We are strongly endorsing Hillary Clinton for president.
Hillary Clinton has a long record in public service and is well respected among her peers. In fact, when she left her position as secretary of state in 2013, she had an astonishing 69% approval rating.
So why is she such a lightning rod now?
It’s fairly easy to explain. After leaving the administration, Clinton posed a serious threat to the Republican establishment. The GOP and the right wing correctly assumed that Clinton would run for president in 2016 and they knew that they had to take her down if they had any hope of winning the presidency in this election. So they threw everything they had at her to try to tarnish her image. No accusation was too wild for the right-wing radio talk shows, Fox News or right-wing blog echo chamber to believe.
Unfortunately for the Republicans, reality set in.
We’ve all seen Clinton masterfully defeat Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in three highly contentious debates and a highly charged campaign. Those three debates proved why she had such unbelievably high approval ratings a few short years ago. Hillary Clinton is smart, strategic and cool under pressure. There’s no doubt that she could handle the demands of being the president of the United States and advance policies that serve the common good.
When you look closer, you’ll realize that Hillary Clinton has been a target for critics since she was her class’ spokeswoman at Wellesley College’s 1969 commencement ceremony, where she articulated the hopes and dreams of her generation. Her detractors knew that she was a very smart young woman with a lot of promise who they’d have to reckon with in the future. In short, they knew she would work to change the system.
But Hillary Clinton has always worked to shrug off her critics and keep moving forward, as most women in a hostile workplace do. Contrary to Trump, when Clinton is faced with an obstacle, she doesn’t complain, demean others or claim that the system is rigged. Rather, Clinton just works harder toward her goals.
Certainly, the decades-long target on her back has led her to become more secretive and stoic—that’s a natural human reaction to being criticized for threatening the establishment, especially when the establishment is the Republicans who believe they are entitled to a lock on power. But we have no doubt that as president Hillary Clinton will finally prove her critics wrong and lead the nation with energy, integrity and poise.
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Hillary Clinton is the Obvious Choice
That said, there are probably a few readers who are still undecided. You may not like Donald Trump—in fact, you may loathe Donald Trump—or you may have been Bernie Sanders’ biggest supporter and were crushed when he lost to Clinton in the Democratic primaries. Yet you are still hesitant about voting for Hillary Clinton on Nov. 8.
Let’s face the facts: You only have two realistic choices, Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump on Election Day, if you want to participate in helping decide your future. Realistically, voting for a third party candidate is about the same as not voting at all. We don’t have a parliamentary system where minority parties can play a very significant role in forming a coalition government. There are pluses and minuses in our system as there are in a parliamentary system but realistically right now we have a two-party system and one of the most important elections in the last couple of generations.
Hillary Clinton is the obvious choice for the next president.
Yes, Clinton has made mistakes along the way and has taken votes that she’d like to take back in hindsight. Every longtime elected official has the same mixed record—Clinton isn’t some anomaly. You may disagree with some of her positions as being too centrist or too cautious, or even too liberal, but you can’t deny that Hillary Clinton has devoted her entire career to advancing the causes of children, women, people of color, immigrants and, after the disastrous presidency of George W. Bush, the entire United States on the global stage. Her record overall is one created by a pragmatic leader who works well with others and learns from her setbacks to become even stronger.
Let’s talk about the future. There’s no question that a Hillary Clinton presidency would be far better for Shepherd readers than a Trump presidency.
If you care about equal rights for women, including reproductive rights, you should vote for Hillary Clinton. If you want to close the income gap so that working and middle-income families have a fair shot at being financially secure, you should vote for Hillary Clinton. If you believe that climate change is a real and serious problem, you should vote for Hillary Clinton. If you want to respect the Constitution while reducing gun violence, you should vote for Hillary Clinton. If you believe in social justice and giving all Americans opportunities if they work hard and take advantage of them, you should vote for Hillary Clinton. If you believe in civil rights and civil liberties, you should vote for Hillary Clinton. If you believe higher education must become more affordable and accessible to all students, you should vote for Hillary Clinton. If you respect the rights of LGBT individuals and their families, you should vote for Hillary Clinton. If you want a common-sense immigration policy, you should vote for Hillary Clinton. If you don’t want a president who is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s puppet—or anyone’s puppet, for that matter—you should vote for Hillary Clinton. In short, if you care about this country’s future and want to see positive change, you should vote for Hillary Clinton on Tuesday, Nov. 8.
