Yesterday the L.A. Times published an OpEd by Bernie, explaining why he's voting for Hillary Clinton, basically an establishment candidate of the status quo with whom we all just spent a year contrasting with the reform-minded-- even revolutionary-- Sanders. Stating the obvious, he starts with a gentler lesser-of-two-evils argument: "Trump would be a disaster and an embarrassment for our country if he were elected president. His campaign is not based on anything of substance-- improving the economy, our education system, healthcare or the environment. It is based on bigotry. He is attempting to win this election by fomenting hatred against Mexicans and Muslims. He has crudely insulted women. And as a leader of the “birther movement,” he tried to undermine the legitimacy of our first African American president... On virtually every major issue facing this country and the needs of working families, Clinton’s positions are far superior to Trump’s." Yep, that, plus 'let's elect a woman president,' are the basic arguments for voting-- perhaps with a clothespin-- for Hillary.But Bernie has some positive things to say about the Democratic Party nominee who he nearly beat in the primaries-- and probably would have had she and her allies not cheated, both nationally-- thanks Debbie Wasserman Schultz and her contemptible DNC-- and state by state. "In these difficult times, we need a president who will bring our nation together, not someone who will divide us by race or religion, not someone who lacks an understanding of what our Constitution is about." He says their campaigns "worked together to produce the most progressive platform in the history of American politics" and asserts that she "understands that Citizens United has undermined our democracy" and "will nominate justices who are prepared to overturn that Supreme Court decision, which made it possible for billionaires to buy elections." He may be proven right. We'll probably soon see. There's an implication in his OpEd that he find her trustworthy and believable. I respect his opinion and insight but I'll have to take a wait-and-see approach on that one.
Clinton understands that in a competitive global economy we need the best-educated workforce in the world. She and I worked together on a proposal that will revolutionize higher education in America. It will guarantee that the children of any family in this country with an annual income of $125,000 a year or less-- 83% of our population-- will be able to go to a public college or university tuition free. This proposal also substantially reduces student debt.Trump, on the other hand, has barely said a word about higher education.Clinton understands that at a time of massive income and wealth inequality, it is absurd to provide huge tax breaks to the very rich.Trump, on the other hand, wants billionaire families like his to enjoy hundreds of billions of dollars in new tax breaks.Clinton understands that climate change is real, is caused by human activity and is one of the great environmental crises facing our planet. She knows that we must transform our energy system away from fossil fuels and move aggressively to energy efficiency and sustainable energy.Trump, on the other hand, like most Republicans, rejects science and the conclusions of almost all major researchers in the field. He believes that climate change is a “hoax,” and that there’s no need to address it.Clinton understands that this country must move toward universal healthcare. She wants to see that all Americans have the right to choose a public option in their healthcare exchange, that anyone 55 or older should be able to opt in to Medicare, and that we must greatly improve primary healthcare through a major expansion of community health centers. She also wants to lower the outrageously high cost of prescription drugs.And what is Donald Trump’s position on healthcare? He wants to abolish the Affordable Care Act, throw 20 million people off the health insurance they currently have and cut Medicaid for lower-income Americans.During the primaries, my supporters and I began a political revolution to transform America. That revolution continues as Hillary Clinton seeks the White House. It will continue after the election. It will continue until we create a government which represents all of us and not just the 1 percent-- a government based on the principle of economic, social, racial and environmental justice.I understand that many of my supporters are disappointed by the final results of the nominating process, but being despondent and inactive is not going to improve anything. Going forward and continuing the struggle is what matters. And, in that struggle, the most immediate task we face is to defeat Donald Trump.
I'll take his OpEd under advisement. There was another OpEd for Hillary, this one written by a former acting director of the CIA, Michael Morell, in the NY Times yesterday. Morell, an establishment guy who is also known as a CIA torturer, works for a Clinton-connected firm and is pushing key Clinton talking points that Trump is a scary monster and super creep who also happens to be a Putin puppet. "I am neither a registered Democrat nor a registered Republican," the disreputable neocon wrote. "In my 40 years of voting, I have pulled the lever for candidates of both parties... On Nov. 8, I will vote for Hillary Clinton. Between now and then, I will do everything I can to ensure that she is elected as our 45th president."
Trump has no experience on national security. Even more important, the character traits he has exhibited during the primary season suggest he would be a poor, even dangerous, commander in chief.These traits include his obvious need for self-aggrandizement, his overreaction to perceived slights, his tendency to make decisions based on intuition, his refusal to change his views based on new information, his routine carelessness with the facts, his unwillingness to listen to others and his lack of respect for the rule of law.The dangers that flow from Mr. Trump’s character are not just risks that would emerge if he became president. It is already damaging our national security.President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia was a career intelligence officer, trained to identify vulnerabilities in an individual and to exploit them. That is exactly what he did early in the primaries. Mr. Putin played upon Mr. Trump’s vulnerabilities by complimenting him. He responded just as Mr. Putin had calculated.Mr. Putin is a great leader, Mr. Trump says, ignoring that he has killed and jailed journalists and political opponents, has invaded two of his neighbors and is driving his economy to ruin. Mr. Trump has also taken policy positions consistent with Russian, not American, interests-- endorsing Russian espionage against the United States, supporting Russia’s annexation of Crimea and giving a green light to a possible Russian invasion of the Baltic States. In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr. Putin had recruited Mr. Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation....My training as an intelligence officer taught me to call it as I see it. This is what I did for the C.I.A. This is what I am doing now. Our nation will be much safer with Hillary Clinton as president.
