On April 12, 2015, Hillary Clinton announced her candidacy for president on behalf of the Democratic Party for the 2016 presidential election. Women across the nation are excited to finally have such a strong female contender for President of the United States. If you aren’t which presidential candidate you’ll be supporting in 2016, here are a few reasons why I’m #ReadyforHillary and you should be too.
1. Prior political experience: Clinton was not just a First Lady, she was the first wife of the POTUS to run for public office. She was elected to the New York Senate as the first female senator for that state and served from January 2001 to January 2009. Clinton was also Secretary of State under current President Barack Obama from 2009-2013, demonstrating an expertise in foreign policy as well as internal affairs.
2. Central leaning : Clinton is by no means the most liberal Democrat in the world. She makes decisions and holds views of more central Democrats. By remaining left but still close to the center, Clinton will be able to win over key swing states such as Ohio, Colorado and Florida by appealing to an audience of Independents who do not always vote Democrat or Republican. Another perk of staying closer to the center is getting people who would not normally vote interested in voting by helping involve them in issues, such as college students and people of a lower educational background.
3. Growing economy: Clinton said during a recent campaign in Monticello, Iowa immediately following her announcement of candidacy that “we need to build the economy of tomorrow, not yesterday.” Income inequality, or the divide between the rich and the poor, is slowing the economic growth of our country. Because of that she wants to help lessen the gap by emphasizing healthcare, education, and enrichment, three ideals mentioned in her book Hard Choices. In a world where so many of us will be struggling to get job, we need to be sure that we will be going into a workplace full of more economic stability than before, which Hillary can help to provide.
4. Her gender : In a world full of menism accounts on Twitter belittling women and the fight for equal pay, we need someone to look up to and show us that women can get stuff done. Little girls should not be growing up feeling ashamed of their goals, so seeing a powerful women running for one of the most important political positions on Earth will help to empower those little girls and women of all ages. Her candidacy will compel girls to go out, take risks and begin to enter traditionally male dominated fields.