Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:28 pm
Variety Magazine has taken the step of endorsing a presidential candidate for the first time since 1905, and their choice is Hillary Clinton. Co-editors-in-chief Claudia Weller and Andrew Wallenstein, as well as publisher Michelle Sobrino-Stearns, call her “not only the best candidate for the job, but the only candidate.” They explained that,
“For the same reason that The Atlantic endorsed Clinton (marking only the third time since its 1857 founding to back a candidate), we didn’t want to sit on the sidelines and come down on the wrong side of history.”
Their reasons for endorsing Hillary Clinton sound familiar:
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There are a number of other motivating factors behind our decision. We believe that Clinton is not only the best candidate for the job, but the only candidate. As many endorsements have noted, she has the experience and temperament necessary to make a truly effective president. In fact, it’s hard to think of any presidential candidate with the depth of knowledge and public-service record she has.
Clinton has been spent her entire life as a social-justice activist, fighting for the rights of women, children, families, the disabled, farmers, veterans, and the LGBTQ community. She has taken on such crucial issues as climate change, racial injustice, and the epidemic of gun violence. She’s not “nasty†— she’s tough and unafraid to smash barriers, whether it was negotiating strict sanctions against Iran, or brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. She’s a global diplomat who has traveled extensively to forge ties with foreign leaders.
Another reason is the unsuitability of Donald Trump, and again, the reasons sound familiar:
Donald Trump lacks the experience, knowledge, and diplomacy to hold public office. His run for the presidency can be viewed as nothing more than a ploy to land another TV deal or launch a new cable channel so he can continue spewing his sexist, racist views. (Variety frequently writes about how sexism and racism run rampant in Hollywood, publishing such stories as a way to keep shining a light on the inequities that oddly still exist in a business that is largely liberal.)
Trump has a long history of disrespect for and objectification of women. Since the surfacing of the now infamous video of his lewd 2005 conversation with Billy Bush, at least a dozen women have gone public with claims that he sexually harassed them.
They cite also Trump’s “racist views,” and say that “Trump would not be a moral leader who could inspire change.”
Their conclusion is firmly rooted in reality and a far cry from both Trump’s and Fox News’ strident claims of an “angry” and “hectoring” woman without energy (I know, I hear your protests, but Obama they said was a lazy dictator, so anything is possible for Republicans).
We are proud to endorse Hillary Clinton as president and put an end to a prolonged election circus dominated by an egomaniacal ringmaster. Through it all, she has remained dignified and focused on the issues. We believe she will lead America forward with great vigor and success.
No doubt none of this will matter to Donald Trump and less to his followers, who by and large share his views; if anything, it will register a comment from Trump that nobody reads Variety anyway, his stock response to such criticisms from any media source.
This is yet another sign that the only people Trump is fooling are his gullible followers, who like Hillary Clinton said last night, are letting themselves be “used” and “exploited.”
Hrafnkell Haraldsson, a social liberal with leanings toward centrist politics has degrees in history and philosophy. His interests include, besides history and philosophy, human rights issues, freedom of choice, religion, and the precarious dichotomy of freedom of speech and intolerance. He brings a slightly different perspective to his writing, being that he is neither a follower of an Abrahamic faith nor an atheist but a polytheist, a modern-day Heathen who follows the customs and traditions of his Norse ancestors. He maintains his own blog, A Heathen’s Day, which deals with Heathen and Pagan matters, and Mos Maiorum Foundation www.mosmaiorum.org, dedicated to ethnic religion. He has also contributed to NewsJunkiePost, GodsOwnParty and Pagan+Politics.
