I was a Bernie fan – here’s why I’m now voting for Jill Stein

Her policies are rad and she’s not an anti-vaxxer

| UPDATED

2016 might be the craziest year in my life since 2001. Between starting Kindergarten, the Space Odyssey that never came, and 9/11, I never thought a year could be more filled with anxiety and uncertainty. I was wrong.

Rio 2016, zika, ebola, ISIS, Bernie Sanders and The Revolution, The Panama Papers, Brexit, countless acts of terrorism…and of course, Election 2016.

How to get started on this year’s election? Trump is polling ahead of Clinton according to CNN, CBS, and the LA Times: Clinton is ahead in most other polls, but her lead is fragile at best, but I’m not here to talk about THOSE two.

You already know Donald Trump through several years of a reality TV series and massive amounts of media coverage. Hillary Clinton has been a household name for decades, from First Lady of the USA to Secretary of State of the USA (in under a decade), it is clear she has an impressive resume. But I’m not going to talk about his casual chauvinism, I’m not going to talk about her emails. I’m going to tell you about Jill Stein, MD.

Jill Stein is the Green Party’s presumptive nominee for the 2016 Presidential Election, and to be honest, I kind of dig her. In her Power To The People plan, she explains she wants to create jobs via the clean energy industry (with a goal of 100 percent clean energy by 2030), to nationalize the Federal Reserve, to cut US military spending by at least 50 percent, to use the right to healthcare approach via a single-payer system, to end police brutality and mass incarceration, and terminate unconstitutional surveillance and unwarranted spying.

I can already see some of you saying “Wow, what a great candidate, too bad third-party candidates never win elections.” You would be correct in saying that, so all I can say to you is “It’s 2016, anything can happen.” Then there are those of you who will say “Bradley, Jill Stein’s policies are pretty rad on paper, but she’s an anti-vaxxer!”

This comes after she told the Washington Post:

“As a medical doctor, there was a time where I looked very closely at those issues, and not all those issues were completely resolved. There were concerns among physicians about what the vaccination schedule meant, the toxic substances like mercury which used to be rampant in vaccines. There were real questions that needed to be addressed. I think some of them at least have been addressed. I don’t know if all of them have been addressed.”

This interview led to a media furore claiming Jill Stein was an anti-vaxxer, which has now been put to rest by debunking site Snopes.

Stein’s campaign told them: “I think there’s no question that vaccines have been absolutely critical in ridding us of the scourge of many diseases — smallpox, polio, etc. So vaccines are an invaluable medication… We have a real compelling need for vaccinations.”

And she tweeted, just in case it wasn’t clear:

Look, I don’t get off on berating readers: I’m not doing this to get my rocks off. You see, Jill is not your typical corporate-funded candidate with infinite media coverage, Jill is VERY anti-mega corporation. I’m not saying you have to vote for Jill, but at least consider the notion. Do you hate Donald Trump and his racist rhetoric? Do you hate Hillary and feel bitter about Bernie getting completely fucked over by the DNC? If Jill Stein isn’t appearing in your mind’s eye in bright flashing letters, IDK what is? Apathy? A-P-A-T-H-Y in bright neon red? Seriously, do some critical thinking, read up on Jill.

Many will tell you that “a vote for Jill is a vote taken from Hillary, and essentially a vote for Trump.” There is some truth to this, but honestly, fuck anyone who tells you that; they have an agenda, they might as well have #ImWithHer tatted on their forehead (despite the fact that the hashtag will not format properly with the apostrophe included in “I’m”). The founding fathers of this nation had many ideas in mind when they began to engage in rebellious statecraft, and one of the most important of those ideas was that of liberty; the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one’s way of life, behavior, or political views. At the end of the day, all you have is your free will, so use it.

2016 is a year that will be remembered, but in what manner? Will we remember it as the year the beckoned a new era of tribulation? Or perhaps as the year the world changed forever, for the better of all mankind… we’ll have to wait and see.

Full disclosure: I once drove a van for the Bernie Sanders campaign. Yeah that’s right.