Editorial 9/30: Hillary Clinton for President

It is with grave respect for former Presidential Candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, that The Griffin officially endorses Hillary Clinton for President of The United States.

The Presidential Election should be a proud time in America, a time where two candidates rise to represent two different facets of American ideology, both aiming to lead our country into a more successful and secure future. But this election is different. This election is not about which candidate best depicts American values, but which candidate is less likely to cause massive turmoil within the states. An election should never come down to the lesser of two evils, but at this point, it has.

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, two candidates who are equally despised and have a multitude of problems with truth, transparency, and consistency, are the candidates for President. Trump, a loud, bigoted, and overt businessman with no respect towards minorities, women, or journalists (as the “liberal media,” we’re personally offended), cannot be trusted to acknowledge the serious social justice issues facing our country today. Donald Trump is unqualified, unpolished, and–based off of his debate performance–wholly unprepared to become President.

We need a President who has specific plans for the evolution of economic growth, not someone who rambles about other countries taking our jobs. We need a President who has extensive experience in foreign affairs, not someone who promotes unconstitutional methods of interrogation and threatens to blow up Iranian ships. We cannot have a President who is temperamental, erratic, and indecisive handling nuclear weapons.

While Hillary Clinton has certainly had her missteps, she is one of the most experienced and well-respected candidates the nation has ever seen. As a former First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of State, Clinton has championed some incredibly important issues and will continue to do so once elected. Not only is Clinton’s candidacy one of the most incredible and transformational things to happen to women’s rights, Clinton has continuously fought to create equality between the sexes. With an agenda that focuses on eliminating the wage gap and implementing paid maternity leave for workers, our country will begin to finally have the same rights that other first world countries have had for years. She has been a proponent for LGBTQ rights and will fight to defend organizations like Planned Parenthood and women’s reproductive rights.

With a proven track record, astounding resilience, and relentless stamina, Hillary Clinton will make the necessary advancements towards combating one of the biggest issues of our time: climate change. While Trump has dismissed global warming as a hoax created by the Chinese, Clinton promises to invest in the necessary renewable energy sources to keep our country, and our world, safe for generations to come. Her platform, which focuses on cutting waste, making American manufacturing clean and efficient, and installing over half of a billion solar panels by her first term, will set an important precedent for future policy makers and Presidential candidates, as well as for other foreign leaders. Investing in safe and responsible energy initiatives will be one of the most important decisions of our time, and we cannot afford to have Donald Trump set us back further.

Although less progressive than other candidates in gun control, Hillary Clinton’s common-sense approach to handling gun violence will take on the gun lobby, halt the sale of assault rifles, and keep guns out of the hands of previous abusers, the mentally ill, and those on the no-fly list. This will be done by expanding background checks and closing loop-holes that put guns in the hands of the wrong people. While Trump aligns his views with the National Rifle Association and is a huge advocate of the Second Amendment, Clinton’s views try to create a safer world where guns are not as easily accessible and purchased as they are today.

Clinton’s strong stance on debt-free public education and free community college education will most likely affect the cost of private institutions like Canisius, forcing them to provide a more competitive price for their services. This will be beneficial to both Americans who struggle to afford proper education because of their socioeconomic class, and to the American economy, which will see tremendous benefits from having graduates who can afford to make investments, purchase homes, and begin families. While Donald Trump’s website states that he plans to “ensure that the opportunity to attend a two- or four-year college, or to pursue a trade or a skill set through vocational and technical education, will be easier to access, pay for, and finish”, he offers no substantive plan on how to do any of that, and very rarely talks about affordable college education.

In this era of partisanship and civil unrest, America needs a leader who will stand up to support the oppressed, not bully the voiceless. We need a President with a plan to act, not a bunch of empty promises and inconsistent rants. Hillary Clinton is the only choice in this election. As the primary candidate against Donald Trump, it is in the country’s best interest that Hillary Clinton becomes the next President of the United States of America.