What I Voted For

By Scott Galindez, Reader Supported News

06 November 16

wish I were in California or another state with ballot measures. Then it would be easier to say what I voted for. Here in Iowa, they didn’t ask me my position on any of the issues. Add national referendums to the list of political reforms we need. I only had candidates on my ballot. There were no down-ballot Green candidates. There were some other third parties that I knew nothing about and some Libertarians.

I voted a straight Democratic Party ticket. There was fear of Donald Trump motivating my vote, but I also voted for Hillary Clinton because I believe we can have more influence over her than we can have over Donald Trump. Some of my reasons were selfish.

The most selfish reason I voted for Hillary Clinton is I don’t want to lose my health care. Of course there are flaws in Obamacare. Hillary Clinton and the Democrats know that something has to be done to control costs. The most effective way to control costs, short of single payer, is a back door to single payer with a public option. Hillary Clinton supports a public option. Donald Trump, with a Republican Congress, would repeal Obamacare. For me their solution is too late: a Health Savings Account would not pay my medical bills and I don’t have time to save. What would their plan do for pre-existing conditions? I’m not willing to roll the dice with Trump and the GOP. I voted for health care reform by voting for Democrats, not Republicans.

I voted for a Supreme Court that will protect women’s right to choose, oppose all forms of discrimination, and support due process. The Republicans talk about justices who support the Constitution, but would they really defend the Fifth Amendment and the First Amendment? We know they would abolish women’s right to choose. We know they would like marriage to be only between a man and a woman. We know they would allow other forms of discrimination against women, people of color, LGBTQ people, and immigrants. Do you want Donald Trump to appoint one or more Supreme Court justices? How long will Ginsberg be able to hold out? I voted to have Hillary Clinton and a Democratic Senate to fill the current vacancy and any that arise in the next four years.

I voted for criminal justice reform. Donald Trump is a racist bigot. Hillary Clinton knows that without the support of African Americans she could not win a Democratic Party primary, let alone the presidency. Her supporters like John Lewis, Maxine Waters, and Elijah Cummings will have influence over her solutions for institutional racism. Who will Donald Trump listen to? Rudi Giuliani, Mike Pence, and Chris Christie? Trump’s solution to the violence in our streets is more guns. Trump wants to bring back “stop and frisk” and give even more power to the police. Black lives matter, and institutional racism has to go, so I voted for Hillary Clinton because she will do more than Donald Trump to reform our broken, racist criminal justice system.

I voted for economic justice. Bernie Sanders’ name was not on my ballot, and he did not want me to write his name in. He was the best economic justice candidate we have ever had. We need a $15-an-hour minimum wage. Hillary Clinton does not oppose that. She doesn’t think the votes are there, so she advocates a $12-an-hour minimum wage, but if we got the votes for $15-an-hour I believe she would sign it. Remember, if Hillary Clinton runs against a stronger GOP candidate in four years, she will want to solidify her base. She will need labor to become more enthusiastic, so she will throw us some bones, which is better than what we can get from Trump. Trump doesn’t think there should be any minimum wage.

I am not a fan of Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy. Donald Trump, on the other hand, terrifies me. I keep hearing about how Hillary Clinton will start World War III or start a war with Iran. The reality is that negotiations with Iran started during her tenure as Secretary of State. Russia sent troops into Ukraine and we did not make a military response. Despite the Putin/Trump connection, I believe Trump might have turned Russia’s meddling in Ukraine into World War III. Trump reminds me of a dictator in a banana republic. He has said things like “I would bomb the shit out of them,” “Just nuke ‘em,” and “Why do have nuclear weapons if we are not going to use them?”

We will need to be in the streets saying no to militarism. We need to be pressuring Hillary Clinton, who will need us in four years.

Our young people’s futures are being crippled by student debt. We pressured Hillary Clinton into advocating for free college tuition for families making less than $125,000 a year. Donald Trump thinks you just get the money for college from your parents.

On the environment, we need to keep pressuring Hillary Clinton. She is not where we need her to be on pipelines, fracking, tar sands, and offshore drilling. She does however believe that climate change is real. We have to be in the streets pressuring her to do the right thing. Donald Trump thinks global warming is a hoax. We must not let him in the White House for the next to four to eight years. The planet can’t afford four years with a president who will not take steps to reverse climate change.

On issue after issue that united us during Bernie’s campaign, Hillary Clinton is better than Donald Trump. The choice is clear. You ask, what about Jill Stein? The reality is that either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton will win the election. I choose to not waste my vote on “sending a message.” Those of you who have been reading my columns for years know I advocate taking over the Democratic Party. Bernie Sanders has brought us closer to that reality. It is our job to finish what Bernie started. Let’s reunite on November 9th and fight for what we believe in, and stop fracturing over who we voted for on November 8th.

Scott Galindez attended Syracuse University, where he first became politically active. The writings of El Salvador's slain archbishop Oscar Romero and the on-campus South Africa divestment movement converted him from a Reagan supporter to an activist for Peace and Justice. Over the years he has been influenced by the likes of Philip Berrigan, William Thomas, Mitch Snyder, Don White, Lisa Fithian, and Paul Wellstone. Scott met Marc Ash while organizing counterinaugural events after George W. Bush's first stolen election. Scott will be spending a year covering the presidential election from Iowa.

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