The Only Reality I Can Contemplate!

Idealistic vs Pragmatic.

I got into a discussion about Hillary Clinton's bid for the White House. I am very, very liberal. Super-liberal. Pretty much on the left wing of the liberal side of the equation. I am for taxing the wealthy at a high rate. I believe the tax code should be used to re-distribute income to improve the safety net for all. I am for Universal Health Care. I am for preserving Social Security.  I am for strict regulations to prevent climate change. I am against Big Coal and Big Oil. I am against unregulated money in politics. I am pretty much a pacifist when it comes to the international scene. I think we should do all we can to negotiate and compromise so we don't have to take up arms against another nation. I am for Gay Marriage. And Equal Rights for all. I think a woman and her doctor should be the only ones making decisions when it comes to their  bodies. I don't think someone's strong religious beliefs give them  license to discriminate against others. I think we should try our best to be a "color-blind" society, but I think we should acknowledge that racism and prejudice are still with us, and I support efforts to educate people, and to pass laws to encourage a more open and inclusive society. I am for declaring a truce on the War on Drugs. I say make all drugs legal and educate people on the danger of drugs, and treat addiction as an illness. I believe in Amnesty for all illegal immigrants in the U.S. Make them legal, let them apply for citizenship and encourage them to vote. I do think Corporations have too much power. I'd like to see more of that power transferred back to individuals. I am against a large, intrusive surveillance state, and think that the government should be much more transparent.

You get the idea. I'm pretty liberal.

But at the same time, I will be strongly supporting Hillary Clinton for President. Even though she is not as liberal as I am. Not by a long shot. But this is where the pragmatism comes in. I am not running for President. And I know that if I did, or if a candidate who held positions like I do, (maybe someone like Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren) were to run, they would not raise enough money to be a serious candidate, they would not get the Democratic nomination, they would not be elected President.

And the Democrats have to win the White House in 2016. It is essential. Absolutely. I cannot imagine a GOP win. Just not acceptable. It would be backward, counter-productive. A terrible, terrible thing. Elections matter. They really, really do. Do a thought experiment. What if Al Gore had gotten enough votes to win Florida in 2000? What would 8 years of Al Gore's Presidency been like?

Who knows?! I do know that it would not have been the absolute debacle, the total horror-show that the Bush/Cheney Torture Regime turned out to be. Yes, elections matter. Individuals matter. Presidents matter. They make critical decisions every day that impact all of us. Even in the middle of this massive, lurching empire, one man, one woman can, and will, make a difference. Hillary 2016! She may not be the perfect candidate, but it doesn't matter. The alternative whoever it may turn out to be - Bush, Cruz, Rubio, whoever is just not acceptable.  President Hillary is really the only reality I want to contemplate!