A beautiful endorsement from the go-to Democratic blog on the Iowa caucuses. The entire thing is worth a read, but some of the key passages-
Hillary Clinton is one of the most successful public servants in America. She has helped expand economic opportunity and rights at home, while improving America’s reputation abroad after the Bush administration. And yet people somehow see her record and promise as a president in a cynical manner.
My question to them is this:
What is not inspiring about a little boy getting the health care coverage he needs thanks to Clinton’s leadership on the Children’s Health Insurance Program? What is not moving about an Israeli family who’s alive today because the ceasefire Clinton negotiated stopped rockets from raining down on their house? What is not stirring about the women’s rights movements sparked around the world from Clinton’s 1995 Beijing speech?
If these things do not inspire you, perhaps you should reconsider why you are interested in politics in the first place.
Some will dismiss my opinion here because I worked for Clinton as a field organizer in 2008. The smart question no one ever asked is why I didn’t want to work for her this time. The reason is because I wasn’t sold on another Clinton run at the beginning. I thought her campaign might make the same mistakes as last time and that the party needed new leadership to face new challenges and an evolving electorate.
I really like what I’ve seen from Martin O’Malley, and do think he would make an excellent president as well (and I hope his hard work results in a good showing on Monday night). And for a time I wondered if maybe Sanders would provide a new path forward.
But I’ve covered Clinton at countless events the past nine months, and saw up close her improve as a candidate as she took in Iowans’ stories and connected with their problems. It’s undeniable that she knows more in-depth details on every policy there is than pretty much any other politician or public servant. Most importantly, it’s clear she knows how to get things accomplished in these crazy political times. She’s still standing after decades of Republican attacks, and she’ll force them to the table once in office.
That’s what’s really important in this election: how we get progressive priorities accomplished.
True inspiration doesn’t come in chanting slogans, waving signs or enjoying a candidate’s soaring speech. Real inspiration happens in the real lives we change through progress born out of grueling, hard-won fights. I, for one, thought that’s why we’re all in this fight in the first place.
Hillary Clinton has been fighting for children, for women, for working families during my entire life. That is a feature of her candidacy, not a flaw. For all the trials and battles she’s been through, she’s still the one who can make a real difference.
I look forward to standing in Clinton’s corner on caucus night. I hope many of you will do the same.