DISCLAIMER: This is an opinion article. The viewpoints voiced in this article do not reflect the political views of the Her Campus UConn Chapter as a whole, but instead reflect the views of the individual author.
Not many expected our two presidential candidates to be narrowed down to Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, two individuals who often are polar opposites. The media and press have had many opportunities to discuss policies, scandals, and issues as they arise. Not relying solely on the media, but by reading both books published by the candidates, as well as attending rallies of both parties, this writer has never felt more strongly about what she’s learned.
As a woman, the obvious choice is to vote for Hillary Clinton, because she’s a woman who can relate to other women! Not only that, but she has had several years of experience. Let’s not forget what all came from her experience:
- Benghazi: the ambassador had asked the state department for more backup with rising threats. Hillary made sure to ignore this request which resulted in four American deaths. She claimed it was brought on based on a video that had been obtained when in fact it was due to extremists.
- Email Loss: it’s claimed that several foreign counties hacked her system due to emails being kept on a personal instead of a private server. When it came to the passing of said emails, 17,000+ were deleted that dealt with work related issues.
- Supported the Iran Nuclear Deal.
More importantly she’s all about woman rights and equality. After all she only:
- Received money from Saudi Arabia (almost $25 million), which is a country leading in women’s rights. After all, in Saudi Arabia, women only need a male guardian for almost everything, marital rape is not a criminal offense, and those who engage in same sex relationships can be punished by death.
- Her foundation pays women, on average, less than fellow male executives (38% less) as well as Hillary and Chelsea making 33% more than average.
- She bad-mouthed and threatened the women who convicted her husband, Bill Clinton, of sexual assault.
- Legally represented individuals accused of rape.
But remember, she’s trustworthy:
- After all, Bernie Sanders supporters are “basement dwellers” and Trump supporters are “deplorables.”
- Let’s not forget the emails found between her and the Democratic Party head that showed the DNC to be in favor of Hillary over Bernie.
But let’s be honest, Donald Trump is the worse of two evils. After all he:
- Has no success. Turning a $1 million loan into a $10 billion empire is NOT successful. He has no way of knowing how to help our economy.
- Is a racist. He bought a country club down in Florida that had restrictions on race (only white Americans who are non-Jewish) and opened it up to everyone.
- Is horrible with women. Claims filed against him have been dropped. His organization’s employees are 43% women which is higher than the average of other real estate companies. Women in certain positions get paid higher than their male counterparts.
- Wants strict borders; no Muslims or Mexicans allowed to enter. Although, that’s not the case. Rather, he pushes for a stronger border and vetting process. In terms of immigrants and refugees, it makes sense to slow down the acceptance rate in order to research their background.
- Does not have the support of the pope. The pope is not suppose to have a role in politics. Aren’t church and state suppose to be separate? You wouldn’t want religion mixing into politics, but now it’s an exception?
All we can possibly know is that the United States of America has been left polarized and this election will definitely change things. With that, make sure to educate yourself on the issues and go out tomorrow to vote fellow collegiates!