Listen–I am not a huge Hillary Clinton fan… Not by any stretch of the imagination. I’m one of those annoying people who believes that Bernie Sanders is a “once in a lifetime” leader who has actually placed himself in a position of political opportunity… All while somehow managing to remain a person of integrity, compassion, vision, and hope. But it is increasingly likely that the next president of the United States of America will be either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. It is not decided yet… But this system of super delegates is the system we have, and you can’t change the rules halfway through the game. I’m not saying I’m giving up. I still have hope that people will continue to give Bernie Sanders wins in state primaries, that super delegates will change their allegiance to the person I believe is the better candidate, and somehow Sanders can come out of this as the democratic candidate for president. But with the system the DNC has right now, Clinton can lose (and HAS LOST) the popular vote in a state’s primary, and STILL come away with more delegates. And though it’s not yet over–if I’m being a realist–it is becoming increasingly likely that the two major party candidates for president will be Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
And as more and more people come to this same realization, people have been expressing dismay at being put in the difficult situation of having to choose between, as South Park put it in 2004, a Giant Douche and a Turd Sandwich.
Personally, I think the choice is clear. Giant Douche all the way!
This trapped sensation of “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t” that people have been feeling has given rise to a whole bunch of memes that make it seem as if these two candidates are equally repellant. I’ve picked out a few I’ve seen floating around Facebook over the last week or so (since Ted Cruz dropped out of the race. Here’s a small sampling:
Yeah, yeah… We get it–Either way, the kids going to get electrocuted. But here’s my question: Who’s the jackass taking the picture? My guess is that the picture-taker represents the American Public…
That’s not fair… I can think of a lot more cons than that.
Yup. I don’t like this one either. Really nothing funny to say here…
And this is where the title to this post comes in… Comparing Hillary Clinton to Donald Trump is like comparing apples and Hitler. And yeah, I know that Hitler was a really bad dude, and a lot of people consider hyperbole like this to be not only unhelpful, but downright offensive. But I haven’t seen anything close to humanity or compassion come from Donald Trump, and I honestly fear what could result from putting a person like that in a position of actual power. We would have never heard of Hitler’s name if he hadn’t been put in a position of power. And this is my blog, so I can say what I want… For now. Because Trump has alluded to wanting to “open up libel laws” so that he can sue media outlets who publish stories he deems to be “unfair.” And the cool thing about being a billionaire is that you can afford to sue a whole lot of people and organizations who can’t afford to defend themselves… Which is a big part of why we have the well-established libel laws that we do. But I digress. Ugh.
This is as disturbing to me as it is to you.
My point is this: Any comparison of Clinton and Trump with regard to the amount of damage to this nation, its reputation around the world, or even the life and liberty of its citizens, is just utter nonsense. Again–I DON’T LIKE HILLARY. But compared to Trump, she might as well be Abraham Lincoln. And I believe that these people who are painting a picture of “Either way we’re equally screwed” are doing so dishonestly. If you’re a Muslim living in this country, you’re not feeling “equally screwed” with these two candidates. If you’re a Hispanic person living in this country, you’re not feeling “equally screwed.” If you’re a citizen of another nation worried about nuclear weapons and torture, you’re not feeling “equally screwed.” If you’re a person working to make folks aware that Black Lives Matter, you’re not feeling “equally screwed.” And my God… If you are a woman living in this country, you are not feeling “equally screwed.” Or–as someone whose narcissism and lack of character and human decency make them horribly inadequate for a position of leadership might put it–you are not feeling equally “schlonged”by these two candidates.
Ironically, my willingness to vote for Hillary Clinton–even though I believe she is the lesser candidate to Bernie Sanders–is one of the things which I have most in common with her as a candidate. It seems to me as though Hillary Clinton is willing to do whatever it takes–even if it means sacrificing some of her ideals, or “playing ball” with big money and big business–to get some small steps toward “better.” Hell, even small steps toward “worse” are better than giant leaps toward worse. The only people who want Trump to be president–while truly understanding what kind of man he is–are either the white supremacists or the ones who want to burn the whole thing to the ground. We need to change the system, but right now we must work within the system we currently have. I hoped that Bernie Sanders was going to be the catalyst for that kind of change… I still hope. But if it’s not going to be him, we can’t just burn the whole thing to the ground. There are too many lives at stake.
There are liberals and progressives who are so disappointed with a Clinton candidacy that they would just say, “Screw it, I’m not voting for Hillary”–even at the risk of a Trump win–but they are only able to do that out of a position of privilege. If you are a young black man getting thrown out of a Trump rally for no other reason than the color of your skin, you can’t afford the possibility of a Trump presidency. If you’re an immigrant, if you’re a Muslim, if you’re woman who is concerned about making decisions about your own reproductive rights without worrying about being put in jail… YOU CAN’T AFFORD THE POSSIBILITY OF A TRUMP CANDIDACY! Watch this video of two new commercials about Donald Trump–The first part is simply Trump’s own words, the second part the words of the other presidential candidates…
Nobody wants to be put in a situation where you have to vote between getting kicked in the nuts or getting stabbed in the neck… And right now, it feels like a lot of people are like, “Well, both of those things are unpleasant, and I don’t like unpleasant things, so screw it–I’m choosing getting stabbed in the neck.” But here’s the thing: IT’S NOT YOUR NECK! It’s someone else’s neck. It’s an immigrant’s neck. Or a Mexican’s neck. Or the necks of a terrorist’s family. Or a single mom’s neck. Or the neck of a little Muslim kid at my kid’s school. This hard decision is made easier when they are talking about YOUR nuts and YOUR neck. When it’s YOUR neck on the line, all of a sudden a kick to the nuts doesn’t seem quite so bad.
So yeah, I get it… You might be a person like me who feels like a vote for Hillary is a bit of a kick to the nuts. And I don’t want to make it seem like there are no good things about Hillary Clinton as a candidate. There are. There are plenty of good reasons to vote for her. But Trump is a total knife to the neck of this nation, and there are a lot of people who would not survive it. I guarantee you that if it was one of your kids who was being faced with a kick to the nuts or a knife to the neck, you would have a big sign in your yard that says “NUTS 2016!”
But seriously, as disappointing as Hillary Clinton is to me, she is heads and tails above Trump as a presidential candidate. It’s not even close. A sick cat could cough up a more qualified presidential candidate than Donald Trump. Which brings me to my fantastic idea for a Hillary 2016 Bumper Sticker: “Vote Hillary. Because a kick to the nuts is better than a knife to the neck.”
Just so you know, I get no money for people “clicking” on this page. The only support I get comes from the people who value what I do here enough to BECOME A PATRON. For the cost of a cup of coffee, you could buy my wife a cup of coffee. No, seriously, I am going to be able to attend Wild Goose Festival this summer because of the support of my patrons. I think that’s pretty amazing… Patron’s like Bette Cooper, who will be getting some cool prizes. Also, if you have a post that you would like to “boost” on Facebook (which is the main way most people find stuff I’ve written), when you LEAVE A TIP ON PAYPAL, you can designate a post to boost so even more people will see it. I love you guys. Oh yeah. Also, I’m 5 Twitter Followers away from 1000. Let’s make that happen…
The Boeskool 
Good points, as usual.
As a white prosperous straight healthy male Christian American, I’ve won the galactic lottery, to quote Louis C. K.
I won’t be affected as what I am if either person is elected.
I won’t be targeted for being a person of color.
I won’t be targeted for being poor.
I won’t be targeted for being anything other than straight.
I won’t be targeted for being disabled or needing health care assistance.
I won’t be targeted for being a woman.
I won’t be targeted for being a a sexual minority.
I won’t be targeted for being a Muslim or other religious minority.
I won’t be targeted for being an immigrant.
I’ll be good with either choice. Really. I might be politically offended by Trump, but his election will not affect me. My position in society will be secure, again, for another four years. My job, my family, my neighborhood, my choices, my lifestyle will all be safe.
The election results are not for me, whether it is “bad” for me to have Hillary or Trump.
The results are disastrous for everyone else if Trump is elected.
Hillary is not Jesus Christ incarnate. I get that.
She is also not the devil incarnate.
She’s a politician who’s been a politician for 30 years.
I am completely confident in voting for Hillary that she will do a good if not great job as President. In fact, it was always my thought, even back in 2008 when she was up against Obama, that she would have been a stronger actual President than Obama, and while I voted for McCain (as my last Republican vote ever), I considered Obama a better choice for Democrats because he would not get as much done, being unused to the vitriol a national female Democrat had endured since the 90s.
You want a tough President? Choose a candidate with a grueling experience in the public eye as the target of 30 years of Republican and conservative ire.
Margaret Thatcher once said “This lady is not for turning.”
And I would think Hillary Clinton would say “This lady is not for burning.”
Not the best presidential candidate ever? Sure.
By far the best of the two realistic options? Sure.
I have no issue with people who will not support Hillary because she isn’t good enough. That’s their choice. And their choices are therefore limited to others as third-party candidates in the general election.
People who want the unicorn candidate to suddenly appear every four years seem (in my mind) to not understand how political parties work nor how social communities work. Leaders grow up and are given leadership by the community as they recognize leadership. It might not be in the given community, but it can be recognized in other communities.
If we want to see better candidates in the party of our choice, it just isn’t enough to complain every four years. We have to do the work of organization, of community-building, even of leadership.
This life requires full participation and engagement.
Well said!
Thank you for your thoughtful post. We will never have a president who we all agree with on every issue. But we can’t have a president who willfully and openly is against many of our own citizens, their families, or their personal choices. That simply will not work. Hillary is far from perfect, but she is far better than Trump. I also still hold out hope for Bernie, maybe we will surprise ourselves.
heaven help america if that lying crooked person is president and when she distroys america please dont complain because you know what you did you voted for her common sense is shes proving to be a crook since when was last lying to people and committing crimes got you the presidency
Heaven help America because of our illiteracy problems. Learn to spell. Are you aware Trump is a crook? Have you heard of Trump University? Are you aware Trump is a racist, sexist, bigoted, elitist, lying, crook? Please don’t complain when civil war breaks out and martial law is declared, because you voted for him. Trump fooled simple minded people into believing he actually cared about them! Since when did the rich care about the average citizen? They don’t. They only care about getting your vote so they can come into power and rule and do whatever they want, that which benefits them and their interests. And that’s what Trump will do, Trump played you.
I’m with you on this one, along with the two other conservative libertarian voters I know. Most presidential elections are for protest votes to the Libertarian Party; this isn’t one of them. Trump has made Hillary the libertarian candidate, which is quite a feat.
Dear US voters, please don’t just mention and consider your national stakes. The WHOLE world is involved.
Thank you!
Sigrid Van Eepoel, Brussels, Belgium
Excellent points.
I maintain my vitriolic disagreement with Trump being compared to Hitler. I liken the two to an uncaged Tiger vs. a chained tiger being satiated with big chuncks of gov’t meat. Both folks bring out the worst in people, it’s a question of whether you want it overtly or covertly.
Okay well Bernie is going to fight for every vote in every remaining state. I live in Oregon and we are on his list. We will vote for Bernie in majority because we had public progressive radio once with Thomas Hartman who had “brunch with Bernie” every single sunday and we got to know him. That radio got cancelled because of people like Phil Knight and his Nike Just do it shoe man corporation can do taking over our state and outsourcing jobs to slave labor while he took over the radio with college sports so he could sell his sports shoes and clothing… the college endowment for college basketball was connected to the gambling that occurs and MAYBE ironically Barack Obama’s brother in law coaches in Corvallis. When our progressive radio got replaced with sports radio, owned by Texas… we knew it was private interests that were developing our neck of the woods.
You don’t have to support Hillary or vote for her or worry about Trump. You can write Bernie in on your ballot and vote your heart and mind. Bernie is the only candidate to vote for.
He’s the right choice Mr. Boeskool.
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