I'm not going to run a lot of messages that readers of this site send me about the election because…well, if I ran all of them or even a tenth, this blog would be about nothing else. But I've decided to reply here to this one from Christopher Green…
Like you, I was a Bernie supporter. Unlike you, I don't find Hillary an acceptable second choice, but I won't bother you with my reasons. I've tried to put a finger on why I'm so sullen about the situation, and the reality that I must choose between two candidates I don't like doesn't quite fully explain away my mood.
So, in terms you can appreciate, here's my best take at how I feel: The Comic-Con has decided to offer only one food item in and around the Comic-Con venue, and they are going to choose from three options: Jennie-O Turkey Pot Roast, Candy Corn, and Cole Slaw. They allow attendees to narrow it down to two choices: Candy Corn (unhealthy) and Cole Slaw (awful tasting). Not only is it upsetting that you highly dislike the final two choices, but you were so close to having a choice that was both healthy and delicious.
That's how I feel. I'll bet others do as well.
Yeah, but it was always going to come down to two choices. I'd be happier to have a wider menu in every election but it always winds up being two choices and in a democracy, they might not be the two out of the three you'd pick. The final choice of two is often someone you really don't like over someone you think was both "healthy and delicious." I wish some of the Bernie supporters would stop acting like they're the first people ever to feel that their candidate would have been a lot better than the person who won.
I don't know how old you are, Christopher, but I'm 64 so I've voted in a fair number of elections. I'm not sure I've ever had my pick of a candidate I thought was ideal; just a few who I thought were way, way better than the alternative. The folks I thought were way, way better have not always won, as has been known to happen in the United States of America.
I voted for Bernie and still admire the hell out of the guy…but I thought his agenda was a little light on realism about how some of his proposals were ever going to happen. Confronted with questions about that, he always seemed to resort to the notion that a "political revolution" was going to suddenly appear — one which would overcome Republican opposition and the fact that even some Democrats were uneasy about some of his goals. That "revolution" was not quite big enough to win him the Democratic nomination so I'm skeptical it would have materialized when necessary to get us Single Payer Healthcare.
There's a happy consolation prize in that Hillary has been shoved to the left and has taken up many items from Senator Sanders' wishlist. If she's elected, as I hope she will be, we might find that she can make more things happen from that list than he could have accomplished. Maybe that's unrealistic but I choose to be optimistic in that regard. At the very least, a Hillary victory will save us from having Trump dismantle regulation of Wall Street, bust the budget with tax cuts for guys like him, empower a lot of racists and immigrant-haters, and appoint Scott Baio to the Supreme Court for life.
Not that I would wish this on anyone but I think you need to listen to a few more Donald J. Trump speeches…and pay particular attention to the reaction he brings out in his crowds. That could make you a lot happier with…well, I started to write "Hillary Clinton in the White House" but of course, she's already been in the White House. I'm just going to do whatever I can to get her the right chair there and that's not just because I think Trump would be such a disaster. I think she'd be a good president. But to me, stopping Trump is reason enough to vote for her…or just about anyone.