More like Reagan than FDR: I’m a millennial and I’ll never vote for Hillary Clinton

[Fawke Em]

I am a 27-year-old, politically active, progressive millennial voter. I am a political junkie; my background is political science and American history. However, if Hillary Clinton gets the nomination (a big “if”), I will likely not vote for her, and will instead write in “Bernie Sanders” … and I encourage my readers to do so as well.

I never thought I would be encouraging people to not vote for the Democratic nominee for president. Looking at 2012, history illustrates that the only way to change politics is through primary elections: If you want change, vote for the party aligned most closely to that change, and participate in primaries, but when it comes to the general, select the “lesser of two evils.” However, I am disgusted with how the Democratic Party is resisting that process.

The DNC’s actions regarding the number of debates, the scheduling of those debates and the treatment of the candidates is disgraceful, and undemocratic. Debbie Wasserman Schultz has disappointed me as a young, active Democrat. The second debate was on a Saturday night, and the viewership was predictably small. In fact, three of the seven debates are scheduled for Saturdays. The DNC’s leadership has seemingly aligned itself with Hillary Clinton, someone who, in my opinion, is an unqualified candidate for the following reasons:

http://www.salon.com/2015/11/30/more_like_reagan_than_fdr_im_a_millennial_and_ill_never_vote_for_hillary_clinton/

[LiberalArkie]

1. This one was posted earlier, so I think I will put in the same remarks I gave someone on

the other one who said they felt the same way.


I am 67 and I feel almost like that, but I will vote for HRC anyway. I really disliked

Blanche Lincoln and the games the Arkansas Democratic party pulled during the primary, but I still voted for her. The Primary is where you voice your objection with a candidate, not the General. You just hold your nose and push the button. Just like all the Hillary supporters will do here if Bernie is the nominee. The General is where we support the Democratic party nominee. Because the alternative is something that we do not want to think about.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

7. You give away any power you have that way.

Unless you are willing to risk the consequences, you'll NEVER get better candidates, only slowly ever worse ones over time. Voters who do what you're suggesting are exactly how the party got where it is in the first place.

[LiberalArkie]

10. Yea, I know, But

[Fawke Em]

9. Sorry... didn't see it.

Mods: feel free to blend the two thread.

[merrily]

29. You're voting for Clinton? I thought so, but weren't you posting in the Bernie Sanders Group?

[LiberalArkie]

34. Not in the primary. But I will vote who ever our candidate is in the general.. I really want Bernie.

[merrily]

36. Your words in Reply #1: "I will vote for HRC anyway."

Candidly, the feeling I have had from the totality of your posts is that you are basically a fan of both Clintons.

[LiberalArkie]

37. I am sorry, way back to another thread the poster was saying that if Bernie was not

the nominee, that the poster would not vote for Hillary. I disagreed and said that yes I would hold my nose and vote for Hillary, just like I had to vote for Blanche Lincoln a few years past. I would much prefer that we had a real liberal in office, someone who might be able to push the nation back to the left a little.

[Wilms]

2. The author lives in New York. So not a huge deal.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/walker-bragman/

If it is a contested state, that's a dangerous strategy.

[LiberalArkie]

4. I know, and it is the principle of the thing. I thought the same way when I was that age.

I am just lucky that I never had to test myself. I think the only election I ever did not vote was a local school election.

It is just too easy to get in the habit of saying "There isn't anyone I like, so I am not going to vote" That is more than likely our voter turnout is so low.

I think that if I did not vote my Socialist granddad or my Republican father would rise out of the grave and slap me beside the head with a 2x4.

[Wilms]

6. Well, the author said he'd write-in Bernie.

And since it's NY...

[merrily]

30. Depends on how one defines danger.

[shraby]

3. I have 2 words for someone who won't vote Dem if the nominee is Hillary...

Supreme Court. I'd vote for the Easter Bunny if it were the Dem. nominee rather than let the republicans put anyone on the court in the next few years.

[LiberalArkie]

5. ^^^^^^^^^^^

Good Point

[Fawke Em]

8. I'm not there.

Sorry. I simply can't vote for Hillary Clinton. I don't trust her and I'm tired of the Party foisting corporate Dems on me. I won't vote for a Republican, either. I'll go green.

Luckily, I live in a solid red state, so it doesn't matter.

[LiberalArkie]

12. I was the same way about Blanche Lincoln. In the end the State Democratic party

screwed up and made her the candidate and she lost it to Rep. John Boozman. Her primary challenger was Bill Holter who I feel would have won. He almost did, but the state party shrunk the number of polling places for Hot Springs down to 1. That was his home county and he lost the primary by very few votes.

[liberalnarb]

16. Exactly!

I'd vote for Hillary if she was the nominee because I'm more scared of the republicans then I like her.

[in_cog_ni_to]

17. Hmmm...

"SUPREME COURT" why isn't that on the shoulders of the people who don't vote for Bernie in the Primaries? IMCPO, This country gets what it deserves. They choose not to vote for a man who is our modern day FDR, they deserve a RW SCOTUS. Bernie is running ONLY to help We The People, not Corporations. If people choose Corporations over their fellow citizens, they deserve what they get. It's that simple. The SCOTUS turning rabid right, lies at the feet of Hillary supporters, not at the feet of principled voters who choose to vote their conscience and HELP THEIR FELLOW CITIZENS OVER AN OLIGARCH. Look at Clinton's top donors and tell me, with a straight face, she chooses to represent WE THE PEOPLE over CORPORATIONS, BIG BANKS AND WALL ST. She doesn't. Principled people /voters are obligated to vote their conscience.

How many times are we going to let TPTB, CORPORATIONS and the DNC select our candidate for us? WE THE PEOPLE are suppose to do that with our votes. It's in that thing called, "The Constitution."

PEACE
LOVE
BERNIE

[shraby]

19. The fact remains, a Democrat at the top of the ticket is better than a republican seven

ways from Sunday. I shudder to think of what the Supremes make-up will be with a republican president if any of the hard liners decides to retire or dies during that time.
It's imperative to elect a Dem president!
I would prefer Bernie but if he can't get there, I WILL vote for the Dem. who does.

[in_cog_ni_to]

20. Seriously,

they've already subverted our election system by stopping a vote count and appointing a President instead if letting the actual votes count - newsflash, GORE WON THAT ELECTION - and by allowing Citizens United and demolishing the Voting Rights Act - "The Supreme Court struck down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act on Tuesday, the provision of the landmark civil rights law that designates which parts of the country must have changes to their voting laws cleared by the federal government or in federal court." Have you noticed Congress hasn't bothered ti change that? Without a FAIR voting system, not much else matters.

This fear mongering over the SCOTUS, IMCPO, is meaningless. Things in this country can't get much worse than they already are, but they CAN get immensely better if you vote for Bernie! If you don't vote for Bernie to better this country, to help the 'least of these', to employ the unemployed, to rebuild our infrastructure, to give a college education to the populace, etc., you deserve a rabid RW SCOTUS because you chose to have one. Hillary cannot win the GE, so I refuse to be blamed for the GOP coming out in droves to vote against her. That's not anyone's fault but those who voted for the CORPORATE OWNED candidate who is Hated with a burning passion by the Teabaggers/GOP.

And NEVER FORGET which candidate voted for the IWR
Supports Prisons for Profits

Has Top donors from WALL ST. who stole $12.8 TRILLION of OUR tax money by getting bailed out of their crimes they committed which brought this country (and the Global economy) to its knees.

Supports FRACKING

VOTED for the bankruptcy bill which disproportionately hurts women and children

Supports the TPP

SUPPORTED THE XL PIPELINE
And supports tax cut loopholes. <--------------- If you vote for all THAT, a Rabid RW SCOTUS is nothing in comparison.

PEACE
LOVE
BERNIE

[artislife]

22. yup,yup, yup, and yup.

They are counting on everyone to just get in line. They don't feel that H has to earn the left's vote. But she is ready to "earn" other votes...why not ours?

[haikugal]

27. Exactly.....this is it people...vote Bernie or you can forget it, it's over.

I love your posts, thanks for saying what needs to be said and doing it so well.

[in_cog_ni_to]

38. Thank you, haikugal.

That's very kind of you.

PEACE
LOVE
BERNIE

[jmowreader]

28. Stop shuddering. You KNOW what the Supremes' make-up will be...

Roy Moore will be the FIRST guy they will put on the Court.

[merrily]

31. And I have some links for anyone attempting to use SCOTUS that way.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=853599

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=878221]]

[Jarqui]

11. Agree with many things in the article except I would support Hillary if she beat Bernie

I won't give the GOP anything

[malokvale77]

13. I love the millennials.

Although all us 99%ers are getting screwed, it is the younger generations that will hurt the most.

Fight this shit with all ya got.

[senz]

15. +1000. Well said. nt

[malokvale77]

21. Thank you senz

I do not know how long I will be here on DU or in life itself. I will, however, spend the rest of my time, where ever I am, encouraging younger generations to take their lives into their own hands.

I'm personally convinced that Hillary has nothing to offer them.

[artislife]

23. The Millenials are going to live through the Dark Times

Only because none of us other generation citizens have fought to change the course the planet is on, the course that big money is on...we have failed them miserably.

[malokvale77]

24. I would not say none of us,

I will say, not enough of us.

Yes, we have failed them miserably.

I'm still trying.

[artislife]

25. Yes...I guess I mean not enough of us

And certainly not the countries who do the most damage. It is heartbreaking.

I am trying to, just started having conversations about not eating meat....and I like a good grilled meat but it is so wasteful of our resources.

[senz]

26. Again, I agree with everything you say, malokvale77

The country, and the world, have reached a brink that will require either a fairly abrupt about face (return to the FDR vision via Bernie) or an extreme, paradigm-shattering breakthrough of some sort to pull humanity through this potential catastrophe and return us to a safer, more sustainable coexistence with each other and our surroundings.

Our generation tried hard, back in the day, to make the world a better place, but few if any of us could see where it was heading. IMO, a lot of this happened by stealth in the 1980s, 90s, a fundamental economic and power shift with widespread, devastating consequences. What we have of great value is the memory, the experience, of life before it happened. The millennials, who will have to find a way to save themselves and their progeny, don't have our memories, our sense of what went wrong, and that is one of the ways we can offer them guidance and support.

Yes, Hillary shows no intention of dismantling a system which she has happily appropriated for her own benefit and no vision for where we need to go. If Bernie hadn't stepped forward, I strongly believe we would be heading inexorably toward violent confrontation and upheaval.

Our window of opportunity is so narrow -- just a few months -- and the forces on the other side are trying so hard to close it. If they succeed in stopping Bernie, then I hope the movement he sparked will be able to organize itself and continue on a mass scale. Again, they would need whatever help we can give them while we're still around.

[merrily]

33. +1

[Bernin4U]

14. "Don't not vote for HRC, because Republicans!"

The author makes his (rather valid, imo) case as to why he won't vote for her, essentially that it's better to let a real repub win than a fake one.

If someone wants to try to refute it, please go ahead. Simply saying, "but she's better than they" is not an argument.

[in_cog_ni_to]

18. I agree!

PEACE
LOVE
BERNIE

[merrily]

32. Truman had a lot to say about the Democratic Party running real Democrats or fake Republicans.

Damn good speech, too.

[RiverLover]

35. Another Salon article posted this am absolutely nails our internal struggle with this

http://www.salon.com/2015/12/06/just_let_the_republicans_win_maybe_things_need_to_get_really_bad_before_america_wakes_up/

Absolutely nails it.