"If you don't vote for the Democrat...the Republican gets elected."
That line of thinking drives me crazy. And every time I get into a debate with a Clinton supporter about her record it's the line they fall back on. I have friends that are Hillary supporters that were directly effected by the awful bankruptcy law she voted for. Politics isn't a team sport. The stakes are too high to vote for someone just because they have a D behind their name.
I recognize that both parties are not "exactly the same" and that there are some significant differences between the two. But PJ, in another thread, you even recognized that neither party stands for the working class. The fact that neither of our major political parties stand for the working class has led us to live in a country with the highest rate of income inequality since before the Great Depression. We live in a country where American corporations of have wealth than any time in history but over half of our public school children live in poverty. And where millions of "middle class" families are one pay check away from falling into poverty themselves. I think it's very clear, from her extensive record, that Hillary Clinton is not the person to address these issues.
I don't want to have a snarky, hostile debate about this with you PJ. And I have gotten (maybe a little) snarky and for that I apologize. You're one of the posters that have kept me coming to this board and I know that on most political issues we probably agree 100%. The same thing applies to most of my close friends who are Hillary supporters.
The reason I get so passionate about this is because every day I go to work with some of those kids who are living in poverty. I get to see the direct effects of kids living in poverty who come to a public school system that is being sold off for profit...by Democrats. With support from Obama's Department of Education.
And every year I see kids die as a result of the current system we live under. Either from gun violence or some other consequence of poverty. I go to work in a school every day where over half of the students and faculty have PTSD. And I know this might all sound like hyperbole if you haven't been exposed to it. But it's not. I could provide a hundred links on the effects of poverty on children. And for anyone that hasn't been exposed to it, I would encourage you to go to your nearest public school in a poverty stricken neighborhood and volunteer. Talk to the staff and administration. Even if it doesn't change your mind, they could use your help.
So that's why this is such an important issue to me. It's why I feel we need a revolutionary candidate. Not more of the same. We need a candidate that WILL stand for people living in poverty and the working class. So I know Bernie Sanders is not a perfect candidate, and I know it's unlikely he'll get the nomination, but I will support him every way I can as long as he's in the race. And people can criticize me all they want but I think the fact that Sanders can run, and people can openly support him, is one of the great things left about this country.
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