She is running to perpetuate in her words:
the kind of approaches and values that my husband had and Barack Obama has follows this presidency
.
It is precisely those approaches and values that we progressive Democrats have a problem with.
They have done nothing to help the many Americans who don't have jobs that permit them to pay their bills. They have done lots to lift living standards in other countries, and that is great. But our kids are struggling to find and keep jobs that will permit them to live on their own. As are our pre-retirement older workers.
My neighbor dropped by last night. She has a large family. Good Catholics, homeowners, union workers, college-educated with bright, outstanding, good kids.
But the oldest is still living at home. Two are in community college. The youngest ones are doing well. One is about to graduate from high school. Does anyone understand how much work it takes to raise that many kids to be wonderful, loving, productive, intelligent citizens? It's a life of hard labor and sacrifice. That's what it takes. I admire my neighbor so much. What a wonderful woman. And her husband is just as great too.
Her teenager came home one day and said to her "Mom, you have to vote for Bernie Sanders."
And my neighbor is now a Bernie Sanders supporter. She is what you would expect to be the image of a Hillary supporter. But no. She is fed up with what the Clinton and Obama administrations have done for (or better said, NOT DONE) working people.
For example:
The Clinton/Obama/Biden clan is talking up the TPP.
No way, we say! No more trade agreements of that kind. Our Supreme Court is our highest court. We do not want trade courts. Get rid of the ones we have. And protect our jobs.
We live in California, not that far from the border with Mexico. Nothing against Mexico or Mexicans. They are my neighbors and my good friends. But we can almost smell the smoke from the stacks that used to tower over our workplaces here in America.
Now some areas in America still have a bit of industry. The Northwest is not doing to badly. We still have some. But our industrial base has shrunk. Our union memberships are down to as low as they can get if unions are to survive at all.
There are almost no shoes or textiles made in America. It's all imported. It's all cheap -- but what is happening to skilled craftsmen, seamstresses, people who like to make things in America? Who is even learning to do those things in America today? Yet clothing, shoes, socks, etc. are necessities in life. There are so many items we don't make for ourselves any more. Jewelry??? That we seem to make even today. Art? Lots of American artists. But really practical stuff we buy regularly? Who makes it in America any more. Do we still have a textile industry? Compared to what we consume? And yet people have no jobs?
The job market in the US just sucks for young people and for people over 50.
BUT WHAT ARE BIDEN, HILLARY AND OBAMA PUSHING?????? YET ANOTHER TRADE AGREEMENT, THE TPP, AND THEN YET ANOTHER AFTER THAT. Meanwhile they have not activated voters to change the tax structure so that those making the enormous profits from the agreements we have and the new technology we have, to pay their fair share of taxes. AND HILLARY WILL NOT BE ONE WHIT MORE EFFECTIVE IN THIS REGARD THAN HER HUSBAND OR OBAMA.
Why do I say that Hillary won't be better? Why do I say it with such certainty?
Two reasons: first (from the cynical me), she has no passion for it. She is all calculation and too little passion to push for something that does not improve HER bottom line. Second, her campaign donors don't want to change the direction we are now going with regard to jobs and trade. They made the money they give her by squeezing American workers and the American poor. That's why they can give her the money they do. So why in the world would either they or Hillary want to change the economic situation? Why would someone getting rich off the exploitation of the poor in Mexico, China, the Philippines and elsewhere and off the horrible economy in the US want to change those things?
The incentives in Hillary's life drive her to continue the lousy status quo.
And we want CHANGE.
We have had two Democratic administrations of Clinton-Obama-Biden types and they have done nothing about jobs and pay in America. Obama has tried, but he hasn't been able to get anything done other than through executive orders.
Hillary may say that the Republican Congress is not the fault of the Democratic leadership. I disagree. The Republican Congress is very much, may I repeat VERY MUCH the fault of the Democratic leadership.
The Democratic leadership has failed to strongly present and fight for an alternative to the Republican nay-saying. They have failed to cut the military budget and get the American people behind those cuts so that we can have a balanced budget. They have involved us in struggles all over the world that are none of our business, struggles in which we could play a meaningful supporting role but in which the people in the affected countries have to want self-determination and democracy for themselves badly enough to fight for it as our ancestors did in our country. Outsiders cannot impose self-rule on people who just plain don't want to get along together. Can't be done.
So the problem with Hillary is that no matter how many sweet, detailed plans she draws up and presents, we don't believe that she can fight to get anything done. If all those endorsements in Congress meant anything, we would not be in the mess we are in. Even when Democrats were in the majority in Congress, we could not so much as impeach Bush for lying us into an illegal war, torturing prisoners and spying on and patting down (even killing African-American) law-abiding Americans. (I, a short and friendly lady at 72, was patted down by the TSA just yesterday. Supposedly it was because I was wearing a "heavy" (acrylic) sweater. She had no excuse for patting down my legs. I wore a homemade, thin cotton pair of pants. May have looked odd but it was comfortable. It's OK, but it is a terrible waste of money and time and a violation of my rights.)
Democrats need to fight to get things done, to create a more just society. And Hillary and Bill and their cronies in Congress have not been zealous enough in doing the right things and creating that society.
As for the ACA, Sanders supports Medicare for all. I agree with that. I have several acquaintances and friends who purposely put off having surgeries until they could finally qualify for Medicare. One of them could have well afforded the surgery but just waited. Another was poor and suffered and could barely walk, living in intense pain for many years until she finally qualified for Medicare and had her hip operations. She is now doing extremely well, thank you. She walks like anyone else. That is astounding.
With Bernie's Medicare for all, she could have had her operations years ago and led a more productive and happier life. The return on the national investment in her health would have paid. How stupid to allow people to live in poor health and misery simply because their medical care would cost everyone money.
Bernie has policy plans and programs. He has been talking about them on the radio for years. We know what he stands for. That's why he doesn't have to role out the tedious details that Hillary has to put out there. We know Bernie. Just because the top Democrats mostly pay attention to the big fundraisers doesn't mean that we, the people, only pay attention to the politicos who raise a lot of money.
Hillary is too controlling. That is her problem. That is why people don't trust or like her that much once they hear Bernie.
Hillary's controlling is in her voice. It's in the way she is rolling out her campaign. It's in all the tedious and mostly irrelevant detail of her proposals. Congress has to pass her proposals. So far even when we had Democratic majorities, they haven't. So the detail in her proposals is not much of an argument for her. It's passion and persuasiveness we need. It's Bernie we need, not a lot of talk.
She made an effort to listen to voters? Bernie has been on the radio answering listeners' questions for years. Of course he did not have to spend weeks rolling around Iowa and New Hampshire "listening to voters." He has done that since at least 2004 I think. Ed Schultz is on board with Bernie because Bernie was a regular on Ed's old radio and TV shows.
Bernie is the candidate for 2016. I honestly don't think Hillary can win in a general election. It's Bernie who can!
Feel the Bern!
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