EDITORIAL: Why You Should Consider Hillary Clinton’s Platform

Hillary Clinton is the Democratic Presidential Nominee for the 2016 election. Much like Trump, Hillary has been bashed on social media- typically from conservative outlets. However; Liberal outlets tend to portray Hillary as “the cool grandma” rather than a presidential candidate. Of course who wouldn’t want a hip grandma leading the country? However; as Trump continuously gets bashed over his ‘horrific’ social views, Clinton faces another monster entirely. During the process of her campaign, Clinton is constantly drilled over her email scandal- a big deal yes, but it almost entirely overshadows her platform from most voters. What most voters have is an idea of what her platform should be since she is a Democrat, however, most could not tell you her stance on all issues. Before one votes they must be sure where they align with a candidate’s views- not follow every dramatized media scandal.

Voters are familiar with popular Clinton views such as being pro-choice, or being in favor of keeping Obamacare.  In fact; people accuse Clinton of being completely for Obamacare but the reality is that she believes it must be reformed. If you are curious about Clinton’s social views, Kaylee Wyman’s article “Americans, Candidates Divided Over Social Issues” covers what they are.  Clinton’s Domestic and International views will be discussed here, much like the Trump editorial previously written.

International Issues:

International issues include Foreign Policy, Homeland Security, War and Peace, and Free Trade.

When it comes to Foreign Policy Clinton has been attacked for being a pushover, or down right ignorant when it comes to negotiating with other countries. That aside, Clinton stands for having a cutting edge military and she wishes to strengthen our alliances with foreign countries by being “firm but wise with our rivals”. Additionally, she plans to earn new partners and finally take down the long known terror- ISIS. Clinton would also like to enforce the Iran nuclear deal. A basis for what the Iran deal is can be found at this site; https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/foreign-policy/iran-deal . When it comes to ideas like illegal immigration Clinton has no intentions of constructing a wall unlike her opponent Trump. Clinton hopes to orchestrate comprehensive immigration reform, with a clear path to full and equal citizenship. She believes that no families should be separated and is willing to go to great extents to help such immigrants. Hillary believes the U.S to be a nation of resolve and not fear, which is what prompts here to hold onto the belief of not closing off our borders to immigrants.

Homeland Security has everything to do with how a President works with the government to protect the U.S. Clinton has expressed her desire for a strong military, but her Homeland Security policy extends beyond a tough military.  According to her campaign site, Clinton believes that the U.S is strongest overseas when it is strongest at home. Following through with this idea Clinton plans to invest in the basic fundamentals of a well off economy; infrastructures, education, and innovation. By building a strong domestic life, protection of the U.S will come easier. Regarding foreign interference, Clinton plans for America to keep its word and stick with its allies. Having formidable allies will prove beneficial if the U.S is ever in need of help.

Regarding War and Peace, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump share a fairly similar view. Despite both of the candidates being eager to dismantle terrorist groups, they remain hesitant to declare war- understandable when one thinks about the costs of a war on a grander scale. Both agree that many precautions should be taken. Clinton believes that the U.S should continue anti-ISIS actions in Libya with the help of Europe and the Arabs. Regarding aggression from other countries like for example; Russia, Clinton claims that she is fully prepared to go toe-to-toe with Putin. Note that she doesn’t mean war but rather toe-to-toe in a diplomatic debate.

Hillary Clinton is more for fair trade than Free Trade. She believes that the U.S must trade with the rest of the world and that that trade must be reciprocal. Additionally, Clinton opposes organizations like CAFTA and TPP. (Don’t know what those are? Check out; https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/948/~/what-is-the-central-american-dominican-republic-free-trade-agreement-(cafta-dr) and https://ustr.gov/tpp/#text ) Clinton was actually called out in an interview for once supporting TPP and then claiming she didn’t. There actually was a point in time when she did, however; as Clinton learned more information over it she claimed that it no longer met her standards. That being said Clinton is for negotiating trade deals with other countries. Deals that not only benefits America’s economy, but do not harm American worker wages- after all she strongly believes that wages should be raised. However, back to Clinton’s stance on free trade. Clinton’s stance is complicated and confusing, it has even been called that in several articles. These article’s even attack Clinton for ‘flip-flopping’ positions on it.  Essentially, Clinton hopes to produce Free Trade deals that produce jobs, raise wages, and protect security.

Domestic Issues:

Domestic Issues include Gun Control, Crime, Drugs, and Civil Rights.

The popular ever growing issue over Gun Control has been prominent in Clinton’s campaign. Clinton wants to eliminate the irresponsible use of guns. By doing so Clinton plans to create commonsense reforms that keep guns away from terrorists, domestic abusers and other violent criminals. Clinton is also for extensive background checks and closing loopholes that allow guns to fall into the wrong hands. Gun control often leads into the idea of Police violence- which Clinton has made a clear stance on as well. Clinton believes that gun violence is leading cause of death among young African-Americans, which is understandable given current circumstances. That being said Clinton intends to make sure police respect their communities and vice versa. Despite Clinton being for gun control, she is not against the Second Amendment.

The U.S is considered a country that has some of the highest crime rates in the world. These crimes include both violent and property crimes. Clinton hopes to reform the U.S criminal justice system and strengthen the bond between communities and police in order to put an end to police brutality. In order to bring the two together Clinton plans to make clear guidelines of when deadly force is to be used and emphasize methods that will de-escalate situations. Additionally, Clinton would like to make investments that support efficient law enforcement training. Clinton is even a supporter for police officers sporting body cameras while on duty. Clinton believes that we have too many citizens behind bars for too long-especially the ones that committed non-violent crimes. She hopes to end mass incarceration by reforming mandatory minimum sentencing and focusing federal enforcement resources on violent crime rather than lower level crimes- like drug possession. In fact; Clinton would like to prioritize treatment and rehabilitation, rather than incarceration, for non-violent drug offenders. By following this plan, and even reforming disciplinary policies, Clinton is confident that this will cut back crime in the U.S.

Since Clinton seeks rehabilitation for drug users it is easy to see that she is not entirely against the use of drugs. Her plan includes a way to help those that face addiction and reform policies to ensure non-violent drug users do not contribute to the mass incarceration problem. Clinton even believes that drugs (marijuana to be specific) can even promote competition within the U.S and benefit its economy.  That aside, when it comes to the use of harmful drugs Clinton does not hold the same beliefs- she is against it. In regard to pharmaceuticals drugs, Clinton hopes to lower their prices so that low wage American’s can afford the help they may need.

Hillary has multiple stances when it comes to Civil Rights. Most can be found on her campaign site: https://www.hillaryclinton.com or in Kaylee Wyman’s article that was mentioned previously.

Despite whatever you may here about Clinton on social media, it is important to educate yourself on her platform- especially if you will be voting this election. In short, if you find yourself agreeing with these views then Hillary Clinton is the candidate you align with and that should be taken into consideration if and when you go to vote.