Voting for Hillary Clinton isn’t a perfect moral act

The 2016 presidential election has elicited more fear and paranoia among the media establishment, political figures, and yes, average voters, than any other in recent memory – perhaps in all American history. Many people are holding their noses to vote for Clinton in order to stop the terrifyingly incoherent Donald Trump, whose politics and comportment echo those of 20th Century fascists.

On the other hand, for Trump supporters, Clinton represents the worst elements of a corrupt political system – she’s above the law, has backing from some of America’s most powerful institutions, and would continue the worrying trend of dynastic succession in American politics. Her right-wing detractors are also in no small way fueled by blatant misogyny, and Trump’s populist racism also goes a long way in explaining his appeal to white Americans.

Before I continue, I want to make one thing eminently clear. I believe Donald Trump is a worse candidate than Hillary Clinton. Preventing Trump’s election to the presidency is a vital part of stemming the tide of a populist, neo-fascist political movement in the United States. But I have noticed many, in their vociferous opposition to Trump, assume electing Clinton is a positive good.

I am here to say that it is not. Many of the “nightmares” that would ostensibly occur during a Trump presidency are either already happening or would happen regardless of each candidate’s purported positions. I’d like to take a look at some of these “nightmares,” which for far too many people constitute reality.

N.B.: In this article, although I am condemning both candidates, it may (rightfully) seem I am focusing a lot more energy on critiquing the liberal status quo (as represented by Obama/Clinton) than on critiquing Trump. This is because profound amounts of intellectual energy have already been spent on making it clear Trump is twisted and horrible. What has yet to be elaborated upon with as much rigor is the idea the world in which we currently live is also twisted and horrible and wholly unacceptable, and this is what I have set out to do.

A tale of two nationalisms

In the most recent debate, Clinton countered Trump’s vague slogan “Make America Great Again” by asserting “America is great because America is good.” From a left perspective, the fact these two viewpoints represent the entire spectrum of mainstream American politics is, frankly, terrifying. One has to choose between a ridiculous goal of reestablishing elements of America’s white supremacist past – making it “Great Again” – and lining up to support the exceptionalist mantra that “America is good,” a line of tacit support for America’s white supremacist present. The very idea of the United States as a benevolent actor on behalf of the less-smart, less-capable everyone-else-in-the-world has historically been used to justify all sorts of imperialist war crimes (hey there, everything from Manifest Destiny to the Iraq War!).

Imperialist war crimes, you said?

Speaking of which, the nightmare of Trump’s election is not at all necessary for American foreign policy to descend into Hades; it’s already there. Take, for example, Saudi Arabia’s illegal war on Houthi rebels in Yemen, where a US-manufactured bomb recently killed more than 140 civilians attending a funeral. Or, most recently, the fact US destroyers have themselves bombarded rebel positions, incidents which the Obama administration has conveniently described as “self-defense.” The current administration’s actions – of complicity in war crimes and of military escalation – are notwithstanding Trump’s complete unpredictability regarding foreign policy, or Clinton’s support for a no-fly-zone in Syria, which she herself admitted would “kill a lot of Syrians.”

Deportations 

Another constant fixture of the “Trump nightmare” is his promise to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants. However, if Trump’s proposal is scary – and it is – the Obama administration has already gotten him about a quarter of the way there, with the completely unprecedented immigration record of 2.5 million deportations in the last eight years. Clinton, for her part, hasn’t promised much in terms of a reversal of this incredibly widespread and unjust practice, other than to assure voters she will “enforce immigration laws humanely.” If someone could tell me what a “humane” deportation looks like, I’d love to know.

Climate change

Recently, as the planet has crossed yet another irreversible climate threshold, it has also become clear the world as a whole is not taking seriously its pledged commitment to a sub-2 degrees celsius increase in global temperature by the year 2100. Whether or not this fact leads you to doubt the ability of global capitalism to accommodate for humanity’s survival, Trump’s outright denial of climate change is equal parts shameful and utterly irrational. Clinton has admitted climate change exists but remains financially tied to the fossil fuel industry – a position some might describe as “moderate.”

Unfortunately, on the issue of climate change, the world has no time for moderates. According to a speech recently obtained by WikiLeaks, Clinton both doubled down on her defense of hydraulic fracking and told environmental activists to “get a life.” The key component of her logic that was missing, though, is that the climate activists she disparaged – including the likes of, most recently, activists from the Standing Rock River Reservation, whom have taken a stand against the Dakota Access Pipeline – are quite literally trying to “get a life” (e.g. make it so they can continue to survive on the planet).

Racism, covert and overt

Anti-racism in the United States is also at a peculiar point in history when, just as Black representation in formal political institutions is at an all-time high (most visibly in the form of President Barack Obama), a mass movement against police brutality and systemic racism has arisen. Put another way, it is remarkable Obama broke an important ceiling by becoming the first Black president, and yet the material well-being of Black people has deteriorated during his tenure in office.

Regarding anti-racism in this election cycle, the feverish and apocalyptic Trump has gained center stage with his recent endorsement of stop-and-frisk policing. However, one should not forget Clinton had an important role in her husband’s administration, which not only expanded mass incarceration to its current, pernicious level but also implemented “welfare reform,” a euphemistic name for a policy that overwhelmingly stripped government assistance from single Black mothers and doubled national rates of extreme poverty. In fact, it is hard to reconcile Clinton’s own complicity in modern-day systems of racism given her declarations that “Black Lives Matter.” Actions, in this case, indubitably speak louder than her words. After condescendingly telling Black Lives Matter activists last year: “I don’t believe you change hearts and minds, I believe you change laws,” the Clinton campaign has yet to respond to the exhaustive platform of policy proposals released by the Movement For Black Lives over two months ago.

Wrapping up

Thus, all I have to say to Clinton’s supporters is this: don’t see your vote for Clinton as a sublime moral act. You should not feel comfortable on November 9 after a Clinton victory (fingers crossed). Many of the nightmares you identify in Trump’s vision for America already exist, thanks in large part to the reprehensible actions of liberal politicians.

To Trump’s supporters: wake up. A sort-of-failed-businessman who, through heredity, remains a billionaire, is not a challenge to the establishment. He’s the one who’s been funding the establishment before he decided to run for office himself.

And as for me: I’ll be in fluctuating states of fear, anxiety, and depression, while people yell at me for voting for the Green Party in a non-swing state.