The next plea: Third party voters, and anyone who says "I don't like either of them"
I'm going to ask you to vote for Clinton. Vote for her with the full knowledge that she might have a scandal or two, or she might do things you strongly disagree with. Vote for her with the full understanding that when she does something wrong, you and I are a little culpable for that, because we voted for her. I'm asking you to share this burden, and I know exactly what I'm asking you to do, and I'm sorry.
I've always split my ticket. I've voted 3rd party both at the top and downballot. And this year, I'm voting my conscience. I'm voting for the candidate who will keep Trump out of office.
I have other reasons, but that ought to be enough. We have a pool of candidates. One of them is an unpredictable lunatic, one's a career politician, and the others are, frankly, inconsequential right now, because one of those other two are going to win, and we CANNOT LET IT BE TRUMP.
There's been a false equivalency painted between these candidates, as if their failings were comparable. But they are not. Clinton is obviously better prepared, better educated, and is the most experienced and qualified candidate in the race. She is calm, she is competent, she is knowledgeable. She's a policy wonk whose specialty is legal minutia. She's traveled first the country and then the world securing American interests. She knows how it works and will work within the law to change things.
She's also demonstrated she's willing to compromise to better represent her constituents. As the Democratic party moved left with Sanders, so did she, and it is our opportunity and our responsibility to give her the chance to fulfill our requests and hold her accountable for the promises she's made. She knows what the hell she's doing, you guys. Stein has ideas, Johnson has ideas, but Clinton has specific actions plans and follow-through, where she's already talked to economists and done the math. Our recalcitrant Congress will try to stop anything the new President tries to do (even if it's Trump, because that dude does not play ball), and Clinton is the only one with enough contacts and resources to get through. She's disliked, but she has allies, and some are across the aisle from her.
Clinton's biggest sin is ambition, or the appearance thereof, but she has been absolved of criminal wrongdoing in some pretty exhaustive investigations. While her Foundation certainly has the appearance of Pay-For-Play, for example, any deals cut with any donor countries was vetted by 4-6 other unrelated government agencies, and the Foundation has very transparent records and one of of the biggest factors in ending the AIDS epidemic (and, as you know, Trump's charity buys portraits of Trump and settles his lawsuits).
She absolutely will work to increase her personal wealth and standing as president, She will absolutely back military that some of you won't agree with. But she'll do this within the law, and with American interests in mind. She will also champion causes you probably do agree with. She will NOT, though incompetence or deliberate action, do anything that she thinks will harm our country or its citizens. She is dedicated to improving the lives of women, children, and the poor. She is dedicated to improving our schools and reducing student debt. She is dedicated to infrastructure and technology.
And she can be reasoned with. She can change her mind. She can adapt. No candidate is perfect, but, quite honestly, the Democratic platform she's sworn to uphold is the closest it's ever come to my own belief system, and it's pretty amazing how far it's come in just the last decade. I'm optimistic.
I haven't talked about Trump much, because I damn well shouldn't have to. He's the least qualified main-party candidate we've seen in our lifetimes. He's probably a child rapist, absolutely a harasser, a bigot, a liar, an incompetent buffoon with a short fuse and no foresight renowned for losing money and scamming Americans, and in every other way absolutely unqualified for office.
He is also a danger. A danger to democracy. A danger to our country's economic stability and a danger to our physical safety. He'll have nukes, for fuck's sake. He's like a spoiled 12-year-old with NUKES. I can't even express how crazy this is. He couldn't get hired as a Walmart with his record. and we're gonna hand him some NUKES. The he wants to USE.
Stop him. The only way to stop him is to vote Clinton. Join me.
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