For me it's not about Secretary Clinton. I don't know her. Never met her. She's a politician. Is she warm and approachable? Cold and calculating? I really don't care.
It's not about her proposed policies. She's a centrist Democrat of the Barack Obama/Bill Clinton mold. Her foreign policy views are much too hawkish for my liking. Her views on charter schools give me pause. I am an educator and the Democrats seldom have my back. Her economic views IMO skew toward the neoliberal position. OTOH she appears to be moving in a more progressive direction. She finally came around on gay marraige. She has rejected the TPP in its present form. She has done very well in the debates. At this point, however, none of that is going to sway my vote.
In the end it is about the racism, the misogyny and the hateful bigotry. It is about the little girl in the picture to the right, hiding behind her great-grandfather, the Most Beatiful Great-Grandaughter in the World ™. Her mother is Puerto Rican and her father is African-American. She was six when the picture was taken. She is now ten and is becoming increasingly aware of the world around her. She will undoubtedly feel the sting of bigotry eventually but I will fight to lessen the racism and sexism that she will face.
Racism manifested itself during the 2008 and 2012 campaigns and hasn't abated since. With the nomination of Trump it has become even more open. And the Trump campaign has unleashed not just overt racism, but nearly every form of bigotry imaginable. Just when one thinks it can't get worse, it does.
From my personal experience it comes not primarily from the working class or the working poor but from the middle and especially the upper middle class who still seem to be particularly incensed that a black man is the leader of our country. In my area, the homes with Trump signs are, with one exception, middle or upper middle class.
And so I look at my beautiful great-granddaughter. I look at my Latina wife. I look at my extended family with it's wonderful diversity. I remember my brother who was gay and who died of AIDS nearly thirty years ago. I consider the young women on my track team, and their hopes and dreams for the future.
And then I look at the hate-spewing people who infest today's Republican Party. While it is not true that all Republicans are racists, it is equally true that the most virulent racists are Republicans. Misogyny can be found across the political spectrum but it is certain members of the Republican Party who have appeared to make it a badge of honor.
I listen to them and I read what they write. For some of them, the bigotry fairly oozes out of their pores. They hate that Obama is more intelligent than Bush, McCain or Romney. They hate that he has more class and dignity. They hate that Hillary Clinton easily bested their candidate in the debates.
I can't let bigotry win; and IMO should Secretary Clinton lose it will be a win for the bigots. I absolutely believe this and it is the over-riding issue for me.
In the end it isn't about Secretary Clinton or her proposed policies. It's about what type of country I want my children and grandchildren to inherit.
Postscript: I wrote a similar diary in 2012. And of course, racism was a major issue is 2008. If anything, the situation is worse now than it was then. I would like to believe that eventually bigotry will not be my over-riding issue in a presidential campaign.