This whole post is not directed at the primaries, but at posters who stated that they would have hesitations about voting for Hillary in the general election, should she get that far. Again, this is NOT about Bernie vs. Hillary, but the hypothetical Hillary vs. GOP.
I think that the criticisms of Hillary being corporate are overblown, and that history may illuminate what exactly I mean. In 2008, Obama was a relatively unknown candidate who, while running for office, opposed Guantanamo, opposed the Patriot Act, supported universal health care, supported raising taxes on the wealthy, and initially opposed the war in Iraq. Then he got elected, and he shifted from the idealist to the pragmatist and sought to get done what he could, compromising on what he had to compromise on to get health care reform, and took the stances that he had to take. He did none of those things, and actually appointed many people from Wall Street to be his political advisers. Even when attempting to push through the Affordable Care Act, he removed the public option before it could substantively be debated. In 2008, I supported Obama in large part because I felt like he was the candidate that was closest to me on the political spectrum.
And in hindsight, I was wrong to support him then for his idealism and his "consistency." However, I feel that his shift from his ideological purity worked out for the best, and I think history will remember Obama favorably. In large part due to Obamacare, America has expanded coverage, reduced health care costs, forced insurers to provide a meaningful essential benefits package, regulated health insurers, reduced the number of people declaring bankruptcy due to health care costs, and prevented insurers from capping lifetime limits or dropping people due to "pre-existing conditions." Is the bill perfect? Fuck no. The individual mandate forces people to buy insurance, thus making the companies money. But it is without a doubt better than its predecessor, and if Obama reached further, we probably would not have gotten what we did.
The point of this being that just because she is corporate shouldn't be the sole criteria of why you should not vote for her. Obama proved to be corporate, but effective: Lily Ledbetter fair pay act, health care reform, ending the war in Iraq, Iran Nuclear Deal, repeal of DADT, allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire, the stimulus bill, reducing the deficit by over 60%, reduced unemployment from double digits to I believe 5.8% at the moment, Matthew Shepard Hate Crime Act, executive order requiring hospitals allow same-sex partners visitation rights, greatly improved our international relations, increased our utilization of renewable energy, and most importantly put Sotomayor and Kagan on the Supreme Court. If anyone believes that a republican president would have achieved half of this, then they are pants on head stupid. My only point is that, like Obama, Hillary shouldn't be written off because she is perceived as corporate, and we shouldn't vote third-party and risk giving the GOP the election because Hillary isn't "perfect." I feel like, at worst, Hillary would be another four years of Obama, and quite frankly, I would be more than happy with such a result [Edit to clarify: as opposed to the possibility of Bush the Boring, Rubio, or Huckabee in the white house].
As an aside, I understand Nicki's concern for neoliberal policies. However, domestically, Obama and Hillary adhere to more Keynesian economics. In the international scene, they do tend to follow neo-liberalism and free trade. I have to disagree with Nicki on the effect of these policies on the american workforce (they actually benefit the more advanced nations at the expense of poorer nations). Nonetheless, I still disagree with these policies because they have an effect of impoverishing other nations at our expense. I tried to keep this vague to address your concerns, while not get too in-depth for a tangential argument (which would probably be better taken up in another thread).
And, in closing, AGAIN, this is not about Bernie vs. Hillary, but Hillary in the general election should she make it that far.
