2016 may be the last time I get to vote for

[JDPriestly]

39. There is a counterargument.

Many of us on what used to be the center of the Democratic Party and is now referred to as the "left" worked very hard to get Obama elected.

I did. I really worked hard and I am not the youngest.

When he got into office, he appointed people from Wall Street and Rahm Emmanuel as his close aides. He barely tipped his (proverbial) hat to people like me who had worked so hard to get him into the White House. He has been a good president in many respects, but he has not been a progressive president by any means.

Then the Occupy movement began, and the federal government was to say it politely very rude to that grass-roots movement that was, yes, protesting in part, Obama's economic policies that had resulted in so much misery in the country. His policies in dealing with the banks after Bush's and also Bill Clinton's policies in also picking Wall Street economic advisers and repealing Glass-Steagall and then signing an act that allowed the worsening of the media consolidation, all policies that caused our 2008 economic crash. (To say nothing of Bill Clinton's signing of NAFTA.)

I for one, am sick of working hard for the Democratic candidates, and then being told after the election, that my views, my issues, are just not important enough to be addressed favorably. I will not do that again. And I anticipate based on the record of Bill Clinton that Hillary will do precisely that: address my issues in her campaign and then forget about me and the progressive issues I care about once elected.

So that is my beef with Hillary.

Further, I read an article about Hillary's speech before a group of small business owners in Norwalk, Iowa (a place I know well). She broached the topics that are in the news today: the attacks on the ACA, equal pay for women, etc. But she did not venture one step beyond those issues which are uncontroversial within the Democratic Party. I am waiting for her to actually fight for any truly progressive issues say on climate change or the TPP. I am waiting. It is very easy to be for equal pay. It is very hard to write or pass a law that will require it and even harder to enforce such a law. But the issue makes for good press. And as a woman, I certainly want equal pay for women. But to get it you have to deal with a myriad of issues like equal work -- what is that? -- about childcare -- about which parent takes kids to the doctor and misses work -- about the time women take off to care for their children -- about all kinds of issues that are not so easily translated into questions of discrimination. As I said, I am a woman and this is an issue that matters a lot to me, but it is a very complex issue even thought it lends itself easily to a slogan.

Most of all, I fear that Hillary will compromise Social Security. Among the many friends of Bill and Hillary is Pete Peterson, an avid and effective and very wealthy foe of Social Security. She will never admit to being willing to compromise Social Security, but I do not trust her on that issue because of her close ties with Wall Street including her son-in-law's employment.

So there you have it. I am not an extremist. I am an FDR Democrat. And I do not trust Hillary.

Above all, even to those who do like Hillary, be wary. It is utterly important that we vet our candidates and make sure they will fight for our interests once they are in office. We live in times of great corruption. We must be very careful about who we trust to wield the power of the White House.