I am bemused by the suggestions of bloggers such as Matt Yglesias and various and sundry media pundits that Hillary should just admit that Obama is the better candidate and lie right down in the coffin the media, the right wing, and Obama’s supporters have recently—and gleefully— been knocking together for her. Obama’s supporters in particular need to look beyond their own corner of the party at the still substantial number of Democrats who prefer Hillary. If you believe in polls, here’s one that says that even many Dems who support Obama aren’t ready to see her out of the race. Yglesias thinks it’s because we’re ill-informed. I think otherwise.
I am resigned to having Obama as my candidate, but I hope Hillary will fight on. Hillary is the only one of the three remaining candidates I am absolutely sure is equal to the nasty task of cleaning up Bush’s mess. As anyone who looks at the results across the country can see, despite the groundswell of support for Obama’s magic, a substantial number of Dems just won’t believe in magic or think that all you need is love—at least not for this election cycle.
I can assure my fellow Dems and interested others that I’ve met plenty of Democrats who are as excited about Hillary as some of Obama’s supporters are about him. Her supporters believe in her superior capability. We recognize the fears of some Dems that she might not be ‘electable,’ and our response to this is, “If so, so it must be.”
We have never bought into the right wing’s atavistic Clinton-fear. We’re hurt by, and increasingly resentful, of the way that some of Obama’s supporters have used the Clinton-bashing rhetoric of the far right to undermine a fellow Democrat and powerful Democratic Senator whom Obama, if elected, will certainly need.
But I am tired of talking about Obama and of arguments intended to establish that we lack sufficient proof that he is qualified or trustworthy. I don’t really care. Obama or no Obama, I support Hillary Clinton based on her record and the substantial proof of her quality as a candidate.
Here is a partial list of things about Hillary Clinton that drew me to her as a candidate and that I believe make her the better candidate for this election cycle:
Long before she was first lady, Hillary Clinton worked to help under-represented citizens. In the ’60s, she fought for civil rights — even brought black friends to a then-segregated church. In the ’70s, she worked for the Children’s Defense Fund and was one of the staff attorneys that helped investigate the Watergate scandal. Before that decade closed, she was a law professor and director of a legal aid clinic that helped people who couldn’t afford lawyers.
That’s more public service than many people perform in a lifetime.
Hillary was an active first lady and used those eight years in Washington to learn about and focus on policy and process. Hillary visited many nations and helped her husband promote worldwide good will toward America.
Much of the world actually liked America during the Clinton years, and our next president will have to rebuild that good will which George Bush managed to crush.
Hillary tried to reform our health care system in the early ’90s — which might have prevented the current crisis. The political climate was unfriendly: 1) the Gingrich group opposed all things Clinton; and 2) poor health care coverage was not on most Americans’ radars, because it hadn’t yet reached crisis proportions.
Though Hillary’s efforts were resisted, she managed to increase health care for children a few years later — without even having a vote in Congress.
Hillary has worked with Republicans since joining the Senate, though some of those people had treated her badly just a few years earlier.
Hillary understands the many flaws of President Bush’s economic policies and has tried to change them. Check out her detailed explanations and plans here.
Hillary publicly acknowledged regret for her 2002 Iraq war vote. It’s refreshing to hear a politician admit regrets — after seven years of a president who stubbornly refuses to admit (and learn from) failures.
Hillary has actively served on the Senate Armed Services committee and managed to impress enough flag-rank military officers that 27 of them endorsed her candidacy last week. I don’t know what “flag-rank” means, but the words general and admiral are all over the list.
Hillary’s Senate committee assignments encompass a broad array of issues — including education, labor, pensions, the environment, again, and health — which gives her a broad policy foundation.
Just last week, Hillary sponsored a bill to change how we use and monitor private defense contractors.
I can’t cover it all here, so I’ll list some of Hillary’s Senate votes that I like. Note that I haven’t found a single politician yet (local, state or federal) with whose voting record (or goals) I completely agree. My mission here is to state (what I consider) positives.
I haven’t even covered her entire voting record, but the list below indicates that Hillary has done a lot during the last seven years.
Some of Sen. Clinton’s Votes (from Project Vote Smart)
Jobs & Benefits:
– Voted to increase minimum wage (Jun ’06)
– Voted to stop tax breaks for companies that move jobs overseas (Mar ’05)
– Voted to extend unemployment benefits for 13 weeks (May ’04)
– Voted to protect workers’ pensions (Apr ’04)
Homeland Security:
– Voted to implement 9/11 Commission recommendations (Jul ’07)
– Voted to restore Homeland Security grants that Bush cut (Mar ’05)
National Debt:
– Voted against increasing limit of national debt (Mar ’06)
Health Care:
-Voted to expand SCHIP (Sep ’07)
-Voted to fund stem-cell research (Jul ’06)
-Voted against Medicare prescription drug act (Senate Roll call) (Nov ’03)
Investor Protection & Corporate Fraud:
– Voted to increase SEC funding (Jul ’02)
Elections & Campaign Finance
– Voted to require uniform voting procedures (Apr ’02)
– Voted for campaign-finance reforms (Apr ’01)
Education:
-Voted to stop lenders from scamming taxpayers (Jul ’07)
-Voted to increase grants for needy college students (Oct ’05)
Energy & Climate:
– Voted for alternative-energy funding (Jun ’07)
– Voted against EPA’s loose standards on mercury emissions (Sep ’05)
– Voted to decrease dependence on foreign oil (Jun ’05)
– Voted for research on hydrogen cars (Jun ’03)
– Voted to prevent oil drilling at ANWR (Mar ’03)
Taxes:
– Voted to increase child tax credit (Sep ’04)
– Voted against taxing the Internet (Apr ’04)
Military, Wars & Contractor Fraud
– Voted for rest periods for troops in Iraq & Afghanistan (Sep ’07)
– Voted to set up time lines for troop withdrawal from Iraq (Mar ’07)
– Voted to investigate contractor fraud in Iraq & Afghanistan (Nov ’05)
– Voted to increase veterans’ health care funding (Nov ’05)
– Voted for habeas corpus for Guantanamo detainees (Nov ’05)
Executive Branch Appointees
– Voted for “No Confidence” re: Attorney General Gonzales (Jun ’07)
– Voted against confirming Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito (Jan ’06)
– Voted against confirming Supreme Court Justice John Roberts (Sep ’05)
– Voted against confirming Gonzales as Attorney General (Feb ’05)
– Voted against confirming Ashcroft as Attorney General (Feb ’01)
– Voted against confirming Gale Norton as Energy Sec. (Jan ’01). (D Cupples)
True, she has also made what I personally would call mistakes and sometimes adopted stances I didn’t care for. In the course of a long and active political career, mistakes and missteps are inevitable. In general, she’s stood up for her and my shared convictions. I don’t ask for more, or for perfection.
Is it good for the party for Hillary to fight on? Obama’s supporters claim it is not: that it can only weaken Democratic chances of prevailing in the general election. I don’t know if they are right or not: it’s an unprovable assertion. Anyway, I don’t care. Here and now, I believe that Hillary is the best person to run the country.
I realize that some people cannot see any positives in a candidate they don’t support. That doesn’t mean the positives aren’t there. And I—and many others—hope Hillary will fight on to the end.
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