So, I heard the other day some of Sanders' supporters talking about why they're supporting him and it made me uneasy. Why? Because it sounded exactly like the Tea Party and the supporters of Trump. Stuff like "he's being honest", "he's telling it how it is", "he means what he says"... and worse... "we must take back America" and "make America great again"... those last two being actual quotes I specifically remember... ugh... just ugh.
Seriously, who are we taking America back from this time? Are we taking it back from blacks? Wait, no, that's who the Tea Party are taking it back from. We're taking America back from corporate America... thus proving that corporate America is black and Liberal, right? Can we come up with our own catch phrases at least? I mean, if for no other reason than to prevent us from using the catch phrases of the conservatives who are promoting nearly opposite ideals? How about "we want to overthrow corporate tyranny?"
And "he's being honest" isn't a reason to vote for someone. I get it, you're disillusioned and sick of the insincerity, but at least vote someone who claims to be on your side. "Being honest" has nothing to do with what side you're on. Trump might be being honest, but he's totally not on the side of the average American. Hell, he's not on the side of 99% of Americans. If someone came out and said, "I want to be President because it'll make me feel really amazing about myself," would you vote for them? I mean, they're being honest, right? ~sigh~ If you're voting for someone because they're honest, go home and go back to sleep because clearly you don't care about anything that's happening in the world.
I'm still in favor of Sanders though. I'm just ashamed of some of his supporters. But Sanders is speaking to my values and is in favor of many of the things I'm in favor of. One of the most important elements of his plans is strengthening the graduation of our graduated income tax. He wants to bring the top marginal tax bracket back up above 50%... which means that people making over $10M will get taxed more than 50% on the money they make above and beyond the first $10M... the first $10M will still get taxed lower than 50% just like the rest of us, so don't worry, they're not getting taxed back into the Stone Age or anything of that sort.
But let's talk about Clinton's concerns over whether he will be able to get any of what he wants through Congress. She's right. Oh, did you not expect me to agree with her? Did you expect me to say that he'll get something passed? Did you expect me to say Clinton's trying to mislead us with regards to the prospects of the political scene changing dramatically just because we elect an old white guy who believes more in Government than the other white guys running for that office (or indeed, more than the white women running for that office)? No, he has no chance. Let's be honest, his values are far too left leaning than the Republicans will ever go along with, but at least there might potentially be a debate about the role of Government and there might potentially be a discussion of why he wants things that are different from what the Conservatives want.
Clinton says that she knows how to get things done and that she'll push for smaller improvements but improvements that will actually happen. First, let's call that for what it is: she's going to ask for middle-of-the-road and conservative bills, not the liberal ideals that Democrats are in favor of... she's just trying to suggest that she's going to go for the most Liberal options that the Conservatives will agree to... seriously?
Ok, and let's get even more honest about this: She won't be able to get anything accomplished either. Do you remember what Republican leadership said when Obama was elected? They said they needed to oppose everything he pushed for and ensure that he was a 1-term President. They were aggressive and were able to oppose much of what Obama pushed for and waged a pretty decent war against him that led to both the House and the Senate being in Republican control. And all that just because Obama is black. No, I'm not joking about this. Obama was not spouting Liberalism all over the place, he was middle-of-the-road, just like Clinton, during the Democratic primary season. Seriously, I remember feeling very disappointed about the outcome and thinking to myself "well, at least he won't be opposed just because he's Hillary Clinton." And why was I thinking that? Because Republicans have a vitriolic response to Hillary Clinton. They hate her. They hate everything about her. And it's not really based on her principles either. So they'll respond to her much the same way they responded to Obama, blocking everything they can even if they would agree with it coming from a Republican President. And that means that she'll not only being fighting for middle-of-the-road and conservative proposals, but those proposals will be blocked because she backs them, not because of their substance. At least with Sanders, the reason to fight against him is based in ideology and philosophy. I can handle an argument over Government, I yearn for an argument over Government... but to bypass that argument and just have 4-8 years of "it's backed by Clinton, kill it" just as we've had 8 years of "it's backed by Obama, kill it"... ~sigh~ enough already.
So, I'm ashamed of many of his supporters, but let's still elect him, because he's the right choice. Not because he's an old, white man (please don't be swayed by Clinton's "it's time to send a woman to the White House"... see my previous post about what's wrong with that one), but because of the ideals he represents and the fact that he will push for those ideals with all his force, and it's about time those ideals (big Government which is there to help people) are fought for with full weight and conviction by a President. Let's send Sanders to the White House!
yes! thank you!
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