As I gaze at the insanity that is the presidential election, it is obvious that Hillary Clinton is the far superior candidate for becoming the next president of the United States.
When Clinton accepted the Democratic nomination she said, “America’s strength doesn’t come from lashing out. Strength relies on smarts, judgment, cool resolve and precise and strategic application of power.”
Clinton has a strong political résumé that focuses on human rights and dignity. Voting for her means voting for a person who supports acting rationally with good judgment, unlike her opponent who throws tantrums over tweets. She will help fix our broken healthcare system and support those in our country who are often voiceless.
Healthcare
Rather than tossing the Affordable Care Act out the window as Donald Trump has promised, Clinton has proposed expanding the ACA to address its current problems. This would include lowering insurance premiums and deductibles and adding “a tax credit of up to $2,500 for individuals whose out-of-pocket medical spending exceeds 5% of their income,” said Olga Khazan, writing for “The Atlantic.”
It is foolish to assume that going back to how our healthcare system operated before the ACA would be preferable to fixing what we have to help more Americans obtain needed healthcare, especially as Trump has not provided concrete evidence as to what he could do following the herculean effort of tearing out the ACA.
Women’s reproductive rights
Clinton is strongly pro-choice and supports women having access to proper reproductive healthcare.
In the third presidential debate, Clinton said, “I strongly support Roe v. Wade, which guarantees a constitutional right to a woman to make the most intimate, most difficult in many cases, decisions about her health care that one can imagine.”
Unlike Trump, who has previously said he supported punishments for women having abortions, Clinton understands the difficulty that comes with making the decision to abort a pregnancy, recognizing that women do not undertake these decisions lightly.
In regards to third-trimester abortions, she said, “[Roe v. Wade] is very clear, that if you take into account the life and health of the mother, there can be exceptions to restrictions that are imposed, that are lawful, constitutional.”
Abortion is never an easy decision, but I do not want to imagine what would happen to women faced with these situations if their only option was a high-risk, back alley procedure with unclean and unsafe methods, a reality we would face if abortions were made illegal.
LGBTQ rights
Despite the Supreme Court’s landmark decision for marriage equality, the U.S. continues to struggle with LGBTQ rights. This can be seen by the bickering over giving transgender people access to bathrooms of their preferred gender and with the horrific shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Clinton strongly supports LGBTQ rights, even receiving the endorsement of the Human Rights Campaign. During a 2011 speech in Geneva, Switzerland, Clinton said, “Gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights.”
Despite Trump offering sympathy and support following the Orlando, Florida shooting, he has also said that he opposes same-sex marriage and hopes to appoint Supreme Court justices to overturn the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling that legalized gay marriage.
Supporting Trump over Clinton is supporting taking steps backward in protecting our LGBTQ neighbors and friends. I refuse to take backward steps in basic human dignity.
Supreme Court and criminal justice
Clinton has called for justices who will defend both women’s and LGBTQ rights, support Roe v. Wade, and reverse the Citizens United decision, a 2010 ruling that overturned the ban on unlimited spending by corporations and unions to influence elections. Clinton wants the court to “stand on the side of the people” instead.
Clinton also supports reform for our broken criminal justice system; she promotes ending the “era of mass incarceration” and helping formerly incarcerated citizens to successfully re-enter society. She also recognizes the inherent racial problems in the relationship between police officers and citizens and wants to give police officers greater training in de-escalation and community policing.
Trump has remained mum on answering the problem of mass incarceration. Take just one criminal justice class, and you will see how massive this issue really is. America is often known as an “incarceration happy nation.” I’d like to see that stereotype fade away, and it is only Clinton who will even try.
Taxes
Clinton’s tax plan won’t add to the national deficit while Trump’s will, according to a study by the Tax Policy Center.
Trump has proposed the steepest tax cuts ever seen, said Jackie Calmes of The New York Times. These cuts would reduce the federal revenue by an estimated $6.2 million in the first ten years and would mostly benefit corporations and high-income Americans. Trump’s plan would also reduce taxes on the wealthy, revenue which helps finance the Affordable Care Act.
In contrast, Clinton seeks to raise taxes on high-income taxpayers with reductions for middle- and low-income households.
In this circus of an election, Clinton is America’s only hope. Trump is a racist, sexist man who would not only bring utter shame in his victory but would take us backward in human rights. Don’t toss away your vote to such a man.
