Hilbert Morales
EL OBSERVADOR
Some 94 days remain before General Election Day, November8, 2016. Given the large number of issues facing this nation, it would be prudent to not wait to begin to prepare to make decisions. Who will it be: Hillary or Donald?
First, let me tell you why I will not vote for Donald J. Trump: Simply stated, Trump is not presidential material. His mouth is a loose cannon, he is a verbal bully who has never served his country as an elected official or in any of its several military forces. His IRS income tax information is not disclosed (allegedly it is being audited by the IRS). Trump has gone bankrupt several times leaving small businesses & contractors unpaid. Trump is easily baited. Who would want him to be Commander In Chief (CIC) with any decision authority over American military capability, especially its nuclear ballistic missiles! In addition, too many of his statements need ‘explanations’ or ‘reversal apologies’ afterwards. Trump has no control over his mouth. That tells us all that his brain is hardwired to that of ‘salesmen come-backs’. He inherited his wealth which gives him a huge advantage in his real estate deals. Finally, Trump has no prior public service as an elected official, no foreign affairs experience.
And the Republicans were the obstructionists which prevented any negotiations leading to compromises resulting in any legislation which could be signed into becoming the ‘law of the land’ by the President. Republicans offered no programs which addressed any pressing need of the American people except for three: 1) The conservatives kept supporting the Pentagon, 2) kept finding ways for the ultra-wealthy to avoid paying their fair share of taxes resulting in having the burden of supporting the federal government fall upon the middle class, and 3) kept neglecting the use of the legislative process required to do the ‘greatest good for the greatest number’.
Trump’s acceptance speech, delivered at the close of the Republican National Convention, was a downer. “I can provide the solutions which will make America great again.” I project that a future Trump Administration would create ‘Global Dark Ages’ because all decisions would be based upon ‘the bottom line’, or ‘profits before community stewardship’.
On the other hand, Hillary Clinton has 25 years of public service during which she has addressed the issues being faced by ordinary citizens today. At this point the only negatives about Hillary is the attitude of “I do not trust her” by many Americans. This is an attitude based upon propaganda initiated some two years ago by Republican strategists. Both the ’email issue’ and that ‘Benghazi’ incident have not provided evidence of criminal neglect. The outcome is always the same: Hillary admits having a private server was a mistake and she will not do that again, and the U.S. Congress directly interviewed her for 10 hours without uncovering anything already ‘in the record’. So Hillary Clinton has a public service record 25 years long with nothing that can be exploited by her Republican adversaries.
Unlike Trump, Hillary has served as an elected official: She was elected to the U.S. Senate replacing the distinguished N.Y. Senator Patrick Moynihan.
During the recent Primary election process which ended June 7th, her competitor was Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent socialist. Bernie, the Socialist, focused upon several public policies which any socialist would address: Those matters which are of great impact to the lives of the Millennials (ages 18-35): Access to opportunity, education, student loans/debt, affordable housing, a living wage, etc.
Bernie and Hillary both were concerned about the following public policy issues: The domestic economy…jobs, Equal pay for equal work performance, Access to education without ending up with student loan debt burdens, being able to renegotiate student loan debt to lower interest rates just like current home mortgage refinancing (did you know that student loan debt cannot use bankruptcy for relief?), the wealth discrepancy: The top 0.1% own as much as the bottom 90%, Access to affordable housing and comprehensive health care insurance (retaining the best parts of 2010 Affordable Health Care Act), addressing the neglected infrastructure (surface transportation, waterways & harbors, airports), Global Climate Changes, mitigating Wall Street financial abuses and power, foreign affair matters, Women’s right to choose, LGBTQ matters, Community safety (violence, guns, etc), addressing terrorism, both domestic and jihadist, confirming judicial appointments to Supreme, Circuit, and District Courts. The Democratic Party has a history of being progressive, of taking care of all the residents of America.
The Democratic National Convention transparently displayed the democratic decision making process. When the delegate vote count eliminated him, Bernie, as a gracious loser, made an evidence based decision to support Hillary. He asked ‘Bernie’s Troops’ to do the same. There is no doubt that Bernie and Hillary met, conferred, negotiated and agreed to an approach which would enhance the possibility of having the Democrats retaining the White House (3rd term). Bernie’s revolution had succeeded in some respects. The Democratic Party platform now included every public policy programs advocated for by “Bernie’s troops”. Millions of concerned voters had contributed an average of $27 each to underwrite Bernie’s campaign with no ‘Dark Money’ being accepted/included.
But the election of Hillary as America’s first woman President is not enough, though historic. In order to have no gridlocked U.S. Congress, both Senate and House must have a Democratic super-majority. A filibuster-proof majority ensures a productive legislative process having open debates, negotiations, compromises and evidence based decisions. With Democratic Party control of the White House, Senate and House, much ‘stonewalled’ legislation may be addressed immediately. All the deferred legislation may now be addressed: IRS Tax Reform, Comprehensive Immigration, budget allocations, especially for deferred infrastructure programs, education, health care, affordable housing, monitoring of Wall Street, and establishment of ‘sunset schedules’ for all corporate welfare entitlements as a start.
Hillary R. Clinton who brings experience, capability, and the right ‘can-do’ temperament will effectively be the Democratic Party standard bearer. Hillary asked all citizens concerned about “global climate change” to vote for her. If you are concerned about the impact of ‘Dark Money’ upon our democratic governance process, then together let’s add an amendment to the U.S. Constitution which repeals that onerous “Citizens United Decision” of the U.S. Supreme Court. If you want to limit the influence of Wall Street and ‘special interests’, Hillary asks you to join her because together all of these issues may be resolved in a manner that does the greatest good for the greatest number. The Democratic National Convention was adjourned on an uplifting challenge to all of us who will ensure that Democracy, supported by ‘We the People’ will prevail. So all registered voters, especially the Latino millennial youth, may participate by registering to vote and voting for the first woman elected President of the United States. You will become a stakeholder with the influence and responsibility to hold all elected official accountable and responsible based upon the facts and evidence, not the propagandized falsehoods.
PREPARE AND PLAN TO VOTE THIS COMING TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2016! Then you will be able to tell your children and grandchildren that you participated as an American Patriot. That’s why you will vote for Hillary!
