First of all, this is America, it is TOTALLY possible that ISIS operatives could sneak into the country across the Mexican border (the part that doesn't already have a wall), and blow up the HQ of the LAPD, and if that happens (God, if You exist, please, please don't let that happen, for so many reasons, don't let that happen.) then Trump's odds of being elected president will increase significantly.
Secondly, Hillary Clinton is not a perfect candidate. I mean, she's a human being and by definition has flaws, but she's also made some serious mistakes of her own that have shaken the confidence of many people who would otherwise offer her full-throated support. It is not out of the realm of possibility that WikiLeaks or Russian hackers or some other entity could find something else dumb that she's done and release it to the world and harm her chances at winning the presidency. People like Thomas Friedman of the New York Times have publicly admonished her for the relationship she had with The Clinton Foundation during her tenure as Secretary of State. In many other elections the mistakes she's made would likely be disqualifying, but not in 2016. It's all relative, people.
And finally, there are the Bernie-or-busters who have decided, against the express urgings of the man whom they admire so greatly, that they will not vote for Hillary Clinton no matter what, and will instead waste their votes on Jill Stein, the Green Party's nominee, come hell, high water, or President Donald Trump. All of the Bernie-or-busters that I know personally are white, and all but one of them is male. I know that Cornel West, who I deeply admire, is a die-hard Jill Stein supporter, but I'll let Dustin J. Siebert address that one.
I can't do anything about the first two variables - whatever will be, will be (God, seriously. Please. I'm begging You here.) - but if I can persuade even ONE Bernie-or-buster to vote for Hillary Clinton, I'll call that a victory. So I'm going to give it my best shot. With assistance from Van Jones and Bill Maher.
At the end of his show on Friday, August 5th, the last episode before a month-long break, Maher urged people to consider their priorities, much like Bernie Sanders has been doing since he conceded the race to Clinton. "From now until election day, everything else, every issue, every fight, every cause, has to take a back seat to defeating Trump. He's like an infection you don't fool around with."
Maher is saying that we have to prioritize. His comparison of Trump to a bad infection is an apt one. People who routinely face complex problems - like physicians - understand the importance of triage. If you don't tackle the most serious problem first, then nothing else you do matters. Americans have serious problems right now, but the most imminent and the most urgent is the prospect of a Trump presidency. If we cannot solve that problem, there is literally no hope for us to gain traction on any of the others.
I'm reminded of Michael Douglas as Andy Shepherd in the film An American President when he says, "We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them."
(P.S. Can Andrew Shepherd run for President? I mean I know he's a fictional character, but he's just soooo dreamy. No? Fine.)
Donald Trump is not a serious person. Hillary Clinton is. But she's not your perfect candidate, you say. She hasn't spent her whole political career fighting for the things Bernie Sanders has, you say. Of course she hasn't! Bernie Sanders has always represented Vermont in Congress - a bastion of liberal values. Hillary Clinton was First Lady of Arkansas, and then First Lady of the United States, and then a Senator from New York - all substantially more conservative constituencies than Vermont. At every turn, she has appropriately represented the people whom it was her responsibility to represent. We have no reason to believe that would change when she is President.
There is this great podcast that W. Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu produce called Politically Reactive and recently they had Van Jones on the show. You should listen to the whole show because Van Jones just drops truth bombs left and right and all over the place like it's his J-O-B. Here, I'll make it easy for you:
The most important thing that Van Jones says on the show, is that it is not the President's job to lead movement for social change. It is the job of the PEOPLE to lead the movements, and it is the President's job to be MOVEABLE. When Van Jones said this I almost had to pull my car over so that I could rewind it, turn it up, put both my hands in the air, and say, "YAAAASSSS!" But then I would have been late to work, so I didn't, but you should if the situation allows it.
Presidents must serve the will of all American people. Unlike Representatives and Senators, who can take more narrow views based on the desires of their constituents, Presidents represent all of us. Therefore, as the dominant opinions of all Americans shift, so must the President. Jones likened President Obama's shift on gay marriage, which aligned with the public's shift on gay marriage, to LBJ's shift on civil rights. In those situations the people lead movements that gained more and more traction, and in turn, our good Presidents responded.
After I thought about it for awhile, I started to wonder if perhaps this is not, in fact, the single most important quality that a President can have. In order for someone to be moveable, it requires other desirable qualities - like intelligence, the ability to think critically, compassion, and empathy. All traits I'd like our next President to have.
Clinton has already demonstrated her willingness to be moved by the desires of the public, because the Democratic Party's 2016 Platform is the most progressive in the history of the party, and has Bernie Sanders' influence ALL OVER IT. I believe that Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are most useful when they are free to represent their specific issues, which they would not be at liberty to do as President and Vice President. They can remain the leaders on the outside, pressing for movement with the American people gathering behind them.
So my question to the Bernie-or-busters, who want what he wants RIGHT NOW, is this: Which of the two candidates who actually have a chance to become President is more moveable on the issues you care about, Donald Trump, or Hillary Clinton?
There is only one possible answer. And that answer is Hillary Clinton. And that is who you should vote for, if, like me, you want what Bernie Sanders and his believers want: a more just and democratic society for all Americans, especially those with the least available means.
I feel the Bern, but this election, I'm with her.
