2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Tell me why me and almost everyone else in my age group should trust Hillary. [View all]Onlooker
(5,636 posts)...
I think as a progressive you have to factor in the fact that she's winning the black vote in a big way. Clearly, whether you agree or not, they trust her more than they trust Bernie. Given that Hillary has considerable support among the oppressed groups, it's at least worth asking yourself if there's something you are missing.
Plus, it's worth asking why a country like ours has not yet had a woman president? Is it possible that there is ingrained sexism in our culture? Is it possible that the election of woman breaks the glass ceiling in a way that will change the country for the better for women and little girls? Electing a woman is progressive in itself.
Plus, feminist psychological theory argues that women and minorities must develop a different set of skills than white men. When a white man walks into a room, everyone listens. That's not true for most other groups. For a woman to get ahead in our culture, even in this day and age, she has to be quite exceptional. Look how few women are in positions of power. If Hillary becomes president, it's likely she'll be able to accomplish a lot simply because it takes a lot of intelligence to overcome such ingrained barriers.
Lastly, Hillary was rated the 11th most liberal Senator. Her record is not nearly as progressive as Bernie's, but it's an overall good record. Bernie represented perhaps the most liberal state in the nation, so seldom had to compromise -- but he did compromise on issues such as gun rights and the stealth bomber. If he was a senator from a more conservative state, he probably would have had to compromise more. Part of Hillary's history is that she represented constituents who were not as liberal as Bernie's. If the millennials end up helping Hillary get elected, she will do an okay job representing them. After all, she's a politician.
I say all this as someone who voted for Bernie. I have always liked Hillary, but I agree Bernie is the better person because he's been so consistent and so progressive throughout his life. But, that doesn't mean Hillary isn't progressive, just that she is less progressive than Bernie.