October 19, 2015

What exactly will not voting for the nominee accomplish?

For those of you who say that you won't vote for the nominee if he/she is not your candidate....can you please explain to me what it is you hope to accomplish by doing so?

I seriously want to know. At one time a few years back, I myself seriously considered not voting for the nominee because I was so angry after the primaries and I was not inclined to compromise.....but after having doing a bit of soul searching I came to the conclusion that sitting out the GE or voting for a third party candidate or republican was not an option. Social issues in particular and the SCOTUS were too important and what finally convinced me to cast my vote for the nominee.....and amazingly, I wound up really liking the nominee.

So in all seriousness, I would like some thoughtful answers on this. What will not voting for the nominee accomplish?

October 11, 2015

Hillary Clinton’s lead climbs higher nationally ahead of first debate

http://www.dailynewsbin.com/news/hillary-clintons-lead-climbs-higher-nationally-ahead-of-first-debate/22784/

Hillary Clinton’s lead climbs higher nationally ahead of first debate

Despite a summer of the political pundits claiming that Hillary Clinton is struggling in the polls, the numbers themselves say that’s never been the case. For months her lead over rival Bernie Sanders and potential rival Joe Biden has hovered in the twenty percent range in national polls, forcing the media to resort to reporting single-state outlier polls as if they were national polls in the hopes of making the race appear close for the sake of ratings. But even as Clinton prepares to head into the first democratic party debate, her dominant poll numbers are climbing even higher.

Last week three major national polls from PPP, IBD, and USA Today pegged Hillary Clinton’s lead over Bernie Sanders at 18, 20, and 18 percent respectively. Now the latest national poll from Fairleigh Dickinson pegs Clinton’s lead at 22 percent. The breakdown is that Clinton has 45 percent, Sanders has 23 percent, and Biden has 17 percent despite not actually running and not planning to participate in the first debate.

Various polls have suggested that most of Joe Biden’s support would shift to Hillary Clinton if he announces that he’s not going to enter the race. The first debate on Tuesday, which will feature Clinton and Sanders along with other democratic party candidates like Martin O’Malley and Lincoln Chafee, may end up sending the polls in one direction or the other. But heading into the event, Clinton’s lead isn’t just massive, it’s growing a bit.

October 3, 2015

What I Love About Hillary...

I love that she listens to the issues that we the voters care about and she responds. Her agenda is our agenda.

People criticize her for having focus groups and meeting with small groups and say she is pandering. I think those folks are wrong. Hillary actually listens and she is forming her campaign platform around the issues most important to us as Americans.

Hillary's concerns regarding the issues reflect my own concerns.

I care about Women's rights.
I care about systemic racism in America.
I care about the attacks on Planned Parenthood.
I care about Gun violence in America.
I care about the path to citizenship for immigrants.
I care that college needs to be made more affordable.
I care about escalating prescription drug prices.
I care about voting rights.

These are just a few of the issues I care about and I think Hillary is the one candidate from either party to best be able to address these issues and many more. I think she is the best person we can count on to make progress in achieving what America needs.

September 18, 2015

Hillary is going to win.....

She will win most of the Democratic primaries, most of the delegates, nearly all the super delegates and she will win the General Election as well.

I know many think Bernie is different and everyone will flock to his banner....but fact is that most won't. ....and many of us have been around to see it all play out before. Some virtual unknown captures some people's attention for awhile, rises so far in the polls and then doesn't go anywhere. This is happening just like it has before and more than likely will during the next election.

Most Democrats don't think Bernie has what it takes to win the GE. Most Democrats support Hillary (DU excepted of course). She is winning every national poll among Democrats and will continue to do so. In fact, she will get a rather large bump in the polls when they finally take out the un-candidate Biden from the equation.

America is not going to elect a self-described Socialist, whether he calls himself a Socialist or a Democratic Socialist. Neither are Americans prepared to elect someone who is promoting a Revolution with a price tag of 17 to 18 Trillion.

You can call the front runner Democrat all the names and labels you can think of....Corporate Democrat, elitist Democrat, establishment Democrat, etc. You can complain the front runner never mentions the names of other Democratic candidates and you can complain the press ignores your candidate......it makes no difference....at the end of the day....we know who will be representing the Democratic Party in November of 2016. Her name is Hillary. She will win. That's called reality.

September 5, 2015

Throwing Obama under the bus all for the good of the campaign...

Lately I've seen quite a few threads and posts here throwing President Obama under the bus. Comments like he's not a Democrat, he didn't do what he promised, he sold out to corporate,etc.

May I respectfully remind folks of just how bad a shape the country was in after 8 years of The Republican slime machine? And folks blaming The war in Iraq on Hillary?! .....well Bullshit.

The war in Iraq and the subsequent destabilization of the mid-east lies squarely in the lap of George Bush. It was his administration that went before Congress and the UN and lied about WMDs and you know what? The majority of America bought it hook, line and sinker. A lot of Democrats voted for the Iraq resolution. They were wrong, I thought so at the time, but like it or not, they were representing what the majority views of their constituents was at the time and they were assured by the President of the United States that the evidence about WMDs was golden. At the start of the Iraq war, opinion polls were as high as 79% in favor of it.

Hillary Clinton and other Democrats have since apologized for their votes and admitted they were wrong. I am not a vindictive person, if someone has the courage to own up to their mistakes and admit they were wrong and apologize for it, then I am willing to move on. Especially when you have someone like Colin Powell who was pretty well respected by both parties at one time, enough for Democrats to try and recruit him into the party btw....when someone of his calibre stands on the world stage and assures us there were wmds then a lot of people were going to believe him.

And trying to blame Obama and Clinton for all that is wrong in America and the world is duplicitous. Obama and Clinton have both worked their asses off trying to restore America's reputation around the world. A reputation virtually annihilated by the Bush Administration.

Under Obama, we now have available health care for all Americans. The groundwork for the ACA was laid down by Hillary Clinton decades ago. Yes, Hillary didn't achieve health care for all, but she introduced the premise into the American psyche and allowed Democrats (not Republicans) to map their battle plans thru the minefields of congress, with the Insurance Lobby and rabid republican politicos frothing at the mouth to destroy it any way they could.

The ACA is far from perfect, but it's a damned sight better than what we had before, which was nothing....but a noble idea. Many things in this life do not come easy. The best things in life you have to work hard for.

To dismiss President Obama and Hillary Clinton of not being true Democrats is preposterous and mendacious. It's an argument meant to deflect and we all know who it's meant to deflect scrutiny from now don't we?

August 29, 2015

Why I want Hillary Rodham Clinton to be President

I have supported Hillary Clinton ever since she first appeared on the national stage several decades ago. As a woman growing up in the 60s and 70s I found in her someone I could look up to.

Many younger Americans don't often understand how she shook up the status quo when her husband entered the White House and she was not content to chose new china plates and give tours of the Rose Garden. Here was a First Lady who could actually make a difference rather than just be a hostess.

She came from a middle class background. She went to top schools by virtue of her hard work, study and determination. She was not born with a silver spoon in her mouth and everything she achieved, she worked damned hard for. She became Senior Class President of Wellesley, becoming the first student ever to give a Commencement speech and graduated from Yale Law School with Honors.

She was a key player in getting Bill Clinton elected to the White House both times. Under his Presidency, all of America prospered like never before. Jobs were created, the middle class prospered and the blueprint for health care for everyone was first formed.

Her entire adult life she has championed the cause of a better world for women and children. She has been an advocate around the world for both.

I think she is the best qualified candidate running from either party in this election. She served for 8 years in the US Senate, where she soon developed a reputation for being able to reach across the aisle and work with members of both parties. She also had the very difficult job of becoming Secretary of State after the George Bush years, which had virtually destroyed America's reputation abroad. The damages wrought by the Bush administration were expected to take years to repair. Hillary managed to not only repair and heal the damage in less than 4 years, but she strengthened ties with our allies and created a footprint to follow in the years ahead.

As a professional woman who has worked in a 'man's world' for most of my career, I am here to tell you that being a woman in a workplace dominated by men is not an easy task. A feminist once said that: “Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good." Hillary and other women have lived with that reality their entire lives and live with it on a daily basis.

I don't support Hillary Clinton just because she is a woman. I support her because she is the best qualified candidate for the office of President. The fact that she is a woman, tells me she is better qualified times two from her nearest competition.

I leave you with Hillary's own words that sum a lot up for me:

[img][/img]

July 16, 2015

I'm a woman and I support Hillary Clinton.....

When in 2015, I see someone say that some women won't vote or support Hillary because she didn't leave her husband when their marriage was going through a rocky period, not to mention it was all being smeared across the tabloid press at the time.....tells me that people who say that do not know what Hillary Clinton is all about AT ALL.

I love Hillary Clinton. She has been a hero to me as a woman for much of my adult life. She is a fantastic mother, she's a wife who loves her husband and who has stood by him through thick and thin, for better or worse. She has never, ever run from a fight. For anyone to pass judgement on her for not abandoning her marriage is incredibly sad that they just dont 'get' Hillary.

Hillary has paved paths for women like no woman has before her. She took on the battle for National Healthcare before it's time....but that didn't stop her from trying. She paved the way for what would take two more decades to achieve....and even now, the thought of National Healthcare is still being attacked.

When it comes to women's issues, children's issues, education and other social issues, she has fought for what is important and been a true champion around the world for them.

After 8 years of George Bush, she travelled over a million miles to 112 countries restoring the reputation of America and repairing the damage that the Bush administration had wrought. She was relentless and undaunted and she damned well did her job....and did it better than I think anyone else could. While she was restoring America's reputation she was also still fighting for women's and children's rights around the world.

So if Hillary decided to stay with her husband and decided that her marriage was worth fighting for....all those that want to judge her for doing so can kiss my feminist ass and grow themselves a vagina.

Thank you for allowing me to get up on my soapbox.

July 12, 2015

I like Sanders, really I do......BUT...

I actually like Sanders, but I've always been to the left.

What disturbs me about Sanders is this. He was never a Democrat until he decided to run for President. He is using the party to run. Why after 73 years does he only now decide the Democrats are good enough for him? He's anti establishment and he is running on the premise that he's a fresh face, yet he's playing the system like the best of them do.

It was my understanding that Sanders was initially in this race to drive the party left. With all due respect, is that not a job for an actual Democrat, not a party outsider? And now it seems the tone has changed and he's in it to win it.

He's got a lot of great ideas floating around out there, with absolutely nothing proposed on how to pay for them.

Sanders is not a negative campaigner. That's a wonderful thing, but hey! This is the reality.... National politics for the Presidency is BRUTAL. We know that Clinton is prepared to attack her GOP opponent's position on the issues and hammer home on them. They have been screeching BENGHAZI! BENGHAZI! BENGHAZI! at Clinton for years now and it rolls right off her teflon shield. They have investigated her 8 times about that clap trap and she has slapped them down every single time. When they start yelling SOCIALIST! SOCIALIST! SOCIALIST! at Sanders will he be able to do the same?

It may not matter to me and you that Bernie Sanders has a child out of wedlock. It may not matter that he's a self described Socialist, but you can damn well bet that the Republican party will absolutely crucify him on those two points if it ever comes to him vs a Republican.....and what else is out there on him? The press has not even started to scrutinize him. He is the darling of the left right now because he has not been on the national radar of voters before. He's 73 years old and it has taken him that long to get there. Remember this, the Clintons too were once the darling of the left many, many years ago. They have stood in the blast of the furnace issuing from the right for over 30 years and survived and thrived among the nastiest politics I have ever seen thrown at them. I cannot in good faith say that Sanders will be able to do the same.

I'll also say this. Clinton is 67. If she were to win and win two terms, she would would be 76 at the end of her last term. Sanders is 73, at the end of his first term he would be 78. Could he even have the stamina of going a second round of a national campaign? Would the nation elect someone who would be in his 80's as President? I want a two term Democrat, not a one term one.

These are hard thoughts and questions, but the honeymoon period for Sanders is ending. If it's serious, we need to be asking some serious and hard questions.