Hello. My name is Rebekah and I’m a Hillary Clinton supporter. An enthusiastic Hillary Clinton supporter, if you must know.
And yet, I’ve been pretty restrained with my public support. No sticker on my car. No buttons on my jackets. No baseball hats or t-shirts with an arrow-bedecked H. Not much talk about my growing admiration and excitement for this historic candidate.
I – and a lot of my fellow Hillary-landers – have done this on purposes. I have two big reasons for my relative reticence. First, I trust my girl. She’s running such a good campaign. She’s winning votes and delegates and even a few hearts along the way. She’s twirling her haters, as Beyonce teaches us all to do. She doesn’t need me to scream about my support for her until my friends and family block me on Facebook.
The other reason is I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to hear it from Republicans. I don’t want to hear it from Bernie supporters. I don’t want to hear it from late night comedians or Twitter trolls with egg avis or from Donald Fucking Trump. I’m a Hillary supporter and I don’t want to hear it.
Let me remind you who I am, politically.
- I am pro-choice. That is the first – and sometimes last – question I ask about any politician. I categorically refuse to vote for anyone who doesn’t support full reproductive autonomy for women.
- I am educated. I have a masters degree in public policy and I’ve worked in advocacy and my husband worked in politics. I know my shit.
- I am informed. I read A LOT about politics and always have. I choose my sources wisely. I’m not falling down the rabbit hole of left-wing outrage sites. I’m reading Nate Silver and Charlie Cook. The New York Times and the Washington Post. Roll Call, Politico, the Hill. My information is facts, not conjecture.
- I am 42 years old. My first election was in 1992. This is not my first rodeo.
- I am a realist. I know the difference between a campaign statement and the nuts and bolts of bringing such a statement to life. And you know what? It can’t be done. 99% of what politicians promise, cannot be done. The President is not Santa Claus.
So when people come at me in the comments section and start trying to tell me all the things they think I don’t know? When they start admonishing me to “do my research” and “learn about” whatever topic they think I might not know? I don’t want to hear it. See, I DO know. I got here through honest intellectual labor and I know what I want in a president. I know what I want from my country. I’ve chosen my ground and I’m planting my flag and I don’t want to hear it.
I look at Hillary and I see all of what I know to be true of politics and life in her face. She knows. She knows so much and it makes her promises humble. She’s promising to fight but she isn’t promising to win the fights. She’s promising to listen but she can’t always promise to have an answer.
And when the opposition gets in her face? She doesn’t want to hear it either. There’s nothing I love more than when an interviewer confronts Hillary with some asinine comments from a Republican critic and she throws her head back and laughs. She’s strong enough to laugh in the face of cruel and petty politics and get back to business.
Now I’m ready to start laughing too. I’m ready to be out and proud with my Hillary support and the BernieBros and Trump-eters can take it or leave it. I really don’t care. I know me and I know Hillary and you know what? I’m with her.
