Sunday, April 12th, 2015 Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State, New York Senator, and wife of two-term President Bill Clinton, formally announced her expected candidacy for her Campaign for the Democratic Party nomination for President in the 2016 election. Hillary Clinton previously ran in the democratic primaries in 2008 and lost to President Barack Obama. With the uprise from the constant killings by police officers, Hillary has finally decided to speak about the issues that are happening all over the world.
Hillary tweeted out, “Praying for #WalterScott’s family. Heartbreaking and too familiar. We can do better- rebuild trust, reform justice system, respect all lives.” She has also stated she wants to be the champion that everyone deserves. We do not know if her support about the issues she now speaks of is genuine because she has failed in the past to demonstrate that she cares. This run will definitely be an interesting one because we’ve had our first African American President, and now if she wins it would be the first American woman President. There are many similarities to her new campaign as to the last time she ran eight years ago.
Some will say they’d rather have her in office than a Republican. In all honesty, we feel that a moderate Republican and a moderate Democrat of any race or gender are essentially the exact same person politically. A moderate Republican President will have to make many of the same concessions as President Obama. We do not want you to just give Hillary your vote; we want you to make her work for it, or any candidate for that matter. Hillary Clinton will really have to work for this campaign and be dedicated to the people and for the people. We need more than “She’s a woman” to justify a vote for her because that is not enough. She has served a term as Secretary of State, which is an accomplishment on her part. She has also pledged to run a less poll-tested campaign for the most part.
To take on the next term as President after President Obama will be rather difficult. As much as he has done, he will be remembered in history to be the most transformative President in the United States History of Presidents. President Obama earned a lot of respect and trust with the citizens with some of the things he has changed. We do feel Clinton has shown that she is ready for the tough fights. She’s a leader and a shrewd politician. But that is not enough to win the world over.
If in fact Clinton wins, that will be another historical moment in our country’s history, and it may be a celebration for those who care about the advancement for women’s rights. But more importantly, Hillary Clinton will have to show the citizens of the United States that she will fight for the working class, because her track record shows that she is more likely to fight for the 1%.
We also remember all of the tactics used while she was up against President Obama in her 2008 campaign. She used many racial overtones in her campaign which contradicts her current words sympathizing with minorities. She knows she can’t win without the minority vote.
So the question we are asking is whether her newfound support for black struggle just a political tool to bring in the minority vote, or is she sincerely dedicated to being a champion for ALL people? Looking back at her terms as US Senator of New York, she highly endorsed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also, when Clinton served as Secretary of State she advocated for US military intervention in Libya, took responsibility for the security lapses that were associated with the 2012 Benghazi attack, and we can’t forget that she was at the forefront of the US response to Arab Spring where demonstrators were met with military force while protesting to come from under oppressive rule. That last one sounds quite familiar!
So after being at the forefront of America’s military response to the Arab Spring while being Secretary of State, how can we really take her support seriously at a time when US citizens are being gassed and murdered for demonstrating their first amendment rights in the middle of America? We are waiting to see if she truly is a champion for all people or if it was just a tweet with political motivation.
At a moment like this in America, the next true champion of the people can’t be afraid to say “Black Lives Matter”. Of course all lives matter, but every 28 hours in this country a person of color is gunned down by the people who are paid to protect and serve everyone. So clearly Black lives don’t matter to the State the way all other lives matter. This country needs a complete overhaul of the justice system, and it has to come from the highest office in the land. This is our message to Hillary Clinton. We need our next President to take a firm stance on these issues, or we believe every person of color will lose complete faith in this government.
We also need our President to move forward in the right direction. Focusing on things such as healthcare for Americans, fixing this broken system, keeping certain people off the levels of power, and being truly for the people. We are remaining skeptical for that to happen with Clinton at the top of the ticket. She may in fact make a great President. Her election would put a ending to a decade of change this country has not seen yet, but we wonder would she actually be able to get anything accomplished? Our initial consideration of Hillary Clinton as President is not necessarily a positive or negative one right now. We would like to see a lot more change when it comes to the politics in America. All we our left to have is another announcement of Hillary Clinton running for the Presidential Elections for the second time.
Her rival in this election will be none other than Jeb Bush, the brother of George Bush. We all know what the Bush family is about when it comes to Black issues. Jeb Bush is running for the Republicans as Hillary Clinton is running for the Democrats. If either of the candidates win the Presidency, that would make two families in control of the office for the world’s power 28 out of 36 years. That is very extreme in American politics. So far we only have Hillary Clinton as the best bet for change and that is a definite loss to even begin with.
With the beginning of her campaign for the 2016 Democratic Presidential nomination she included a short video where she made a statement touching up on issues referring to economic recovery, economic inequality, the role of families, and national strength. However, seeing her stance on these particular topics in the past, one could argue that this statement was a complete contradiction to her true values and principles. If we are being completely transparent here, the most exciting thing about the 2016 election will be the fact that Hillary is a woman. However, we the people are stuck choosing the lesser of two evils unless a true crusader of social justice enters the race.
Again, taking a look at her time as Secretary of State, she visited more countries than any other who held the position. It seems as if they were positioning her to take control of the oval office from the moment President Obama offered Mrs. Clinton her position. These are the type of games that are played behind the scenes in our government. It looks as if Mrs. Clinton is about to get her “turn”. We are all for making history if that history will create a historical future. What is meant by historical future is a future where ALL people are truly offered the same opportunities, where you do not have to worry about being gunned down by police because of your skin color, where you can earn a decent wage and actually be able to take care of your family, etc.
The list can go on and on. We will not continue to endorse political parties and candidates who refuse to focus on what black, brown, poor and oppressed people need. A tweet or a speech where you mention the names of those slain by public servants will no longer suffice as support in our struggle for liberation. We will no longer accept simple words as acknowledgment. We are demanding more of candidates that want our support. Visit our neighborhoods, see how we live, connect with our struggles, and do something to support it instead of just giving a prepared speech. Our question Mrs. Clinton, are you truly a champion for ALL people?
Thank you,
Rika Tyler (Hands Up United)
T-Dubb-O (Hands Up United)