Well, of course, the combination of human nature and the internet will always result in some truly unjustified and utterly pointless posts by those with various psychological issues. But this does not change the fundamentals of why young women are getting it wrong in this presidential campaign.

As a lifelong social democrat, I am sympathetic to the fundamentals of what Bernie Sanders is proposing, but he, as a candidate, is simply not going to win and even if he did he couldn’t begin to accomplish anything he’s advocating. Setting aside that he can’t explain how he would realistically pay for it, his platform simply can’t happen when the branch of government that makes the laws — congress — is controlled by conservatives.

And how did that happen? Well, after voting for Obama (a moderate progressive) in 2008, young voters have simply sat out two off-year elections — 2010 and 2014, allowing conservatives to take control of the legislative branch. So, no amount of citizen “activism” is going to have any effect on issues being championed by Bernie. And, in the meantime, you and others like you are squandering an opportunity and possibly the presidential election by ignoring Hillary.

Democracy works from the center (center-left to center-right), not from the far left or right. Don’t even bother arguing otherwise because there is no case for government outside the moderate middle in this country. Dysfunctional governance is what happens when centrists aren’t the majority.

Hillary is vastly more qualified to be an effective president, and is a moderate progressive and thus much closer to where things are possible. So here is a magnificent opportunity for young women voters, and they’re going to f**k it up. Do you think your feminist rights are going to be protected by a Republican president and congress? If so, you’re delusional or haven’t being paying attention to the pushback against women’s rights in the last decade at the state level.

Not supporting and voting for Hillary is inexcusable. Gloria Steinem has it right: young women need to grow up and do a reality check. Idealism — be it far left or right — is a road to nowhere. The ancient Greek philosophers noted that the greatest downside to democracy is voters who believe politicians who are not being realistic. Think about the results of pretending not supporting Hillary will lead to something better. It won’t.

Eclectic Pragmatist — http://eclectic-pragmatist.tumblr.com/
Eclectic Pragmatist — https://medium.com/eclectic-pragmatism