By Cathy Collier
Gillespie County Democratic Chair
If there was ever a time in our history when we needed to stop, listen to one another and engage in civil conversation about the critical issues of our day, it is this year, 2016, and in this election for President of the United States.
As Americans and Texans, we are much more alike than we are different. We all want to live in a safe, clean environment. We all want to know that our children will have the opportunity to get a good education. We want to know that by working hard we can provide for our families. We want our country’s actions in the world to be honorable. These are the things that Democrats want and these are the things that Republicans want.
Unfortunately, our political environment has become so toxic that it is easy for us to roll our eyes in disgust and pronounce that no candidates can be trusted. But if the last eight years has proved anything, it is that we all suffer when those who govern us don’t work together.
It’s true – everyone who runs for political office is flawed. There has never been a perfect candidate and there never will be. From the Founding Fathers to the present, every president has come with his own set of positives and negatives.
The same is true of Hillary Clinton.
But in the words of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times’ endorsement, “She is not, as has been sold, a mere lesser of two evils. Her experience and intellect would make her a standout in any group of candidates. Like President Obama said, and didn't need to be fact-checked, she's more qualified than him -- or her husband.”
Secretary Clinton offers four decades of experience and achievement to voters. Has she ever made a mistake in 40+ years? Of course she has. As a public person, her missteps have been held up to unrelenting scrutiny and she has been scolded for using her emails much like some of her predecessors. But she has withstood a legion of false attacks. Her qualifications far outweigh the negatives.
She stands for rational, comprehensive immigration reform and an improvement rather than an abandonment of the Affordable Care Act. She wants to raise the minimum wage to $12 an hour, repair the Voting Rights Act, help students leave college without enormous debt and build a strong economy that works for everyone and not just those at the top.
In foreign policy, she seeks to strengthen our country’s traditional alliances and continue working toward the defeat of the Islamic State.
But her greatest strength is pragmatism. She is a consensus-builder. She worked across party lines to help create the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) with the late Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy and Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah. The program currently provides health care for more than eight million children.
These stands represent progressive values, core values, family values.
In a year when many voters are throwing up their hands and lamenting that government doesn’t work, it is reasonable to say that government doeswork when we shoulder our responsibilities as citizens, get involved and vote. Any candidate who does not vow to work with the office holders of the other party is not worth your vote. And experience is not a bad thing if an elected official is doing the job well.
Government is not the bad guy. Government is us.
Hillary Clinton has the experience, integrity and intelligence to not only be a good president but a great one.