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Why I’m Proudly Voting FOR Hillary Clinton, Not Just AGAINST Donald Trump

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Democratic Nominee Isn’t Perfect, but No One’s More Experienced or Qualified, and Her Policy Positions are Right Where I Want Them to Be

Sometime in the past few weeks, the presidential election conversation shifted away from “I’m voting for … ” to “I’m voting against … ”

While I’m all for anyone voting against GOP nominee Donald Trump for pretty much any reason — and wow, are there many — I want to shift the conversation back. I’m not just voting against Trump, I’m proudly voting for Hillary Clinton.  

Before we go any further I should tell you that no, I’m not affilliated with the Clinton campaign. Yes, I’ve worked on Democratic campaigns and will probably work on others in the future, but so far, they’ve all been local or statewide races.

This is all me, and I’ll say it again: I’m proudly voting for Hillary Clinton. She’s not just the best candidate for the job in relation to the other possibilities, she’s the best we’ve seen in a long time.  

Right away, more than a few commentors on Facebook are going to start off by saying, “But Hillary wasn’t even for same-sex marriage until a couple of years ago and only because public opinion changed!” Seriously, wait a few hours after this gets posted and go check NCRM’s Facebook page. At least one person’s going to say this. 

Here’s my response: So what? She’s there now. There are lots of folks who were involved in the fight, whether on the ground or at a policy level, who gladly take wins however we can get them.

A win’s a win. She may not have been with us before, but she took the time to listen, learn and act. She’s there now and she’s gone even farther — she’s more pro-LGBT going into the election than any other major party candidate in history.

Literally, there is no other candidate in the history of our country who is or has been more pro-LGBT than Clinton is. She’s talked openly about rights that go far beyond marriage — and she hasn’t been afraid to talk about trans non-discrimination laws. In fact, I kind of love it even more when a politician’s personal views don’t always match their public policy positions because they understand that their responsibility is to their consituents and not to themeselves.

Just this week, everyone’s favorite step-dad and Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine talked about how his Catholic faith guides him in his daily life, but not always in his political life. Isn’t this exactly what we want out of our leaders? People who understand that their religious beliefs are their own, and that their responsibility isn’t to minister to the masses, but to create public policy that works for everyone?

In my book, that’s paramount. Sure, I’d love it if a politician truly matched up with every one of my beliefs, but more than that, I want a politician who firmly believes in my right to live my life according to my personal beliefs, even if those beliefs differ from their own. 

Hillary Clinton is the most pro-reproductve rights candidate we’ve seen in a long, long time. She’s an ardent supporter of access to abortion, birth control, and other reproductive health needs.

In terms of healthcare, she was the pioneer who first brought the idea of universal healthcare to the US. (Seriously, that’s where the seeds of Obamacare were planted.) She’s for paid family leave — for the whole family, not just the person who gave birth, because she’s smart enough to know that the not only do adoptive parents matter just as much as biological parents, she understands the powerful bonding that happens with the non-birth parent during the first few weeks of life. 

There are so many other issues where the Clinton campaign is right where I want them to be: gun control, climate change, racial justice, worker’s rights — for me, the list goes on. And, sure, there are some issues where Clinton and I don’t see eye to eye, but that’s OK. I recognize the reality of the situation, too. Not every policy I’d like to see changed makes the most sense for the rest of the country, or, we’re just not there yet. But even with that in mind, there’s no denying that in certain areas — in foreign policy, for example, or, even just knowing how government actually works — there’s no one more experienced and qualified.

There’s no doubt that we still have plenty of work to do in many areas. No one candidate is going to be everywhere I want them to be — progress takes time. But when it comes to the person I think best matches with the majority of my issues and is most likely to make progress on them and who has experience and understands how to get things done? Hillary Clinton is the only choice. The other candidates don’t even come close. 

I’m not ignoring that she’s got some faults and she’s made mistakes. (If you want to see a list of those faults, I’m sure the good people who comment on Facebook will be happy to make a list for you.) Clinton has bravely faced those mistakes, admitted to them, taken the heat, and moved on. That’s what I want in a candidate, and that’s what I want in a president. 

I’m voting for Hillary Clinton because she’s the best person for the job. When it comes to pure experience and ability, no one else even comes close. Not by a longshot.

Robbie Medwed is an Atlanta-based LGBT activist and educator. His column appears here weekly. Follow him on Twitter @rjmedwed

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News

Will Trump Testify at Trial? ‘Absolutely’ Is Now a ‘No Decision’ Yet

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6 hours ago

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May 16, 2024

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The State of New York’s prosecution of Donald Trump is nearing it end, as Judge Juan Merchan announced late Thursday afternoon final arguments could begin on Tuesday. But one question remains: Will the ex-president who is facing 34 felony charges in the election interference, falsification of business records, and hush money cover-up case, testify in his defense?

Just over one month ago Trump was asked that question. He quickly responded, “Yeah I would testify, absolutely.”

Trump appeared resolved.

READ MORE: Ex-Florida GOP Chair’s Efforts to Recruit 3-Way Partners for Anti-LGBTQ Wife Revealed: Report

“I’m testifying. I tell the truth. I mean, all I can do is tell the truth. And the truth is that there is no case,” he said, as NBC News reported.

NBC added last week that Trump “told Newsmax two weeks ago that he would testify ‘if necessary,’ and on Tuesday he said in an interview with Spectrum News 1 Wisconsin that he would ‘probably’ take the stand, adding that he ‘would like to.'”

But when Judge Merchan asked Todd Blanche, Trump’s attorney, on Thursday, the answer was very different.

“That’s another decision that we need to think through,” he said, according to the Associated Press.

But Politico’s Erica Orden reported, “Blanche says Trump hasn’t made a final decision about whether to testify.”

Last week, as the question of Trump’s testifying loomed large, U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) insisted he would not.

“It’s over. Donald Trump has a right to not testify. Yet he PROMISED he would. Now it’s clear he won’t. The jury can’t consider this. But you can. He is chickenshit and you should conclude he’s guilty as hell.”

On Wednesday, attorney George Conway addressed the topic, saying, “If he doesn’t testify, it’s because he’s scared.”

He also said, “in a million years, I would never tell him to testify. I would tell him not to testify.”

Watch the video above or at this link.

READ MORE: Trump Wails His Judge Was Appointed by ‘Democrat Politicians’ – That’s False

 

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Ex-Florida GOP Chair’s Efforts to Recruit 3-Way Partners for Anti-LGBTQ Wife Revealed: Report

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8 hours ago

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May 16, 2024

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A stunning police report reveals how Christian Ziegler, the now-ousted Florida Republican Party chair, would head out to bars to scope out and recruit women as possible three-way sex partners for himself and his stridently anti-LGBTQ wife, Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler.

The disgraced Florida power couple’s ménage à trois sex scandal made national headlines after an accusation of rape against Christian Ziegler came from one of their three-way sexual partners, an allegation he denied. After an investigation no charges were filed.

Christian Ziegler lost his high-paying job as the Florida GOP chairman, but his wife Bridget has refused to resign from her elected position on a school board, as well as from her position on the state board that now oversees the Walt Disney World special district. Bridget Ziegler, who is seen as an architect of Governor Ron DeSantis’ “Don’t Say Gay” law, reportedly is best friends with Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis, and was appointed to the special district role by the Florida GOP governor.

The Sarasota Police Dept. report, according to the Florida Trident, “recounts how Christian Ziegler went ‘on the prowl’ in bars for women to bring home to Bridget, a Sarasota County School Board member who has backed a number of anti-LGBTQ measures at both the state and local level, for threesome encounters. While at the bars, Christian would surreptitiously photograph prospective women and text the photos to Bridget for approval, according to the report.”

READ MORE: ‘Mouths of Sauron’: Critics Blast ‘Mobster Tactic’ of Trump Surrogates ‘Violating’ Gag Order

Some of the details are salacious.

“There were numerous text messages between Bridget and Christian where they are on the prowl for a female and Bridget is directing him to numerous different bars in search of a female that they are both interested in,” the report reads, according to The Trident. “During these conversations Christian is secretly taking photographs of women in the bars and sending them to Bridget asking her if she wants this one or that one. Bridget is telling him to pretend to take pictures of his beer, so they don’t see him taking pictures of them. She tells him ‘Don’t come home until your dick is wet.’”

The Zieglers are in court trying to block the release of the text messages and other media, alleging in a lawsuit against the Sarasota Police Dept. and the State Attorney’s Office that “release of those records would cause ‘great humiliation and harm to their individual reputations’ if released and therefore should be destroyed.”

“The suit specifically addresses the contents of Christian Ziegler’s cell phone, his social media accounts, web browsing history, and the video he made of the sexual encounter with the alleged rape victim,” the Trident reports.

Meanwhile, despite her own actions and after months of laying low, Bridget Ziegler is back on her anti-LGBTQ crusade.

“At last week’s school board meeting, Ziegler introduced a highly contentious resolution to ignore protections for LGBTQ students afforded by a new federal Title IX rule,” the Trident also reports. “The resolution, which followed a DeSantis legal challenge to Title IX at the state level, claims the new rule would cause ‘disastrous impacts to girls and women’s safety in restrooms, locker rooms, and sports.’ It passed by a 4-1 vote despite the fact it could lead to a federal investigation, expensive litigation, and the loss to the school district of roughly $50 million in federal funds.”

READ MORE: Trump Appears to Violate Gag Order After Judge Threatened ‘Incarceration’

 

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Trump Appears to Violate Gag Order After Judge Threatened ‘Incarceration’

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10 hours ago

on

May 16, 2024

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Despite New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan explicitly warning Donald Trump last week that any future violations of his gag order could result in jail time, the ex-president appears to have done so directly on Thursday.

“A lead person from the DOJ is running the trial,” Trump claimed, obviously referring to prosecutor Matthew Colangelo, as Law & Crime reports.

“So Biden’s office is running this trial. This trial is a scam and it’s a sham and it shouldn’t happen,” Trump told reporters outside the courtroom.

Judge Merchan’s gag order specifically prohibits trump from attacking anyone in District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, except for the D.A. himself.

“Colangelo, a lead prosecutor in the case, was criticized one day earlier by Trump ally Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, largely raising the same complaints that Trump repeated outside of court,” Law & Crime noted.

READ MORE: ‘Ready to Start Another Insurrection’: Gaetz Support for Trump Echoes Proud Boys Order

The gag order explicitly states Trump is “directed to refrain from”:

“Making or directing others to make public statements about known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses concerning their potential participation in the investigation or in this criminal proceeding; Making or directing others to make public statements” about attorneys “in the case other than the District Attorney,” “members of the court’s staff and the District Attorney’s staff, or the family members of any counsel or staff member” or “any prospective juror or any juror in this criminal proceeding.”

Ten days ago Merchan wrote in his order: “Defendant is hereby put on notice that if appropriate and warranted, future violations of its lawful orders will be punishable by incarceration.”

Watch below or at this link.

 

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