political stuff
My favorite campaign slogan so far this season: Hillary has the 1%. Bernie has the 99%.
As may surprise absolutely none of you, I'm all in for Bernie Sanders. I have never been an enthusiastic supporter of Mrs. Clinton; back in 2008 I was a reluctant supporter who became a very optimistic and enthusiastic supporter of Barack Obama.
...yeah, I'm disappointed with Obama, but he's also a liberal Republican president and I'm about as far left as you can go, so I was always going to be disappointed. I don't think he's had a fair shake of it by any stretch of the imagination but what's really, really left me unhappy is his push to approve the TPP, which I think is a horrible thing and should get a lot more debate before it potentially gets approved, including the chance for actual citizens to see what the fuck is in it. Sorry, Barack, I don't just trust you to do the right thing.
Anyway. I am still very reluctant to support Hillary. I will hold my nose and vote for her if I have to, or given that I'm in a reliably blue state might actually write in another candidate. I want a woman president in my lifetime--but I don't want her. I think she's bought and paid for by whoever gives her the most money, and she changes her opinions based on what's polling well or what's convenient at the time or what her donors want. Yes, she's accomplished a fair bit and she's qualified and she's definitely better than any Republican clown we could get...but I don't have to be enthusiastic about it and I don't have to want to vote for her. If she gets the nomination--which, to be fair, is probable--I don't intend to donate one penny to her campaign (I gave to Obama in 2008 and 2012) and I don't intend to do anything but hold my nose and vote.
Bernie Sanders actually gives me hope that American politics can be better than the travesty it currently is. I thought that about Obama, too, but Bernie's political beliefs actually match mine. Bernie is an unapologetic progressive, and oh, do we need one of those. We need one so, so badly.
Would he be able to accomplish anything with Congress? I don't know. Would he be electable in a general campaign? I also don't know. But I'm not counting him out. I've already given to his campaign, I set up a recurring monthly donation for the next few months, and if he comes out here I will do my best to knock on doors and call people and convince them they should vote for him. (If I have time.) Bernie gives me hope that there are still decent people in politics, somewhere, and they're not all slaves of the 1%.
I realize I'm chasing a pipe dream, maybe, but Hillary was considered inevitable in 2008 and look what happened. Bernie's candidacy gets people excited in a way most people aren't about Hillary. Even Democrats who support her are kind of like "Welp, she's the best we've got." Meanwhile I see people sharing Bernie's quotes or comments or pictures and being enthusiastic about him, actually wanting him to win instead of "Well..."
Maybe I'm in a bubble, I don't know. I do live in a very liberal area, and other than one friend we don't discuss politics with most of my friends are lefties like me. Maybe I'm tilting at windmills.
But I have hope, and that's a powerful thing. "Yes We Can" became "Yes We Did", when no one thought it was possible, this skinny first-term senator from Illinois. I still think he's been a good president, on the whole. I just wish he'd stop pushing the TPP so hard but anyway. If Bernie can tap into the same desire for change, for hope...then maybe we can do this again.
There have been a couple articles in the NYTimes lately that do give me a bit of optimism. One is an article talking about how Hillary's campaign is trying to capture big donors, and most of them just...aren't all that interested in giving yet. I'm sure eventually they will, because they won't have a choice if they want a Democratic president, but right now people aren't too keen to step up.
The problem with Bernie is that he needs money if he's going to run a successful campaign and no one has much of that these days except the people who probably don't want him to get elected. But if Obama could raise so much from small donors, maybe he can too.
I did see this encouraging article in the Times: Bernie Sanders Gains Momentum in Iowa It's not much, but it's hope, and right now that's what I'm hanging onto.
This entry was originally posted at http://blueraccoon.dreamwidth.org/1339726.html. Please comment there. |
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As may surprise absolutely none of you, I'm all in for Bernie Sanders. I have never been an enthusiastic supporter of Mrs. Clinton; back in 2008 I was a reluctant supporter who became a very optimistic and enthusiastic supporter of Barack Obama.
...yeah, I'm disappointed with Obama, but he's also a liberal Republican president and I'm about as far left as you can go, so I was always going to be disappointed. I don't think he's had a fair shake of it by any stretch of the imagination but what's really, really left me unhappy is his push to approve the TPP, which I think is a horrible thing and should get a lot more debate before it potentially gets approved, including the chance for actual citizens to see what the fuck is in it. Sorry, Barack, I don't just trust you to do the right thing.
Anyway. I am still very reluctant to support Hillary. I will hold my nose and vote for her if I have to, or given that I'm in a reliably blue state might actually write in another candidate. I want a woman president in my lifetime--but I don't want her. I think she's bought and paid for by whoever gives her the most money, and she changes her opinions based on what's polling well or what's convenient at the time or what her donors want. Yes, she's accomplished a fair bit and she's qualified and she's definitely better than any Republican clown we could get...but I don't have to be enthusiastic about it and I don't have to want to vote for her. If she gets the nomination--which, to be fair, is probable--I don't intend to donate one penny to her campaign (I gave to Obama in 2008 and 2012) and I don't intend to do anything but hold my nose and vote.
Bernie Sanders actually gives me hope that American politics can be better than the travesty it currently is. I thought that about Obama, too, but Bernie's political beliefs actually match mine. Bernie is an unapologetic progressive, and oh, do we need one of those. We need one so, so badly.
Would he be able to accomplish anything with Congress? I don't know. Would he be electable in a general campaign? I also don't know. But I'm not counting him out. I've already given to his campaign, I set up a recurring monthly donation for the next few months, and if he comes out here I will do my best to knock on doors and call people and convince them they should vote for him. (If I have time.) Bernie gives me hope that there are still decent people in politics, somewhere, and they're not all slaves of the 1%.
I realize I'm chasing a pipe dream, maybe, but Hillary was considered inevitable in 2008 and look what happened. Bernie's candidacy gets people excited in a way most people aren't about Hillary. Even Democrats who support her are kind of like "Welp, she's the best we've got." Meanwhile I see people sharing Bernie's quotes or comments or pictures and being enthusiastic about him, actually wanting him to win instead of "Well..."
Maybe I'm in a bubble, I don't know. I do live in a very liberal area, and other than one friend we don't discuss politics with most of my friends are lefties like me. Maybe I'm tilting at windmills.
But I have hope, and that's a powerful thing. "Yes We Can" became "Yes We Did", when no one thought it was possible, this skinny first-term senator from Illinois. I still think he's been a good president, on the whole. I just wish he'd stop pushing the TPP so hard but anyway. If Bernie can tap into the same desire for change, for hope...then maybe we can do this again.
There have been a couple articles in the NYTimes lately that do give me a bit of optimism. One is an article talking about how Hillary's campaign is trying to capture big donors, and most of them just...aren't all that interested in giving yet. I'm sure eventually they will, because they won't have a choice if they want a Democratic president, but right now people aren't too keen to step up.
The problem with Bernie is that he needs money if he's going to run a successful campaign and no one has much of that these days except the people who probably don't want him to get elected. But if Obama could raise so much from small donors, maybe he can too.
I did see this encouraging article in the Times: Bernie Sanders Gains Momentum in Iowa It's not much, but it's hope, and right now that's what I'm hanging onto.
This entry was originally posted at http://blueraccoon.dreamwidth.org/1339726.html. Please comment there. |
comments