I have been a lifelong Democrat. I have spent many years actually arguing that Democrats are not as bad as Republicans. Yes, I know that is kind of a silly argument because bad is bad. Just how bad does one have to be to be a better bad than the other guy? I have finally realized that to continue this relationship is akin to continue being married to an abusive partner.
We all know the arguments about spousal abuse but let me share my thoughts about this. The abuser holds all of the cards because the one being abused actually feels powerless. The abuser cajoles us with that thought that they will change. It is kind of like Hillary saying she will actually push for many of Bernie’s ideas; after all, the Democrats have included some on the Democratic platform. Isn’t that proof enough that she will be a better spouse? I think we all know of that spouse that says they will go to counseling and then he/she never goes back after the first session, or the spouse that isn’t going to drink anymore, but goes out on another bender. Even though Hillary, Bill, and Democrats did everything they could to short our votes from Bill showing up at polling places, to magically having many voter registrations disappear or change voting preferences, to white out on Bernie’s name, to many other obstacles put in the way of Independent and Democratic voters, including strange exit polls not matching results, we are now all supposed to hold hands and sing “Kumbaya”.
We all see the abuse coming. We know when we are going to get punched in the gut. We brace for it and hope it isn’t going to be too hard this time. Then when Hillary starts working on Social Security with the Republicans, we better get used to the idea of working longer and having less to retire on. It is then that we will feel that punch in the gut. If you aren’t sure what Hillary will do, well, it’s because she is always saying different things. It depends which audience she is with at the time. http://www.salon.com/2016/04/15/hillarys_social_security_mess_a_frustrating_half_embrace_of_a_good_policy/
Hillary and the Democrats are going to guilt you, just like your abusive spouse. When your spouse tells you to stay to keep the kids together, you feel like your braking up your kids lives for something worse than a parent that abuses the other one. The Democrats will say we must stay with them because of the Supreme Court. That has been the kids in this relationship the whole time. What will the kids do, if we leave our spouse? Heaven forbid what will happen! If you are staying out of fear, the abuse is only going to get worse. How else could these Democrats continue to claim to be against so many things that happened on the Supreme Court like Citizen United and then turn around and embrace them by dismantling prohibitions on receiving money from lobbyist and political action committees? http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/business-a-lobbying/269266-dnc-rolls-back-restrictions-on-lobbyist-donations
Some people put up with abuse because they don’t think they can survive on their own. Their spouse makes the money. How can they ever make it on their own? I can say it is difficult but really don’t you already feel alone? Your spouse may be sitting next to you but he/she is not really there for you. Just like the Democrats, they are only there when they need something. Right now, they need your vote. You have power; you just don’t know it yet. Trust me, as soon as they get it, they will be back to their old philandering abusive ways. If you think you are going to get that health care they promised you, think again. Anyone that has really researched and read about healthcare, whether they are Republicans or Democrats down deep knows the system we have is broken. It is time to embrace single payer. Single payer will cost less for everyone, including business which is what the Republicans should be embracing. At my own school, we have a tiered system. If you want better insurance, you have to pay more. The top insurance in order to insure a family is now pushing the unbelievable number of around $25k a year, a year! Did I say a year? The school has to cough up nearly $17K and the teacher around $8K. Who can afford this besides someone like Hillary and Bill that get $250K for a speech? As to single payer, I will always remember Hillary saying, “Never, ever!”
As you can see, Hillary tends to flip flop on her ideas, not unlike your abusive spouse who can appear so kind and loving one minute and fly off the handle the next.
You can survive without that abuse. In fact, you will grow stronger the longer you stay away from it and start realizing your own self worth. I know it is difficult to leave. You may be Catholic, much like me, and you may be thinking that marriage is supposed to last a lifetime. You have been indoctrinated after all. Maybe your parents were Democrats that talked about FDR and JFK, much like mine did. However, while you were sleeping, your abusive mate switched personalities just like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The Democratic Party is the same way. Many years ago, too many to count, they were a party of principles. They had ideas much like FDR and JFK. They believed in people, not corporations. They stood for minorities and women’s issues, now they stand for corporations! They were the party, you could believe in. Now, they are much like that abusive mate that tells you what he/she thinks you want to hear and then does whatever the hell they want to do.
All of my life, I have stood up for the Democratic Party. I have supplied excuses for them when they put up someone I am not too crazy about for the presidency. They have had some candidates that were really strong progressives, but sadly, they were always taken out and usually by some stupid thing, much like the “Dean scream”, where a mountain was made out of a mole hill. That scream had nothing to do with policy and everything to do with just getting rid of Dean. Then along came Bernie Sanders, a seventy four year old Jewish guy with a passion for the people. I am sure the Democratic Party thought it was a hoot that Bernie was going to run as a Democrat. I can recall many times when different Hillary supporters told us he wasn’t a “real” Democrat and he was a SOCIALIST! Heaven forbid. They failed to remind us that Hillary started out with Republican roots. It was like he was a demon from some dark and dreary place, but we all listened to Bernie. He was the messenger. He was the guy talking policy. He told us our country could be so much better. He told us that there is a future we could believe in and I believed him. I still believe in Bernie.
The Democratic Party has fooled me way too many times. This year, I did my research, just like past years. I learned all about dark money, the Clinton Foundation, Wall Street speeches that I cannot find the transcripts for, and a Secretary of State’s Office that made up their own rules. Hillary Clinton was investigated by the FBI and still may be being investigated. We have been told it is a vast right wing conspiracy but sorry Democrats, I have found out there is some there actually there. Why the Democrats have chosen to put up their weakest candidate shocks me but also make me think they must all be as deeply flawed and corrupt as she is. They know she is lying and yet they keep telling us not to believe what we are seeing and hearing. It is about semantics and that word “is”. How Barack Obama can say she is the most qualified candidate to ever run for office is just mind blowing to me and an insult to every other person that has run for the presidency. Yet, those are the words that her stand-ins keep using, “The Most Qualified” person.
FBI director Comey told us all the terrible things she did to expose our country’s deepest secrets but declined to indict her because of the word “intent”. Intent is hard to prove in any case, but I don’t think the law was written with the word “intent” in it. Now, sometimes laws do say intent. Like the time, many years ago, when I was a juror on a marijuana case where the state was trying to prove that a guy was intending to sell marijuana. When we met as jurors, we all thought it was a stupid case because we didn’t feel they proved intent. How do we know what he intended to do? We knew they had an undercover officer. Why didn’t they wait to see if actually sold the drug? Now, Hillary will have another excuse for perjury charges. She didn’t intend to lie. She thought she was telling the truth. There is such blow back of years of Clinton scandal that I can see that I don’t want a future where we are constantly lied to, by a Democrat no less. It was bad enough when Republicans did it, like “lying” us into war! Just connect the dots with all of these articles and think about what is going on! https://medium.com/@blairerickson/the-iceberg-7eb3ea7a68e2#.tru1ojmq3
We have also been told by both corrupt two parties that we have to choose between bad and worse, that whole lesser of two evil things. We can vote for lying Hillary or lying Donald. Which one is worse? I am a moral person. I am not a liar. I am a person that has convictions and believes in building a better world. I think our youth are the future and I am so worried about that future. What are our kids going to have besides a mountain of debt, poor health insurance, and insecurity? We tell them to go on to school which gives them an ungodly amount of debt. When they get out, they have to deal with predatory lenders which make many of their lives a living hell. Many settle for jobs that are beneath their education. Others delay getting married, buying a house, or other things because they are so stressed about their student debt. When they get their job, they discover that many of the perks have vanished, such as in the world of education. A teacher could usually count on good health insurance and some day, a decent pension. Well, those new young teachers don’t get what the old ones had. I know this is true for many other careers as well. Our youth are getting the shaft. Now, they have this one opportunity to change the world. They could elect a real progressive and somehow through all the Democratic manipulations they are stuck with the Democratic standard bearer of Hillary Clinton. I think having our youth put up with more of same old political shenanigans is the biggest form of abuse imaginable.
So, I, being the good parent I am, will no longer put up with that abuse. I know my child will be better off with a different future. Bernie’s message resonated with me unlike any message in my past. If Bernie Sanders is not the nominee, I will vote for Jill Stein. I suggest that every young person and parent of a young person should do the same. Her stands on the issue are very much like Bernie Sanders. Here is a really good reason to vote for Jill. Just listen to what she is saying and think about how the banks were bailed out. We need a revolution in this country and the only reason a third party can’t make it is because we have never had the guts to go all in and make it happen. I suggest that the time is now. Bernie was a once in a lifetime candidate. We will never have another chance with a candidate like him, at least not in my lifetime. If the Democratic Party is allowed to get away, once again, with their fraud of a primary election, they will become even worse, not better. Don’t let them steal your vote any longer. Vote for who you believe in, not some promise you know will never come.
