By SJ Otto
Like it or not we now have two choices for president next November. Both candidates seem to have a lot of hate from their own parties. In all my election years this is the strangest election I've seen in many years.
This was the first year I actually got to vote for a democratic socialist or a socialist of any kind for US president. That is not including when the Communist Party USA ran Gus Hall. My Marxist friends condemned Bernie Sanders and any kind of work for his campaign. They said he was not really a socialist and would really just support the established order. However young people poured out for him in mass all across the country. Even here in conservative Kansas the young got involved and Bernie won by a landslide. This is all good to see. I have not seen anything like this since the 1960s and 1970s. In the early 1970s George McGovern was the most left wing candidate for president I ever remember in my life time. I suppose the only presidential candidate even close would be Franklin Roosevelt. I suppose we could also consider William Jennings Bryan the most anti-imperialist candidate of the last two centuries.
However the system has never welcomed such left-wing people. McGovern was not supported by most of the Democratic Party when he ran. The press gave him lousy coverage. Why then would the political establishment even consider allowing a socialist to run as the Democratic front runner. Bernie ran well in spite of the terrible treatment he got from the Democratic Party and political establishment. The good news is that he may be able to get nominate in the next open election season. Or someone like him maybe able to take the reins. Such changes come with an establishment that is hostile to the left and just nasty towards socialism.
And Bernie can do a lot of good at the upcoming Democratic Convention. According to NPR:
"Speaking at the White House after the meeting, Sanders reiterated that he would compete in the D.C. primary next Tuesday and take his campaign issues to the July Democratic National Convention. He also affirmed his commitment to working on issues of income inequality. "We will continue doing everything we can to oppose the drift that currently exists toward and oligarchic form society where a handful of billionaires exercise enormous power over our political, economic and media life," Sanders said. He added that he looks forward to meeting with Clinton
The meeting came at Sanders' request, according to the White House. According to a statement, the two are expected to "continue their conversation about the significant issues at stake in this election that matter most to America
But Bernie has said he will support Hillary Clinton and get behind her.
"Democrats took giant steps toward party unity Thursday as Bernie Sanders vowed to work together with Hillary Clinton to defeat Donald Trump in November and President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden formally endorsed Clinton
Sanders' decision to continue his White House bid even after Clinton became the party's presumptive presidential nominee has had Democrats on high alert as they seek to quickly change gears and take on Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Sanders' first explicit promise on Thursday to join forces with Clinton
Emerging from the White House after a meeting with Obama that lasted more than an hour, Sanders warned that a Trump presidency would be a "disaster" and that he would "work as hard as I can to make sure that Donald Trump does not become president of the United States
So now we are stuck with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. I agree this is not a great choice. Hillary is an establishment candidate to the max. She is not left-wing, liberal or socialist. But she would be the first female president. She will be in charge of picking the next supreme court judges. She will support Obama Care which does work and does help provide some medical care for lower income people. With Trump we can assume things will go back to the way they were with poor people having few if any real options for healthcare. Poor people in America die earlier than any other industrialized country. We all deserve better than that.
I know of many friends who refuse to vote for Hillary. Some people have built a case that she is untrustworthy and dishonest. But I like to point out that Donald Trump will win if she looses.
It may not matter to everyone but it does matter to me. We can do better than Donald Trump. If Trump wins the entire country and every branch of government will be in the hands of the Republican Party. That is a party that has created a haven for millionaires and billionaires and the rest of us have had to pay for all their privileges. I'm sick of that. I'm sick of Republicans.
Let's vote for Hillary, because it is just plain foolish not to.
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