Hillary is the right choice – even for women who’ve been cheated on like me

Hillary Clinton is not my ideal candidate to represent the Democratic Party, but in November, I will be casting my vote in favor of her becoming the next President of the United States.

When the campaign process began during the primaries, I was in full support of Senator Bernie Sanders. I still admire him, and continue to be inspired by his message. However, now that Clinton has accepted the Democratic nomination, I will be standing behind her.

I am not a natural Hillary Clinton fan. I have issues with some of her past decisions, including voting for the Iraq war in 2002 and her misuse of a private server when handling government emails. But regardless of these issues, on the professional side, Clinton has had a very impressive political career.

Her list of accomplishments truly goes on and on, from helping New York secure roughly $21 billion to rebuild after 9/11, to the sanctions on Iran which brought them to the nuclear negotiation table, restoring alliances with global allies such as the EU and Africa, and the SCHIP program which expanded healthcare coverage to millions of low-income children.

As someone who aspires to be a politician with a focus on human rights, I admire Clinton for all of her work in this area, especially women’s rights.

What I struggle with the most regarding Hillary Clinton is that she decided to stay with former President Bill Clinton after he was unfaithful to her. The Monica Lewinsky scandal was globally publicized, and Hillary continues to be criticized for her decision to remain in the marriage.

The entire incident was very emotionally charged. Mrs. Clinton called Lewinsky a “narcissistic loony toon,” and said she felt at fault for the infidelity since she was “emotionally neglectful,” towards her husband.

This is where the whole situation goes awry for me. From one standpoint, it is a prime example of the tendency to blame the woman solely in cases of infidelity. Not only did Hillary Clinton attempt to discredit Monica Lewinsky by making claims regarding her mental health, but she also turned the blame inward towards herself.

In cases of infidelity, it is never just one party that is solely responsible for the relationship. Bill Clinton was just as guilty as Lewinsky. It takes two to tango.

Also, Hillary was not at fault whatsoever in this situation. Even if she was being “emotionally neglectful,” the way to deal with that is to either go to counseling and get help, talk it out or get a divorce. In no situation is it ever morally acceptable to get involved with another person when you are in a committed relationship.

This whole situation with Hillary Clinton makes me uncomfortable – it hits a nerve for me. My ex-boyfriend cheated on me, and although my situation did not have any media involvement, it was still very messy. At first, I did exactly what Clinton did and was quick to blame the other girl my ex got involved with. After emotions settled though, I realized he was just as much at fault.

After a long period of back and forth between the two of us, I realized that I had to respect myself enough to leave. When I go into politics as my future career, I want to be proud of myself, and strong enough to let go when the situation calls for it. A female politician needs to set an example for young women and girls, both in her professional and private life. Professionally, Hillary Clinton hit the mark, but I feel let down by the way she handled the whole sordid Lewinsky affair.

In an interview with BBC 4 radio, Hillary said on her decision to stay with Bill, “Forgiveness is a choice. And I fully respect those who don’t make that choice, for whatever reason, in their personal or their professional lives but for me it was absolutely the right choice.”

In the end, we will never truly be able to know the full details, and she made the choice she thought was right. Experiences with infidelity are extremely personal, and although I do not agree with her final decision, it does not stop me from seeing the big picture in this election.

Ensuring a liberal supreme court is of utmost importance in this election. If we let Donald Trump anywhere near the White House, supreme court decisions that have shaped our country’s history are at stake. Along with the liberal supreme court, the official Democratic Party platform plans to restore economic security for the middle class, combat climate change, provide quality and affordable education, fix the campaign finance system, confront global threats and much more.

I am able set apart Clinton’s professional life from her personal life in making my final decision for this election, and I believe she will make a great leader for this country.