What Hillary Clinton Means to Me

[bigtree]

Florida for Hillary ‏@FloridaforHRC 11h11 hours ago
YES!! "What .@HillaryClinton means to me." http://bit.ly/1TZuDhW
Along with some others that are on #TEAMHILLARY

____I believe President Obama will be recognized as one of the greatest presidents in our history, and he inspires me for the same reasons that I have come to find Hillary truly inspirational—he is a whip-smart, results-oriented progressive with a passion for details. He does not pander. President Obama articulates his vision and explains each step of how he plans to get there. He acknowledges the interests of different stakeholder groups, and admits that any policy change has winners and losers. As far as I can tell, he almost always chooses results over making a point or stoking anger. At a time when so many voters (including me) crave honesty from their public servants, I view President Obama as an especially honest, compassionate, and results-oriented politician and I am inspired by his approach to politics.

I see the same qualities in Hillary Clinton. I love that she has a progressive vision for the country, and a phenomenally well-designed road map of how to realize that vision. I love watching her listen to people pour their hearts out (as with amazing activists such as the Mothers of the Movement) and then incorporate their concerns into intelligent, detailed plans for solving these problems. I am moved by her courage in admitting to coal industry workers that fighting climate change means moving beyond the coal industry, and her positive engagement with this reality in the form of a plan to reinvest in these workers and help them transition to new careers. Her forthrightness is on display even behind closed-doors, such as at her meeting with Black Lives Matter activists, in which she honestly described her conception of how change happens (whether one agrees or disagrees with it).

That Hillary Clinton possesses these qualities is clear to me. I am attracted to her willingness to learn and admit mistakes, and what I see as her commitment to being well-briefed and hyper-prepared on a wide spectrum of issues. A good president must be a generalist, and Hillary seems to me like a perfect fit—comfortable on virtually every issue, and willing to put in the work of becoming an expert on any one of them at the drop of a hat. Her commitment to results over spectacle, which mirrors President Obama’s, is also one that I share.

The more I learned, the more I thrilled over every fact-stuffed, detailed, Hillary Clinton speech. Listening to her identify her vision and the exact path she plans to get there conveys to me that she really, deeply cares about the vulnerable people hurt by the issues she identifies, and that she understands exactly what it will take to help them. The clear, precise descriptions of problems and solutions, similar to those from President Obama, make me feel spoken to as an equal, rather than pandered to. I am excited and moved by her candidacy and the good things I believe a Hillary presidency could produce in the same way I was excited by Obama.

Just two more things. I like that Hillary, amid her discussion of serious problems, takes the time to acknowledge what we do right in this county. We need major changes, but I appreciate the acknowledgment that we should improve what we have rather than throwing the whole thing out. And to be honest, I am excited as hell about shattering the biggest glass ceiling and finally electing our first female president. It should be clear from what I’ve written that this is far from the only reason for my support of Hillary, who I believe is far and away the best candidate. But it is the 21st century, and this kind of representation matters to me. I think it’s time to see a woman in the most powerful position on Planet Earth. I’m just thankful that the woman with that opportunity is this amazing, intelligent, effective, and compassionate woman.


read more: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/4/3/1509781/-What-Hillary-Clinton-Means-to-Me

[bigtree]

4. if this is your idea of political discourse

...you'd be better suited elsewhere.

Utterly disgusting.

[grossproffit]

7. Well, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

[baldguy]

10. Oh, yes. There's no sexism in the opposition to Clinton. Oh, no. Not ever.

[grossproffit]

5. Just another day at the office.

[MaeScott]

6. Lord have mercy. Bless your heart.

[grossproffit]

8. Awesome post. Thank you for sharing this.

[oasis]

12. It's in some way like having an e-mail fetish.

[NurseJackie]

11. Thanks for sharing this!

[Buns_of_Fire]

13. I was always more impressed with her ability to give eyesight to the blind,

making the lame walk, the deaf hear, and turning speeches into money. Shows what I know.

[casperthegm]

14. I gave this a real chance until "I love that she has a progressive vision for the country"

At that point I realized the OP simply didn't understand what progressive issues are. Hint, they don't include fracking, regime change, no-fly zones, using Citizens United and at the same time promising to end it, Wall Street speeches totaling millions of dollars with no transcripts, flaunting security procedures which lead to an FBI investigation, opposing Glass Steagall, opposing free college, and opposing healthcare for all....

[bigtree]

15. lol, if Sanders had his way

...that would be how he defined her agenda.

Hillary's 'progressive vision' is embodied by her issues agenda, not by her rival's desperate political attacks.

https://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/

[casperthegm]

16. Her "vision" and her reality are two very different things

Informed voters know the issues and her history. A bunch of words describing her "vision" can't change the past and none of what I wrote is wrong. Bernie supporters are HRC's worst nightmare- informed voters who make decisions based on facts and candidate's records, not solely on the party.

[bigtree]

20. looks like Bernie supporters aren't really an obstacle to her advancement

...at all.

[casperthegm]

21. We agree on that much

As HRC's biggest obstacle is the history her own actions; voting record, poor decisions, reckless foreign policies, lies, arrogance. etc. Hard to have imagined the party would actually put up a candidate so many of us could not support, but they've done it.

[bigtree]

24. she made it past the 'movement' candidate

...supposedly the best the progressive community has to offer.

[casperthegm]

25. Hey, we agree again

We'll have to get together for drinks and celebrate. Counting votes and proclaiming victory doesn't make the candidate more "right" in their views, policies, or shady past. If that was the case, we'd all be looking back at the wise decision of electing, then re-electing GW Bush.

So citing the current vote count is nice but in the end what should matter and be a larger concern for everyone is HRC's terrible record on the environment, war, trade agreements, cozy relationship with Wall Street, Citizens United, opposing to Glass Steagall, opposition to healthcare for all, free college for all...geez, these sound an awful lot like the gop platform, don't they? Any of these that wouldn't be on their platform? None that I can think of....

[bigtree]

33. there is a majority of Democrats voting for Hillary right now

...and there's Sanders boasting he already has the support of voters beyond our party. Silly to discount the votes your candidate is still pining for.

Those voting apparently don't believe your campaign's rhetoric about her, or your version of her platform. In a few days, you'll need a more reality-based argument to continue with this line of advocacy against her. Likely won't be able to post that nonsense here...

[Armstead]

35. Many people voted for Clinton but prefer Sanders values, message and goals

I know a number personally, and read many others, and they discuss it in the media (when they bother to discuss below the surface).

She has a lot of support as the "defacto" candidate, the supposedly "most electable" candidate and of course as the first woman candidate.

But many of the same people also say they really like Sanders, his agenda, and admire his integrity and freedom of ties to Bog Money...and would prefer that the Democratic Party reflect that....Clinton they say is "competent" and "experienced" but its very half-hearted.

And the concerns and goals of the appx. 40 percent who have selected Sanders should not be marginalized or ignored or dismissed as a "fringe movement."

[uponit7771]

22. Sanders implementation of his vision TO THIS DAY ".. I don't know...". Adults should trust that

... I'm sure :rolleyes:

[HooptieWagon]

29. So says the member of DU for all of 20 minutes.

[casperthegm]

31. Is there a Republican Underground?

Because I think you'd fit in well there.

Everything related to Hillary comes with an asterisk. She's for gay marriage (*after being against it). She's for raising the minimum wage (*to $12 vs $15 for Bernie, and let the states decide), for Obamacare expansion (*but not in favor of free healtchare for all). When all is said and done, I'd say those things might but her right about center (and make her a true politician in every sense of flip flopping and hedging bets)

If that was all we discussed, then fine, we'd be looking at a fairly moderate Democrat that I could see potentially supporting. But that's not the case. By a long shot. She does support fracking (gop position), she supports regime change (gop), no-fly zones (gop and batshit crazy), gives speeches to Wall Street for millions but won't disclose the transcripts (sorry, I expect transparency from my candidate), says she opposes Citizens United because it's legalized bribery (great, but wait..she's using in for her campaign..), voted for the war in Iraq (Bernie opposed, because he had the foresight to see that it could and did destabilize the region), waited to make a decision on the Keystone pipeline until Obama made his decision (sorry, bad for the environment is bad for the environment- this was a political move), supported NAFTA, supported the TPP (*until her position "evolved&quot , and she opposes free college for all.

Unfortunately, those gop platform positions that I just rattled off outnumber the moderate positions by a long shot. So I'm gonna stick to the call here; well right of center. But thanks for playing!

[casperthegm]

36. Trump is an idiot

As big as you are, potentially. I would never vote for him and nowhere did I say that I would. I mean think about it- I posted all of the progressive issues that I'm angry at HRC about and you seriously think I'd vote for a Republican? Hello?

You can make the argument that by not voting for Hillary I'm essentially voting for Trump. I can just as easily counter that if the Democratic party didn't put up a complete sell-out who had more in common with the gop than what the Democratic party should be, then that's their own damn fault. I'm not going to reward the party just because they'll pout and point at the evil Republican who could win the GE. There will always be an evil Republican. That doesn't excuse the Democratic party's responsibility to have a candidate who represents the people and not special interests and Wall Street. The lesser of two evils is still pretty freaking evil.

[Agnosticsherbet]

37. +1

[cherokeeprogressive]

17. I hope the people at Webster add this as a new definition of sycophancy.

Because it ain't much more than that.

[Bob41213]

32. I think this is the new tactic...

Defending the report didn't work so well, now it's time to move onto charming stories about Hillary. To be honest, it's a better approach than lying to us that it's not a damaging report.

[cherokeeprogressive]

39. Well, she IS the party's Abuela. nt

[Lucinda]

18. Loved that! Thanks soo much for bringing it here!

[kstewart33]

19. Great post, bigtree.

Thanks very much for posting!

[uponit7771]

23. +1

[Jack Bone]

26. she seems mean to me as well nt

[HooptieWagon]

28. I was right...it IS a personality cult.

[jonmac511]

38. i can appreciate this

As a Sanders supporter I do appreciate this post. I don't agree with the feelings expressed but I do appreciate that it is a pro-candidate post rather than and anti opposition candidate one. It seems that campaigning has become more derailing the opponent than selling oneself. Thank you for your honesty, wish this was the rule rather than the exception!!