and may not convert the open-minded voters as intended. We should also remember that some are perfectly happy voting for their own apocalypse.
