Short link for this page:  j.mp/whyhillary 
Please follow @shoq on Twitter for frequent updates;
 

Why Is Hillary Clinton Our Best Option

2016-01-30_23h12_36

I've decided to collect some key reads that I think can inform and educate about why her candidacy makes sense, and why Hillary Clinton winning the presidency is absolutely vital to America's near and long-term future. She is the only practical firewall against a surging radical conservatism that already controls our Congress, our Supreme Court, and most of our state governments. 

My personal view continues below the reading list.
 

Note: I will be updating these lists regularly, I hope you'll keep it handy and share often. I often include short links to make each item or section more easily sharable.

1) Why Hillary Clinton?

  1. How Change Happens —  Paul Krugman >> j.mp/howchange
  2. Bernie lost me … and Hillary Clinton won me over by @lauraClawson >> j.mp/hc_howBSlostme
  3. Was An Ardent Hillary Hater…Until I Read Her Emails >> j.mp/IhatedHRC
  4. Why I’m Supporting Hillary, With Joy & Without Apologies — Joan Walsh >> j.mp/whyHRC2
  5. Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Nomination — New York Times Endorsement >> j.mp/NYTsHRC
  6. Noam Chomsky on why he’d vote for Hillary Clinton? >> j.mp/whyclinton1

2) Why Not Bernie Sanders?

  1. Economist who vouched for Sanders’ big plans is voting for Clinton
  2. Dear Bernie Fans, a Vote for Him Is a Vote for Trump >> —@jaymichaelson  j.mp/bs_isvoting4trump NEW
  3. You’re Damn Right Electability Matters to Black Voters — KeliGoff >>  j.mp/bs_keligoff
  4. I Get Sanders’ Appeal. But He’s Not a Credible President  — Paul Starr  >> j.mp/whyclinton
  5. Why This Millennial Won't Be Supporting Berne Sanders — T. LaFauci >>  j.mp/bernout 
  6. The Fetishization of Not Knowing —Daniel Kushner >>  j.mp/bs_kushner0
  7. On Our Inevitable Disappointment With Bernie Sanders — Matt Orborne >> j.mp/bs_osborne

3) What's At Stake In This Election

  1. The Democrats Will Have a Shell Party if They Don’t Win the White House
  2. The Stakes Of The 2016 Election Just Got Much, Much Higher — @aterkel
  3. Here’s Why the 2016 Presidential Election is So Crucial for Liberals and Everything We’ve Worked For

4) Why Clinton Helps Other Democrats (aka "The Down-Ballot" Issue)

  1. Would Sanders Be a 'Nightmare' for Red State Dems? —Alex Seitz-Wald >> j.mp/downballots
  2. Praise for Hillary Clinton, From a Bernie Supporter — Chris Reeves? >> j.mp/HRCpraise

5) On Wall Street Influence and Corruption Smears

  1. Clinton never voted for a notorious bankruptcy bill that was passed in 2005 >>j.mp/HRCbanks
  2. Goldman Sachs regularly invites leading thinkers to share their views and expertise >> j.mp/HRCgold
  3.  An example of a typical Clinton Speech to Goldman Sachs >>  j.mp/hrcgoldman  
          

6) About The Sexism And Double Standards

  1. A History of Things Said About Hillary Clinton — by @cmclymer >>  j.mp/hc_clymer
  2. Election's Secret Theme: Letting Women Know Who's Boss — by @addiestan >>   j.mp/bs_addiestan
  3. An All-Caps Explosion of Feelings Regarding the Liberal Backlash Against Hillary Clinton >> j.mp/HRCcaps
  4. The debate over “Bernie Bros” isn’t about Bernie Sanders at all •  by Amanda Taub >> j.mp/amtaub1
  5. Since the Press Says Hillary Shouldn’t Raise Her Voice, I WILL • By David Brock
  6. People Won't Stop Criticizing Hillary Clinton For Raising Her Voice

Short link to this section: j.mp/hc_sexism

7) The Right Wing Has Been Actively Promoting Sanders Since Early 2015

  1. Republican Operatives Try to Help Bernie Sanders
  2. The Right Baits the Left to Turn Against Hillary Clinton

8) How The Right Would Attack Bernie Sanders In A General Election

The right is playing a game. They're pushing Sanders so he knocks Clinton out. Once that is done, they would hammer home just the word "socialist" which, according to Pew Research, is the American voter's least favorite political attribute after "atheist."

  1. HE ENEMIES WITHIN: Bernie Sanders (this is amateur effort. Image a professional attack._
  2. Bernie’s Strange Brew of Nationalism and Socialism
  3. How much of a socialist is Sanders?

9) Liberal Intellectual Icons Like Hedges & Chomsky Have Deep Doubts About Sanders

  1. Noam Chomsky: Bernie Sanders can’t save America
  2. Noam Chomsky Says GOP Is 'Literally A Serious Danger To Human Survival’
  3. Bernie Out of the Closet: Sanders’ Longstanding Deal with the Democrats

10) On Super Delegates And Clinton Conspiracy Theories

  1. Why Superdelegates Exist [for good reasons] (The short version)
  2. What are superdelegates? (The more detailed version)  — by HowStuffWorks
    Included above, Sander's Sr. Strategist, Tad Devine supports superdelegate system

                 2016-02-14_13h28_05

11) What are the Milestones In Hillary Clinton's Life?

  1. We mostly see only the media's relentless portrayal of a comic book villain named Hillary Rodham Clinton.  This video captures a few of the  times, forces, and experiences that shaped this woman's development as a political figure, a human being, and a persistent advocate for incremental progressive change.  

          

Short link to this section: j.mp/hc_milestones

12) Fact Checks and Debunkers

  1. Fact Checking Absurd Memes Attacking Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders
  2. Fact-Checking Political Memes—the Real Sanders and Clinton j.mp/hc_factcheck0
  3. Correct The Record

13) Why I personally support Hillary Clinton for President in 2016

 

As a utopian socialist deep in my core being, I personally like and respect Bernie Sander's overall concern and passion for reforming America. But like many pragmatic Progressives, I know that without first attaining solid progressive majorities at both the national and state government levels, his ambitious goals are simply fantastical overreach, served up as delicious election campaign candy to frustrated and hungry citizens, but which even he, a seasoned legislator, knows are completely unattainable in our current political predicament of polarized Republican control of Congress and the Supreme Court.

While a Clinton administration would also have Republican obstructionism to confront, Mrs. Clinton has the temperament, skills, and experience to do as Barack Obama did: the best job anyone can in a bad situation, trying to incrementally govern our way back to control of this nation.  And as Obama learned, our presidents must not only deal with this Tea Party-led irrationality that divides us on domestic matters, but also conduct ourselves rationally on a national stage as well.   And there too, Hillary has the knowledge and patience for the myriad of global economic, security, and military issues we will face in the next 8 years. 

Bernie Sanders is passionate about addressing wealth inequality which every reasonably informed person agrees is an important long term goal of most progressives and free people everywhere. But by some of his own admissions—or remarks or behaviors made clear in public forums—Sanders has a very narrow range of experiences and skills at both the executive branch of government, and in the global arena where each and every day a superpower must conduct itself like one. That requires a very different skillset, and has very different consequences than does aggressively campaigning for president based on a few core promises with a seductive popular appeal.

Our next president cannot just shout our needs and demands to the rest of the world as a populist candidate is free to do in our new, totally free-wheeling, anything-goes style of political campaigning in 21st century America.  Our president must present to the world, and our nation, equal measures of reason, respect, and resolve.  Hillary Clinton has a trusted record with all three.

 

 

Note: If you have pieces you think should be in this list, please send them to be via my contact link above.

Short link for this page:  j.mp/whyhillary 
Please follow @shoq on Twitter for frequent updates;