Left concern about HRC is NOT "hatred"...it's about what we stand for as a party and a country [View all]

[Ken Burch]

Opposition to HRC's candidacies for the president, among Democrats and progressives, has NEVER been about personal hatred for her.

It is, plainly and simply, about her militaristic views on foreign policy, her unquestioning support for whatever corporate power wants on economic policy(including a CONTINUING record of unqualified support for all "free trade" pacts any Democratic or Republican president will ever propose), her dismissive hostility to the protest/activist sector of American politics(the only sector that has EVER caused any meaningful social or political changes to happen in this country), and, more recently, her unqualified support for Netanyahu's slaughter campaign in Gaza.

Any white male Democratic frontrunner espousing the exact same views would get the exact same treatment...as would any male Democratic frontrunner of any other race...and any other female Democratic frontrunner).

Those who insist on dismissing anti-HRC progressive opinion as "hatred" are saying, essentially, that the sincere and deeply held-principles of tens of millions of people across this country, female as well as male, LGBTQ-American as well as hetero-American working-class and middle-class, white as well as African-American, Latino-American, First-American or Asian-American(that list not in any order of preference or predecence)trans-American as well as cis-American, are not real, are not deserving of any respect, and are not of any importance.

And it will be crucial to HRC's chances to engage these concerns and these tens of millions of people, because, with her recent swing further to the right on foreign and economic policy issues(and, since foreign and economic policies are more important than any others in terms of what actually shapes our lives, effectively on ALL issues)the size of her opposition within the party and within progressive independents whose support she will have to have in order to win(since no one to the right of the Obama administration will ever vote Democratic again)is certain to grow.

HRC's supporters need to respond with respect and attentiveness to what is being said now, if they don't want to doom her chances of winning(assuming she's still going to be nominated at all)in 2016. The days when they can simply DEMAND that all progressives support someone like her are gone, and gone forever.

Nobody here HATES HRC as a person. Nobody here ONLY opposes her because she's a woman. It's about her positions on the issues. That's really all it is. OK?