M
onday, I attended the
Service
Employees
International Union’s
(SEIU) International Convention
in
Detroit
to
observe
remarks
by
Democratic
presidential
candidate Hillary Clinton. While
the union officially endorses
Clinton, and has done so since
November, the convention was a
big indicator of how the rapid rise
of Sen. Bernie Sanders (D–Vt.)
has affected their endorsement.
The SEIU isn’t just a group of
service workers who chose to
have a convention in Detroit, but
they’re also the biggest outside
spenders for the Democratic
Party, having spent $69 million
on President Obama’s re-election
campaign in 2012. The union also
has about two million members,
many of whom are voters in
the United States. Having the
financial and voting support
of the union is crucial to any
candidate hoping to win middle-
and working-class voters.
While
Secretary
Clinton’s
30-minute speech touched on
many important issues, perhaps
the most important message of
the speech was a message that
was never said — the persistence
of
Sanders.
Only
once
did
Clinton utter his name, saying,
“I applaud Sen. Sanders and
his supporters for challenging
us.” Despite the fact that many
of the core tenants of the union
are those that are deeply held
by
Sanders,
Clinton
glossed
over him in favor of ripping on
projected Republican nominee
Donald Trump. This came as a
surprise to me, as throughout
the convention hall, many Fight
for $15 and Black Lives Matter
signs could be seen waving in the
crowd. Even several convention
delegates had Bernie Sanders
stickers pinned to their shirts
as a quiet sign of protest to the
union’s
official
endorsement
of Clinton. By ignoring the
divisions within the crowd
in favor of an anti-Trump
message, Clinton is effectively
refocusing her campaign away
from the primaries, and into
the general election.
I believe that the message
perpetuated by the Clinton
campaign is a correct one.
Sanders, though a noble fighter
for the causes that he believes
in, has lost the election. Despite
what many of his supporters
may say, there is no real chance
for Bernie Sanders to win the
Democratic nomination. Even
if he wins the remaining states
by a two-to-one landslide, he
will still not be close enough to
secure the nomination.
The time is now for the
Democratic Party to get its act
together. Sanders supporters
can no longer wait until the
convention to decide whom to
support. Clinton is the right
choice for all of us, regardless
of how liberal we may be or
what identities we may have.
She also has the skills to handle
the very important job that
is the presidency, rather than
simply ushering in a political
revolution that we may not be
able to control. We can’t sit
around and call Clinton a liar,
or hold her accountable for
her husband’s policies. Clinton
is a reality, and that reality is
moving forward at light speed.
While supporters of Sanders
may be quick to join the Never
Hillary
movement,
instead
favoring a write-in vote for
Sanders,
I
challenge
those
who are so deeply opposed
to Clinton to see beyond this
race
and
into
the
greater
repercussions of their votes.
While it may not be pleasant
for some to vote for Clinton,
it is something that must be
done. Additionally, the cost
of Sanders and his supporters
becoming more hostile toward
Clinton can already be realized.
The Republican establishment
is already starting to fall in
line behind their presumptive
nominee. The costs of a Trump
presidency to the Democratic
Party and our nation as a whole
would
be
insurmountable.
Clinton even stated in her speech
to the SEIU that she will “use
the bully pulpit to stand up for
working families” rather than
being “a bully in the pulpit.” If
Republicans can get together
behind a bully, then why can’t
Democrats get together behind a
fighter for equality for everyone?
All Democrats — be it the
millennial
college
students
like myself or working-class
Americans
like
my
parents
— need to fall in line behind
Clinton. Not only is she one of
the most qualified candidates
in recent history, she is also the
candidate that will continue
the hard work of President
Obama into the future, while
expanding
rights
for
those
who are held down by society’s
barriers. Backing the future
nominee isn’t a radical idea,
but it is a classic example of
putting the future trajectory
of the country above a political
ideology.
At the end of the day, the
2016 election will come down
to Clinton versus Trump. The
only thing standing between
Trump and the White House
is the full and unwavering
support of every single Sanders
supporter
behind
the
real
Democratic nominee — Hillary
Rodham Clinton.
—Kevin Sweitzer can be
reached at ksweitz@umich.edu.
4
Thursday, May 26, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
OPINION
LARA MOEHLMAN
EDITOR IN CHIEF
JEREMY KAPLAN
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR
BRADLEY WHIPPLE
MANAGING EDITOR
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
Edited and managed by students at
the University of Michigan since 1890.
Your vote matters
W
hen Yousef Rabhi ran
in
the
Democratic
primary race on Aug.
3, 2010, turnout
was low. By the
time the ballots
were counted for
the
Democratic
seat of the 11th
District’s Washtenaw County Board
of Commissioners seat, unofficial
results had Yousef at 998 votes and
his primary opponent, Mike Fried, at
997 votes.
Elections decided by one vote
don’t happen that often. In a country
of almost 320 million people, the
likelihood of a single voter swaying a
national election is statistically very
unlikely.
I heard this all the time when I
was registering voters on campus.
People would say that their votes
don’t count and they probably never
will. In my work on millennial
voter engagement, I am probably
never going to singlehandedly shift
an election. But in preparation for
the Democratic Michigan primary,
Students for Sanders - Ann Arbor
(a group that I led) registered
approximately
600
voters.
The
primary was decided by fewer than
20,000 votes, meaning that the
students who were registered voters
could not have made up for more
than three percent of the margin by
which Bernie Sanders won. Getting
people excited about engaging in
the democratic process was still one
of the best experiences of my life,
and here is case for why your vote
matters:
In 2000, Florida’s electoral college
seats were decided by 537 votes
and the victory ultimately gave
George W. Bush the presidency. The
implications of this victory are hard
to do justice to and even harder to
quantify, but it’s worth repeating that
a presidential election could have
been swayed if 269 voters decided
to vote for Gore instead of Bush, or if
537 more voters decided to show up.
In too many ways, the deck seems
stacked against getting millennials
like myself to turn out. In an election
on a millage held May 3 this year,
turnout was a paltry 12.13 percent,
with 32,492 voters participating in
Washtenaw County. In 2014, only
21.3 percent of 18 to 29 year olds
turned out to vote in the midterm
elections. Let’s make sure that
doesn’t happen again in 2018.
This election was held the week
after the Winter 2016 semester ended,
so it was clearly difficult for students
to show up, particularly those from
out of state who were more likely to
go home. There was also very limited
information
available
to
make
informed decisions. The main video
prepared by the Western Washtenaw
Democrats on behalf of this had 11
views on YouTube as of May 22.
Beyond
obtaining
quality
information, simply ensuring that
one is registered to vote can also be
an uphill battle. States like California
and Oregon have recently passed
laws that make it considerably
harder to slip through the cracks.
In
California,
for
example,
when one registers for his or her
driver’s license at the DMV, one is
automatically registered to vote (and
has to specifically opt out if he or
she does not want to be registered).
Passing laws like this will remove a
necessary hurdle for being involved
in the democratic process and raise
the likelihood of voter turnout
considerably.
The
democratic
process in Michigan would benefit
from passing a similar law and voter
turnout across all elections would
likely increase.
Turnout in elections is also clearly
higher in years where the presidency is
on the ballot. That means that this year
will likely see much higher turnout
than we saw in the 2014 midterm
elections, when just 36.4 percent of
voters made their voices heard.
In order to ensure high turnout in
2016 and in the midterm elections in
2018, the state of Michigan needs to
make it easier for citizens to register
to vote and to obtain objective, quality
information.
To maintain the level of momentum
seen on the Democratic side through
Sanders’ presidential campaign, a
group called Brand New Congress was
created by former campaign staffers
to continue channeling energy into
general election Congressional races.
This bold strategy has potential to
capitalize on the political momentum
from the Bernie revolution and keep
people
excited
about
upcoming
elections. Congressional races rarely
get the press and attention that
presidential races receive, but they
have a large impact on the direction
in
which
the
country
moves.
Individual votes are even more
important in these elections due to
their lower turnout.
Regardless of whom you vote for
and whom you support, it is critical
that we have access to quality
information about candidates and
legislation. Voting is a protected
right and especially in states like
Michigan, our votes really do matter.
—Shawn Danino can be
reached at danino@umich.edu.
SHAWN
DANINO
Clinton’s time to shine
KEVIN
SWEITZER