Hillary Clinton is not a perfect candidate, that is for certain. She is easy to attack, because of her own choices and mistakes. She is by far the most conservative candidate, the Democratic Party has ever nominated and it drive me and the progressive wing of the Democratic Party nuts.
During the Democratic primary I put TRANZGENDR.com on hold, to help Bernie Sanders via social media. I created the Guerrilla Socialists (@GuerrillaDems), and with my followers we were responsible for spiking some of the most politically powerful trends in social media. Many of the things you may be thinking or the arguments you may be make, could have come from me and our work. The WhichHillary hashtag, for which the Guerrilla Socialist gain notoriety, should speak for my credentials as a progressive and Democratic Socialist. I fought hard for Bernie Sanders and OurRevolution, so when I make this case for Hillary Clinton, I make it because I believe what I am saying is true and honest.
I’ll be up front with you. If you are a member of the transgender community (as I am), or if you love someone who is part of the community, you have no choice but to vote for Hillary. This holds true for other minority classes as well. Our rights, and the rights of our neighbors are at sake. The Supreme Court is in the position to be flipped. The changes in the court, will secure our rights for generations. If Donald Trump wins all bets are off. It’s that clear and it is that obvious.
I’ve seen and read the arguments by many people I admire and respect regarding protest votes. I get it. I’ve even made some of those arguments myself. But the structural flaw in all those arguments is the fact that, we don’t live in a vacuum. There are millions of Americans who will have their lives completely ravaged, if the Republican Party controls all branches of government. From the transgender community to families of immigrates, the protest vote puts their rights and families at risk. Trump has made it clear, families will be torn apart. Discrimination and hatred for minorities, will be green-lit and institutionally reinforced. The message of hate should lose, not win. Bernie Sanders was about love, allowing that message to be corrupted by our own disappointment, is not what we fought for. It is definitely not what I fought for.
There is plenty of blame to go around for our predicament? To put it bluntly, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are both responsible. The Democratic Party has allowed the political elite to screw up a sure thing, by forcing a deeply flawed candidate down our throats. I believe it was done to fulfill their pay-to-pay obligations to the economic elite. Both parties have legalized corruption, and it has suppressed the power of the people. This truth is self evident to anyone living outside of the beltway bubble.
The Republican Party has relied on dog whistles and hate, which has made them nothing short of monsters in the eyes of many minorities in America. The Republican Party should be providing a sensible alternative to the Democratic Party’s offerings, but instead they provided us with a hate mongering fascist, and none of the other candidates they fielded were any better. They are all a national embarrassment. Our political leaders have turned politics into a dishonorable trade, and that dishonor is slowly seeping into the fabric of our society.
With that said, Hillary Clinton will be a one term president. Obama’s relatively close reelection, proves her hold on power will be fleeting at best. There is no mandate for her to engaged in ambiguous military conflicts or to serve the 1 percent. Her mandates is to protect the rights of the people, until her successor can be lawfully sworn in.
I will now speak to you from my perspective as a member of the trans community. There is no question, that Hillary Clinton offers us the best opportunity to preserve and extend our rights and protections. Jill Stein is a great candidate and I love her spirit, but she is not in a position to protect the community. Jill Stein deserves a real shot at being President of the United States, but her time is not now. A protest vote, is not worth the potential cost to our rights. It sucks, but our hands are tied. This argument holds true for all other minority classes.
So for you #BernieOrBust voters out there who believe love trumps hate, I say to you. Don’t vote for Hillary. Vote for your transgender neighbors, vote for your Hispanic neighbors, or vote for your black neighbors, because we need you to think of us on November 8th.
I love all the people who helped make the Guerrilla Socialists a powerful voice in the Democratic primary, and I love my transgender brothers, sisters and non-conforming comrades. I cannot let you down, by letting my disappointment turn into hate. So I will vote with love, and that means I will vote for you.
SlickLion