Many people I know are still subscribing to a “lesser of two evils” view of this presidential election. They despise Donald Trump, but view Hillary Clinton as only a little bit better — barely worthy of their vote, mainly to keep the orange menace out of the White House. Some disgruntled progressives I know are even planning to cast a protest vote for Jill Stein or Gary Johnson.
I’ll admit that several months ago, when it became clear that Bernie Sanders would not be the Democratic nominee, I was deeply disappointed and was only willing to vote for Hillary Clinton as the lesser of two evils. I never seriously considered voting third party, but I also never seriously considered the possibility that I could be proud to vote for Clinton.
As time has gone on, I have found myself respecting Hillary Clinton more and more. Despite her imperfections, I have even grown to like her.
I can now say that I will proudly cast my vote for the next president of the United States, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Why the change of heart?
It has nothing to do with recent revelations about Donald Trump’s penchant for sexual assault, his failure to pay taxes, or any of his other many scandals. I always knew that Trump was a severely morally compromised human being. Nothing that has come out about him over the course of the campaign has been a surprise to people who were paying attention and considering what was already known about his character objectively.
What has filled me with pride at the thought of voting for Hillary Clinton is what I have learned during the campaign about Hillary Clinton. I have learned that she responds with both strength and grace under fire — a very important ability that will serve her well as president. She stood on the debate stage and deftly fended off some of the most vile, vitriolic, personal attacks that any presidential candidate has ever had to contend with — all while her opponent, a man who appeared to be almost twice her size, was literally breathing down her neck with an an angry glare and threatening to put her in prison. After her expert display of iron-willed self-control, levelheadedness, fearlessness and grace, I want Hillary Clinton speaking on behalf of the United States and negotiating with our country’s enemies and allies. I am confident she will do a great job!
But that’s not the only reason I’m proud to vote for Clinton. Perhaps an even more important reason is because of the story of this election, the overarching narrative. I wanted the story of the 2016 election to be about the little guy vs. the power of Big Money. That’s why I supported Bernie. But that’s not what the narrative turned out to be. The 2016 election will go down in history as the election in which America chose between a strong woman — the first woman president — and a boorish man who epitomizes everything nasty and backward that men can be in his attitude toward women.
That is the story of this election. And being as it is, I know which side of that story I want to be on. I want to be on the side of the woman who worked hard, methodically climbed the ladder of success throughout her life, faced down sexism, and won the highest office in the land. That is a story America can be proud of!
Is Hillary Clinton a “typical politician”? Yeah, pretty much — except for the fact that she will be our first woman president. She isn’t a rabble-rousing populist, that’s for sure. But after seeing what Trump has stirred up in America — the horrifying blend of fascism and gross immorality that 40% of Americans are willing to vote for — I’ll gladly take a typical politician, i.e. one who is a competent and generally decent human being and who respects our nation’s institutions.
And you know what? As I have watched this campaign, a sneaking suspicion has been dawning on me that Hillary Clinton may be a better person than most people think. That her work in life and her political career may actually be motivated more by her Methodist faith and a desire to make methodical progress toward social justice than by the caricature of soulless ambition she has been saddled with in the public mind.
So, when I cast my vote for president, for a few brief seconds I will mourn that Bernie Sanders isn’t on the ballot — that the “little guy vs. Big Money” election will have to wait for another year — but for the next four years, and I expect for the rest of my life, I will be proud to say that I voted for Hillary Clinton. I hope you will do the same.