Why I trust Hillary
Point/Counter-Point: To see the other side of this argument, read "Why I Don't Trust Hillary," here.
It is no secret that a large part of America doesn’t trust Hillary Clinton. A Quinnipiac University study actually pegged the number at 59 percent. That is, about 6 in 10 people believe she is “not honest.”
They may be right. Clinton’s extensive record of changing her views on a variety of policies definitely implies that she is not entirely upfront about her personal perspective.
Consequently, she comes off as being an inauthentic, power-hungry woman who would do anything for the vote- especially when compared with the frank, stick-it-to the man attitude Bernie Sanders has used to fuel his revolution/campaign.
However, America, Hillary’s inconsistencies shouldn’t discourage you from trusting her.
When an elected official clings to their personal beliefs, they don’t necessarily represent the best ideas or the will of the people. One of the most frustrating things to deal with when examining candidates is looking at a candidate who is otherwise awesome, but is stubborn about a few issues because of personal beliefs. The entire point of a democratic process is to ensure that no one person's beliefs will dominate our public discourse.
I don’t want Bernie Sanders’ personal views to dictate my life and my country. This is a democracy, damn it. This is our lives, and our world, and the president's job isn’t to execute a massive transition into their personal utopia.
Hating on flip-flopping is a really lazy way to decrease one’s political accountability. In a democratic society, it’s the citizen's responsibility to stay updated on events that affect their country. Plans change, new facts arise and the country continues to move forward. Any individual in office needs to have fluid views that can change according to what is best for the country right now.
Hillary’s past of changing her views, for a variety of reasons, only makes her a stronger candidate. This is a person willing and able to put her ego aside in order to ensure only the best policies and ideologies constitute our country.
ON MARRIAGE
“Marriage has got historic, religious and moral content that goes back to the beginning of time, and I think a marriage is as a marriage has always been, between a man and a woman. But I also believe that people in committed gay marriages, as they believe them to be, should be given rights under the law that recognize and respect their relationship.” -2000.
“LGBT Americans are our colleagues, our teachers, our soldiers, our friends, our loved ones. And they are full and equal citizens, and they deserve the rights of citizenship. That includes marriage. That’s why I support marriage for lesbian and gay couples.” -2013.
Hillary has always supported same-sex couples being recognized and respected by the state. In 2013 she made the transition to not only supporting said couples but fully promoting the right for them to marry under federal law. However, this was only after the rest of america was ready for the change. This is a political move, and a smart one. If a politician tries to jam progress down the populations throat before they're ready, it can cause significant backlash. It’s more effective to weigh the mood of the population and let the change in perspective occur naturally, with the representative accurately reflecting the mood of the people. This is change that's palatable not only for conservative voters, but for the center-leaning democrats as well.
ON GUNS
“We have one set of rules in NYC and a totally different set of rules in the rest of the state. What might work in NYC is certainly not going to work in Montana. So, for the federal government to be having any kind of blanket rules that they’re going to try to impose, I think doesn’t make sense.” - 2008.
“I do support comprehensive background checks, and to close the gun show loophole, and the online loophole, and what's called the Charleston loophole, and to prevent people on the no-fly list from getting guns,” -2016.
Yes, in 2008, you could say Hillary was pretty lax on federally enforced gun legislation. However, that was before the spree of mass shootings, or the increased awareness of them, have occurred over the past couple of years. The problems that we face today regarding gun safety are not the same that we faced just ten years ago. This is a situation in which new information and circumstance would (quite logically) cause a politician to change their opinion.
ON IMMIGRATION
“Clearly, we have to make some tough decisions as a country, and one of them ought to be coming up with a much better entry-and-exit system so that if we’re going to let people in for the work that otherwise would not be done, let’s have a system that keeps track of them,” - 2004.
“We need comprehensive immigration reform with a path to full and equal citizenship. If Congress won't act, I'll defend President Obama’s executive actions—and I'll go even further to keep families together. I'll end family detention, close private immigrant detention centers, and help more eligible people become naturalized.” 2016.
Hillary uses a much more sympathetic tone towards immigrants in this election. Since the recent global issue of handling Syrian refugees, the media in particular has examined immigrants with a more humanitarian view. This view has absolutely transferred to the way we look at Mexican immigrants, which has always been and will continue to be a problem for the United States. There is a lot of negative tension surrounding current methods of deportation, including mass roundups. These methods are unpopular, and some say unethical.
TPP
"So it's fair to say that our economies are entwined, and we need to keep upping our game both bilaterally and with partners across the region through agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership or TPP. Australia is a critical partner. This TPP sets the gold standard in trade agreements to open free, transparent, fair trade, the kind of environment that has the rule of law and a level playing field. And when negotiated, this agreement will cover 40 percent of the world's total trade and build in strong protections for workers and the environment." -2012
“I have said from the very beginning that we had to have a trade agreement that would create good American jobs, raise wages and advance our national security and I still believe that is the high bar we have to meet.” -2015.
The comments that Hillary made in 2012 regarding the TPP were made with the hopes and expectation that it would be held to a certain standard. Consequently, as the deal progressed, it turned out to not be the original deal that she had in mind. Now she doesn’t support it. Nothing too unusual here.
Hillary's flexibility and adaptability are underrated qualities that make her a stronger candidate than her opponents outside and within her party. These qualities make her a particularly good fit for a position serving the United States government, which often must adjust to a rapidly changing culture, like in cases such as LGBT rights or even immigration. Americans should look past concerns of her lack of authenticity and stay updated on current issues and changing conditions, like Hillary does.