The Geneseo College Democrats formally endorse former Secretary of State and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton for president in the 2016 election. With over 30 years in public office, she has proven herself to be well educated and dedicated to serving the American people. All things considered, we do not ignore her shortcoming and mistakes, yet we realize that she has done good things throughout her time holding public office.
The desire to serve the American people—no matter how diverse their background—is an important quality in a government official. In Republican nominee Donald Trump’s United States, he would be serving to the loud few and giving into ideas that may not be fact, adding fuel to the fire in many situations. That is not the America we want and not how we envision our country’s future.
To discuss Trump would be to discuss the paranoia—and somewhat closed-mindedness—of his speeches and the language that draws in fear to the surface. With time, this will only intensify.
Trump’s unprofessional attitude during debates has driven American politics to a circus. It might be entertaining, but this is not what our political system should look like. If that is how Trump will act when discussing international affairs with other countries, he should not represent the U.S.
Clinton is professional, strong and qualified to make difficult decisions. This is not to say she is the perfect politician or that she’s never made a mistake, but she can and will compromise in order to do what needs to be done. As the next president, she would have the important privilege of choosing new members of the Supreme Court, which will impact American politics long after four years.
In response to people’s argument that Clinton “flip-flops” on positions, it is worth noting that a lot has changed over the decades since she first started her career in politics. Changes of position—whether you agree with her current opinions or not—are normal to do when in public office for as long as she has been. Events happen and evidence is drawn up that could possibly change people’s minds.
Clinton is an extremely confident and powerful woman who has earned our respect for joining what was—and largely still is—a man’s club and making it her own. Some voters do not trust her, but to say she does not have the skills to take over as president is foolish.
Whether you vote for Clinton, Trump or a third party candidate, the power of the vote and the act of participating is extremely important. Dig deep, do some soul-searching and please, visit the polls on Tuesday Nov. 8 to use your small but powerful voice to change our country’s future.