I consider myself a feminist, and as much as I would love to vote for a woman for President, it is more important for me to vote for the person I consider to be closest to my interests, and Hillary Clinton just isnt that person.
I have watched Bernie Sanders for quite a few years as this country fell further and further into conservative corporate corruption. I followed Bernie, before I ever knew of Elizabeth Warren. He spoke my language. He believed the things I believe.
I first became aware of him when he voted against the war in Iraq, because I hated that totally fraudulent war and was interested to see who voted against it. Who hated it as much as I did. I listened to George Bush and Dick Cheney and their minions, and I too did not believe them! I had heard Bernie's name come up from time to time on other issues, and wished we had more Senators like him. Bernie has never waivered in his values or his beliefs. He is capable of compromise, but he does not give away the store. He is a true, and tough negotiator and doesn't take important things off the table before negotiations begin. He fights, and fights vigorously for the things he believes in and he has won some battles and lost others, but he is true to his beliefs. He has a tremendous record on womens issues, and those are very important to me. In 1993 he voted against the Hyde act, and in 1994 he voted for the Abortion Clinic Access bill. He believes in the rights of women to have reproductive control over their own bodies, and he trusts women to make those decisions, and he always has. He believes in and fights for equal rights and justice for everyone. He has always supported gay and lesbian rights. In 1994 he voted for the Homosexuality Education amendment. His record on civil rights is as strong as any and stronger than most democrats. He has stood with the Black Caucus in many of their fights, sometimes he was the only white Senator with them. Bernie Sanders has proven that he believes Black Lives matter all his life. In 1994, as a member of the Hose of Representatives he voted against Bill Clinton's crime bill, and made a speech on the floor of the House strongly advocating against it, and in 1996 he voted against Bill Clinton's Welfare Reform bill. He denounced it as cruel! He has a record, and he hasn't had to evolve on it. He has never waivered from it. This is just a small sample of Bernie's record.
I have, of course watched Hillary Clinton for decades now, as we all have and what I see is someone who doesn't have strong core values that she is willing to stick to and fight for. I see someone who is as paranoid of people and the press as Richard Nixon was. Someone who's stated opinion changes with focus groups and polls. One day she says she takes a backseat to no one as a progessive, and the next day declares herself a moderate. Her progressive opinions seem to come from hindsight after making disastrous mistakes, like her vote for the Iraq war. In my opinion, it wasn't a thoughtful position, but it was a popular one. To me, The best that can be said for Hillary Clinton is that she is may be a bit better than what passes as a moderate republican these days, and that is only if polls and focus groups tell her to be. I don't find her principaled at all and when she is opining on issues and saying things I agree with, because I know that she may very well have the opposite opinion the next day depending on polls or on her audience. When she changed her accent as she addressed an audience in South Carolina, that was just insulting. She is as reliable as a chameleon, in that you're always sure she will change to match her environment to blend in. I am unable to trust Hillary to represent the things that are very important to me if there is a conflict between the interests of average citizens and the interests of her very powerful backers. If the election comes down to Hillary and a republican, I would vote for her as a place keeper, but fully knowing that she is not completely trustworthy in that position.
This is why I am supporting whole heartedly and financially, the 74 year old, cranky yankee that says what he means and means what he says and has for over 30 years. I just hope we can get more true progressives to run down the ticket since Bernie is showing them how.