By The Editorial Board
When the Riptide endorsed Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders last spring, we envisioned a president who greatly appealed to the needs of today’s youth. As the 2016 election cycle has transitioned from the primaries to the general election, the Riptide Editorial Board has considered two other candidates: former Secretary of State and Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton, and Green Party nominee Jill Stein.
We have decided overwhelmingly in favor of Hillary Clinton, a candidate that seems to have the most pragmatic projection for the future of our country.
Though there have been many arguments against Clinton, it’s difficult to deny that she has the most political experience of any of the candidates running for office. Among other political positions, Clinton has served eight years on the floor of the US Senate, and four years as Secretary of State. She alone knows the true responsibility, as well as the immense difficulty, of the presidential position, which is one of the reasons we believe she will be able to turn the policies she advocates for into laws.
When comparing Clinton and Stein, it is vital to understand that a president has limited time and influence with which they can pass their policies. This is especially important when you consider that Stein, a complete political outsider, has significantly fewer contacts than Clinton. Stein’s platform is also far less popular than that of Clinton’s.
This means that Stein would have to work exponentially harder to pass her policies, even if she had the same amount of knowledge about the inner-workings of Capitol Hill. Contrast this with Clinton’s 30 years of experience in government, as Donald Trump loves to point out, and you can see that Clinton will be far more efficient in getting her policies through Congress.
Compared to any other candidate, Clinton has shown the most restraint in making promises. She avoids pushing policies that are not feasible, and, when appropriate, she admits to the improbability of a desired action or policy she wishes to pass as president. In contrast, Republican party candidate Donald Trump claims that he is going to build a wall and make Mexico pay for it, yet when he talked to the president of Mexico, the president made clear that he was in no position to impose the costs of such a wall on his country.
Progressive party nominee Jill Stein has proposed a plan to cancel student debt by using the money currently delegated to quantitative easing, which is the introduction of new money into a system through a central bank. She claims that the president has the authority to do so, but this is completely false — only the Federal Reserve has that power. In other words, unlike both Trump and Stein, Clinton knows the limits of a President’s authority, and as a result is more realistic when it comes to policy proposals.
Of all the candidates running, Clinton is definitely the most professional. She knows how she is perceived and how to carry herself in difficult situations, which has been readily apparent in her debates against Trump, who has multiple punches on his “Frequent Interrupter Card.” This is a very important quality in a future president.
We need someone in office who can get things done.
The population of Vashon Island is known to be very liberal, as is illustrated by the fluorescent lights on the side of 103rd Ave — formerly reading “Bernie” — as well as by the fact that Vashon gave the largest amount of donations to the Bernie Sanders campaign per capita in the entire country.
Today, Sanders’ beliefs live on in Clinton, who has embraced his positions on issues such as the minimum wage, immigration, climate change, gun control, criminal justice, and many more. If any of these things — found in Vashon’s top-choice candidate — are to happen within the next four years, they need Clinton’s diplomatic and governing skills.
It is true that Stein aligns better with the views of Progressive voters on nearly every issue — including regulating Wall Street, decreasing foreign intervention out of respect for human rights and international law, fighting climate change and all of its causes, expanding rights for people of all genders and orientations, establishing single-payer universal health care, and eliminating money from politics. However, if anything Progressive is going to get done through the White House, it will take someone who knows the meaning of compromise.
We need Hillary Clinton.
A Stein supporter might also argue that Washington State voters can turn out for Jill Stein in large numbers without costing Clinton a single one of Washington’s 12 Electoral College votes. Some might even argue that a large turnout for Jill Stein would not only provide funding for the Green Party in future elections, but also signal to Clinton and the Democratic establishment that Progressives do not support fracking, unregulated free trade, and foreign policy blunders — all of which would force Clinton and any future Democratic candidates to meet Progressives demands in order to earn their vote.
Voting for Stein risks splitting the liberal vote, which could result in Trump taking the election. However popular Stein might be, there is no chance she can win the election.
Yes, Hillary Clinton is a less-than-ideal candidate. But, just as splitting the vote hurts Clinton’s chance of winning the election (and with it, the future of our country), so too does refusing to vote.
We’ve seen the messages all over Facebook — saying things like “I don’t even want to vote in this election” — but we know we don’t have the option of going president-less for four years.
People need to stop acting like the country can take a Presidential Gap Year.
Refusing to vote essentially says that you approve of whichever outcome occurs. That would mean you approve of electing either candidate.
Trump is a businessman-turned-demagogue who cannot control his temper, has legally found ways to avoid taxes (despite being a billionaire who can easily afford to pay them), and advocates trickle-down economics, which have been historically proven to help none but the extremely wealthy (like himself).
Even Clinton’s admittedly wrongful use of a private email server pales in comparison to this.
This election has seen many plot twists that have thrown votes for a loop. During the Democratic primaries, we, as students, endorsed Bernie Sanders because he advocated a future that we could believe in, and one that we deserve. Sanders may have lost the primary, but that doesn’t mean we should give up on the Democratic Party.
As our generation of Progressives enters the most influential voting bloc in the entire country during the next few years, our dreams for the future will come closer and closer to reality, until the next Bernie Sanders, or even the next Jill Stein, can become president. Until then, we should elect the best candidate in this year’s election — a leader who can get things done.
Remember, electing a president is not a blank check. Students have the power to make demands on a president, just like anybody else. So although the perfect candidate is not an option, we can elect the best choice we have, and transform her into our president.
Sometimes, even if you don’t like it, you must bite the proverbial bullet and choose the lesser of two evils, because the election is happening, whether you like it or not.
Editorial Board’s Vote: Clinton — 12, Stein — 1