If Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic nomination, what will Bernie Sanders supporters do? Will they unite behind the Democratic candidate despite their ideological differences with her? Or will they stay home on election day and ensure a Republican victory? If they do refuse to support Mrs. Clinton, how would that or could that ever be in the best interests of our country? If Senator Sanders supporters were to take the position of “if my candidate doesn’t win, I won’t vote”, how would they be any different from the Republicans in the House and Senate who vowed to do whatever they could to ensure that President Obama’s policies failed despite how much it might hurt the country?
Mrs. Clinton is viewed by some liberals as being too far to the right and too conservative. That seems odd considering she is pro-choice and pro-women’s rights which are not conservative values! She has been criticized for taking too long to support marriage equality. Some think she just jumped in once public opinion changed. Apparently, she cannot evolve in her way of thinking. She cannot change her opinion as time goes by. Whatever opinions she had, whatever statements she made, are written in unbreakable stone and she cannot and must never deviate from them.
Both President Abraham Lincoln and Lyndon Johnson changed their opinions. President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation after having said that he did not believe the Constitution should ever be changed. Yet that is exactly what he did because he came to understand that slavery must be eradicated. That he could not wait, that the country could not wait, for it to just die out on its own as he originally thought it would.
President Lyndon Johnson, while representing Texas opposed any Civil Rights legislation for twenty years before finally deciding to support that legislation. Though by all accounts, President Johnson remained a Southern racist, he, too, evolved in his way of thinking at least as far as equality.
Hillary Clinton has been praised for her willingness to work to find common ground with those who disagree with her. Apparently, the idea of compromise, of finding that common ground which will enable the best for the most, is not acceptable. Apparently, she must demand full acceptance of the liberal position or nothing at all or she cannot possibly be a true liberal. But who really decides that liberal position? There are different degrees of liberalism within the Democratic Party just as there are still different degrees of conservatism, though hard to notice most times, in the Republican Party. So who decides who is liberal or conservative enough?
The framers of the Constitution created a government which works best when both sides agree and find that common ground. Madison believed that in the event that any faction could gain control, the elected officials would still put aside their own personal interests to do what it best for the majority. We have seen what happens when one side refuses to compromise. Nothing gets done. Our citizens and our country suffer greatly. But still there are those who insist, those who demand, that it must be their way or no way! That kind of thinking is counterproductive at best and makes government ineffective. The Constitution, itself, was created and ratified because of compromises.
Each of the Republican candidates have spoken loudly and clearly as to what they will do if they are elected President. They will do everything in their power to take our country back to a storied past that never existed. Back to the days when white men had all the power while women and minorities were silenced. Democrats are the only ones who can stop that from happening. The question is will they if Hillary Clinton wins the nomination? Or will they allow the country to suffer because their candidate did not?
Moderately liberal, liberally moderate, American flag waving Democrat! Bachelor of Arts in History with concentration in Early American History and Abraham Lincoln
Graduate student pursuing a Master of Arts Degree online in American History at Southern New Hampshire University