While I am still open to Bernie Sanders pulling off a miracle upset to win the Democratic nomination, I am coming to the point where I realize I must do something very hard in the general election that I think is in the best interests of our nation. If Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic nomination, I will vote for her. My vote should not be viewed as enthusiastic support for Clinton or her policies, but as a protest of all that Donald Trump's campaign has been and will be in the coming months. I ask myself: who is the worst person for the job? The answer, obviously, is Trump and I will vote to make sure he does not come to power as President of the United States.
I have written at length about the Clintons' record and history of policy blunders while in the public eye. I have nearly no confidence in Hillary Clinton's judgment based on her vote to support war in Iraq. The fact that she made speeches to Wall Street for six figure sums knowing financial regulation would be a major subject of discussion in the upcoming presidential election is further evidence of a lack of proper judgment. I find her pandering approach to addressing Black and Brown issues to be dishonest and manipulative considering the fate of many Black and Brown people during her husband's administration and after. And, it is still fresh in my memory how she reacted to being upstaged by Barack Obama with Black voters in 2008.
So, when I say that I am going to vote for Clinton, believe me when I say that I do not take the matter lightly. I almost feel like I am compromising my principles. However, the reason I know my principles are in tact is because I realize the clear and present danger represented by Donald Trump.
Trump would be much worse than a bad president. Sure, his grasp of policy is air thin. His recent foreign policy speech exposed him as a lightweight. The actual policies he does support, like his call for a ban on Muslims entering the country, are sometimes unconstitutional. He has been racist toward Mexicans and Black people. He is snide and nasty with several women. He gives his opponents insulting nicknames. He is about as unpresidential as you can get.
But, worse than that we would be sending a message to two groups of people in the world. To the nation's conspiracy minded, xenophobic band of intolerant conservatives we would be saying that your views are validated in present day America. And, to the rest of the world we will be saying that we are represented by the total fiasco that is Donald Trump. We can not send those messages and staying home on election day, writing in a candidate or actually voting for Donald Trump are all options that will be like lighting simultaneous beacons--one for the nation's political outcasts and another to the rest of the world.
So, don't be fooled into thinking doing anything but voting for the Democratic nominee is a prudent decision. Even though the Democrats revealed an unbeatable coalition in 2008 and 2012, Trump can win in 2016. The recipe for a Trump victory is that he wins Independent voters, reasonable Republicans decide Hillary is a worse option than him and Bernie voters do not turn out for Hillary. I am sure Trump's campaign is hoping many Democratic voters are turned off by Hillary and stay home on election day. In fact, I bet they are planning on it.
Only a vote for the Democratic nominee in the general election can prevent Donald Trump from becoming president and that is exactly what I am going to do. I know many of you will disagree with my decision. We will have to agree to disagree. But, I ask you to think long and hard about the action you are taking by going #BernieOrBust. Bust is a Trump presidency. And, I know you do not want that.