When I think of Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, I always
imagine an enormous rock that weighs thousands of tons and symbolizes American
society. Bernie and Hillary are charged with moving the rock one mile down the
road. Hillary talks of using ropes, winches and pulleys and of humans working
together to slowly move the rock to where it needs to be. Sanders, by contrast,
thinks he can fly over the rock, pick it up and instantly transport it.
This extended metaphor captures the major difference between
these two long-term progressives. Bernie focuses on the final goals, which he implies
are quickly and readily achievable, whereas Hillary focuses on what we can do
now to nudge us to the goals. For both candidates, I think these goals include
a hybrid economy with a strong middle class, bolstered by a government that
provides universal healthcare, keeps quality public education inexpensive or
free, cleans up our environment, fosters the transition to renewable fuels and
protects the rights of all minorities in a secular society that embraces
diversity.
Healthcare provides a good example of their differing approaches
and appeals. Bernie is calling for universal Medicare, which Republicans, aided
by the Dark Money billionaires, will vehemently oppose and use as an issue to
destroy a Sanders presidency. Hillary, who was bruised badly in her own attempt
to install universal health coverage in the 1990s, is right to want to improve
the Affordable Care Act, as opposed to ripping it up and starting from square
one. She wants to push the healthcare rock further to where it would be if the
United States were a European social democracy. Sanders thinks he can pick up
the rock and fling it down the road. Sanders statements on foreign affairs are
similar: he states emphatically that we have to get rid of ISIS in a tone that
suggests that he will do it. But we never hear the details of how. In a sense,
Bernie creates a cult of the strong man who will get it done, just as Donald Trump
has.
The appeal of this superman approach by Trump and Sanders
may reflect the same cultural imperative as the spate of superhero movies that
seem to have dominated the box office over the past 10 years. It would be
lovely indeed if someone could solve the problems by virtue of her-his special
powers—but that would also border on fascism. Interestingly enough, Democratic
voters seem to be splitting by age. Younger voters who have grown up on
superhero culture are gravitating towards Bernie, whereas older voters who have
largely eschewed these comic-book-cum-video-game-cum-special effects
extravaganzas are gravitating towards Hillary.
Sometimes when I look at Bernie Sanders, it’s like looking
into a mirror (although he has more hair on the top of his head and no beard)…Jewish,
an avowed socialist, a bit of a nudge when it comes to intellectual matters. Hey,
that’s me. I can’t help but love the guy.
But when I look at Hillary Clinton, I see someone just as
intelligent, quick-witted, progressive and caring as Bernie. Plus I see a list
of accomplishments which make her perhaps the most qualified person ever to run
for President of the United States, for these
reasons:
·
High intelligence: How can anyone deny that Hillary
is both highly gifted intellectually and a lifetime learner? So is Bernie, BTW.
·
Past experience: Only the rabid right would call
her time in the Senate and as Secretary of State anything other than
successful. Bernie has enjoyed success as the loyal opposition, for which he
should have our undying gratitude. Hillary has actually been in charge and
gotten things done.
·
Lack of hypocrisy: Hillary has never said one thing
and then hypocritically did something else, for example, rail against the
Affordable Care Act and then sign up for Obamacare, as Ted Cruz has done, or
advocate against gays all the while trolling public bathrooms for same-sex
quickies, as Republican Senator Larry Craig did.
·
She admits when she’s wrong (like Obama!): She
admitted her mistake when she voted to allow Bush II to begin the ill-fated
Iraq War and supported the harsh crime laws during her spouse’s presidency that
led to the mass incarceration of minorities for victimless crimes. She also admitted that it was a mistake for
her, like Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell before her, to use her
private email for government matters.
·
She has a cross-cultural understanding of social
cues, which means that she won’t embarrass herself by saying or doing the wrong
thing, as Mitt Romney constantly did during the 2012 presidential campaign. Romney
publicly revealed a secret briefing that many had undergone over the decades
but that everyone else had the good sense to keep confidential. Romney also
broke the cardinal sin of retired Chief Executive Officers, which is not to
criticize the new administration unless involved in a hostile takeover; Mitt
criticized the London Olympics (unfairly, too, as it turned out) even though he
was a past CEO of the Olympic games. Far from making these “bull in a china
shop” mistakes, Hillary seems to enjoy tremendous respect among the people of
the world and world leaders. While Bernie may end up being too abrasive, I’m
sure he will do a better job in representing us among the world’s countries
than any of the Republican candidates would.
·
She is competent running an organization: Hillary
seemed to have done a good job of running the State Department, even during the
Benghazi disaster. The differences between running a small city, as Bernie did,
and the State Department are enormous.
·
Science-based decision-making: Hillary has never
said or written anything that tried to deny science. Contrast with the
Republican candidates: all of them deny science in one way or another regarding
a wide variety of issues, including global warming, science teaching, women’s
fertility issues, gun safety and economics. I’m not saying Hillary is always
right, but that she always reasons from the facts and not from what she wants
the facts to be. So does Bernie.
There are certain issues on which I am closer to Bernie than
Hillary, such as what the minimum wage should be, the abolition of capital
punishment and the possibility of making public universities free to all. But
on some other issues, I prefer Hillary’s stands, such as gun control and the
way by which we will achieve universal healthcare. We’ve already detailed some
of Hillary’s mistakes. As for Bernie,
his neglect of whistle-blowers when he was chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs
Committee looks like a lesser version of Bush II’s approach to Hurricane
Katrina and the Iraq war. His gun stands remind me of the triangulation of
another former president, Hillary’s spouse.
In short, both have made decisions they regret and compromises that make
their true believers wince.
When elected, we can expect Hillary to hit the ground
running because she has lived through the mistakes that young, first-time presidents
like her spouse and Obama have made. She will not need a learning curve—she
already knows the political process with all its pitfalls. Bernie’s
oppositional politics may hamper him as he tries to scrounge up Republican
votes to support needed legislation.
In a recent Facebook exchange, a Sanders supporter averred
that Bernie would not be as large of target for Republican dirt during the fall
campaign. That’s a very naïve statement. Anyone who thinks the Republicans
won’t go after Bernie with a vengeance is living in a dream world. They will
constantly bludgeon him with three large and spiky clubs: They’ll hammer him
about being a godless, un-American socialist. At 75, they will say he’ll be too
old to start a first term as president. They will figure out a dozen code
phrases to remind the public that he’s Jewish. We in our progressive universe
of cities and college campuses don’t care about his religion, but believe me,
there is still a lot of hidden anti-Semitism in the country, especially in
rural areas. Evangelicals will not find it inconsistent to support Israel, but
hate “the Jew.”
Hillary has withstood 24 years of false accusations about
Whitewater, the suicide of Vince Foster, her supposed role in a cover-up of her
spouse’s affairs, Benghazi, her emails and her foundation. She is used to not
melting in the heat of Republican lies. Additionally, many have grown tired of
all the dirt thrown at Hillary that never hits or sticks. We have come to
discount it. The dirt on Bernie will be fresh and therefore make more of an
impact with independents. Finally—and this point is very subtle—the Republicans
excoriate Hillary for what she did and does. They will excoriate Bernie about
what he is—an aging Jewish socialist. You can change what you do, but not who
you are. (For the record, I hope neither Bernie nor Hillary change either!)
Both Bernie and Hillary come off well in debates compared to
the no-nothing liars running for the Republican nomination. But in town hall
meetings and one-on-ones, when there is time to give a more nuanced
presentation, Hillary soars. She thinks on her feet and she has command of the
facts. Her explanations always make sense. She takes no leaps of logic, nor does
she depend on widely-believed myths. She is definitely a progressive. Her style
reminds me of a female Barack Obama—friendly, studied, compromising.
Finally there is the issue of sex. It’s about time we
elected a woman president, years after England, Israel, Germany, India and many
other nations have done so. If we were talking about Sarah Palin or Carly
Fiorina, the sex of the candidate wouldn’t be an issue at all, because both are
incompetent liars. And really, it doesn’t matter in Hillary’s case either. Man
or woman, black or white, gay or straight, Methodist or Muslim—Hillary Clinton
is as qualified to be president by virtue of her abilities and accomplishments
as anyone who has ever run for the office.
Thus, I’m going to continue to give the love to Bernie. But
I’m going to support Hillary Clinton and vote for her in my state’s primary.
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