Two Sides of the Same Coin

As of this morning, opening day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Donald Trump is leading Hillary Clinton by five points in the latest poll. If that factoid doesn’t scare you, there is something seriously wrong with you. The likelihood that a little fascist troll could become the President of the United States of America is scary. And yet, what makes it plausible is that the other side of the coin holds Hillary Clinton. A flawed candidate, a professional politician, who mercilessly stomps over bodies in her effort to become the first female president of the United States. What’s a thinking woman to do? Voting for Donald Trump is out of the question. Voting for Clinton? Meh.

I was a fervent supporter of the Bernie Sanders movement – not of Bernie the man, but of the progressive vision he brought to the barren political landscape in this country. I am still of a mind to vote for a progressive over the Green party candidate or the Libertarian candidate. I hoped that Hillary Clinton’s Vice President Pick would sway me towards voting for her, if only to take one vote away from Donald Trump. She chose United States Senator Tim Kaine (D –VA) to be her running mate. Someone like herself, the pundits said. Someone she could trust to take over if anything happened to her. Tim Kaine’s admirable command of the Spanish language is not going to help Clinton to reclaim the White House.

Then the Democratic National Committee email scandal broke. None of us in the media were surprised at all to see the internal shenanigans of Debbie Wasserman Shultz exposed to the world. Think back, way back, to when she forced Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) out of the DNC. Gabbard is looking good today, honorable, vindicated. Wasserman Shultz is looking horrible today. That the DNC, whose mission is to support democrat candidates equally, skewed the primaries in Clinton’s favor says as much about Clinton and her candidacy as it does about the DNC.

From Wikipedia: The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the formal governing body for the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office. It organizes the Democratic National Convention held every four years to nominate and confirm a candidate for president, and to formulate the party platform. While it provides support for party candidates, it does not have direct authority over elected officials.

The DNC is composed of the chairs and vice-chairs of each state Democratic Party committee and over 200 members elected by Democrats in all 50 states and the territories. Its chairperson is elected by the committee. It conducts fundraising to support its activities.

The DNC was established at the 1848 Democratic National Convention.

So what to do? Do I want to live in a Fascist state under a dictator (Trump), or in an ultra-conservative state under a dictator (Clinton)? Two sides of the same coin, or Hobson’s choice. I want my vote to count. I want my vote to count against Donald Trump’s candidacy. But can I live with myself if my vote helps Hillary Clinton to reclaim the White House?

Margaret Mulvihill is Director of Communications at Lawson Mulvihill Media Inc., in Washington, DC.  Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/political_pr