November 4, 2016

An American Leader: Hillary Clinton

By Glenn

True leadership requires correctly seeing a problem.  A leader creates a realistic plan to solve the problem and then mobilizes followers to put the plan into action.  Only one of the 2016 presidential candidates has been a leader in this election.  Only one candidate has defended the least among us from the vulgar rhetoric of the mob.  That candidate is Secretary Hillary Clinton.

Secretary Clinton has never been shy about tackling the problems America faces.  She has laid out detailed plans to secure Social Security and Medicare.  Clinton is mobilizing an unprecedented majority of Republicans and Democrats who are sick of the division and obstructionism of the past.  Americans have learned from our parents and grandparents that we can get more done together.

Donald Trump, on the other hand, feeds the gossip and the vulgarity.  Will good hearted conservatives really support a candidate who brags about sexually assaulting women in the work place?  Will good hearted conservatives really support a candidate who would turn his back on NATO?  Would good hearted conservatives really support a candidate who failed to pay income taxes while our family members are deployed to fight terrorism?

Over the last 30 years, Republicans have wasted millions of tax payer dollars investigating the Clintons.  What have we learned?  They are human.  They have human faults.  Which one of our lives could stand up to the scrutiny of federal agents pouring over every intimate detail?  And yet, not a single criminal charge has ever been brought against them.  The goal was simply to smear them with gossip and vulgarity.

Why did these relentless assaults bear false witness?  The Clintons have led the fight against trickledown economics since the 1990s.  During the Bill Clinton administration, he raised taxes on the wealthy, balanced the budget and reformed welfare.  The result was a thriving economy that worked for all Americans.

Now, Trump wants us to believe that a crude version of George W. Bush’s policies will make our lives better.  It didn’t work the first time.  Why would it work this time?  Slashing taxes on billionaire and millionaires will only put Social Security and Medicare at risk.  Tax cuts at the very top will also hinder our ability to pay our troops in the field and support our veterans at home.

Over the years we learned much about Secretary Clinton.  She is basically an Eisenhower Republican.  Ike built the interstate highway system.  Ike protected the Civil Rights of school children.  Ike stood tall abroad without engaging in risky overseas adventures.  Clinton has studied and learned our history, and her job experiences have taught us much about her grace and grit.

Despite Donald’s Hollywood celebrity status, however, he is a blank slate.   Every week a new revelation exposes his lack of self-control.  How can a man fight for “liberty and justice for all” when he insults women who oppose him?  How can he deal with heads of state when he refuses to do his homework?  How can he fight for decent wages when he refuses to pay his workers at the end of a job? Insults and ignorance may be popular on the internet, but as President of the United States of America, we deserve better.

My mom and dad raised me to believe in America.  America is the land of opportunity, a nation of justice and the home of the brave.  We’ve made our share of mistakes as a nation.  Never in our history has a politician so openly called on voters to turn their backs on their neighbors and their values.  Leaders don’t incite fear.  They chart a path forward.  Leaders call us together to solve problems.  Only Secretary Clinton has asked us to be an American leader.

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