Dear Hillary Clinton,
Funny thing. In your pursuit of becoming the United Statesβ first president who is a woman, youβve become βthe establishment.β Youβve become βThe Man.β
Itβs a problem.
Part of this is a function of familiarity. When youβve been in the public eye for almost all of your adult life, as you have been, youβre not new. We know you. Americans like shiny and new β or, in the case of Sen. Bernie Sanders, rumpled and new enough.
It doesnβt help that you speak from experience about how to get things done in Washington and beyond. And, needless to say, the Wall Street ties are not good. You travel in powerful circles. Recognize that for a lot of voters, especially young voters, thatβs not a plus.
Youβre trying to convince Democrats that this experience, and this knowing of Wall Street, gives you an edge because you know how to effectively take on the financial sector. I get it, but for that argument to work people have to believe that youβre not beholden to your Wall Street donors, and thatβs not flying.
And you need to recognize that youβre trying to sell practicality to people who want to believe in something bigger than themselves β in a cause, in a revolution.
In the face of this, your utilitarian message starts to feel like the internal voice that says you should buy the practical sedan with Scotchgard-ed cloth seats when you really want something spiffy and fast.
I value your practicality and get-it-done-ness. I think your realism is one of your primary assets. I respect the breadth of your experience and think youβre more than qualified to be president. I appreciate most of your policy positions. I think you can make life better for so-called Average Americans.
But I drive a practical sedan.
I like, and agree with, almost all of what Bernie Sanders says, but I donβt have confidence he can deliver the election, or on his promises. All the GOP would need to do is put the word βsocialistβ on a loop and heβs done for.
Yes, I know many of our most beloved programs, like Social Security, are in the democratic socialist model, but the popularity of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz is ample evidence that American voters donβt go in for nuance or facts.
So, Secretary Clinton, you have my support at this point.
But we need to talk about a couple of things.
You seem to think itβs amusing that many Democrats consider you as βThe Establishmentβ candidate. In the last debate you seemed incredulous that anyone would consider a woman running for president part of βthe establishment.β
Consider it a victory that people β women, specifically β are evaluating you as a candidate, as a person, first. Women shouldnβt vote for you because youβre a woman. Women should vote for you because youβre the best person to lead the country.
It has to be frustrating for you and your supporters to see that young women donβt seem to understand, or feel a debt to, the generation of women whoβve spent their lives fighting for equality. To these younger women, itβs not extraordinary that a woman could be president. Why couldnβt she?
But with friends like former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (βthereβs a special place in hell for women who donβt help each otherβ) weighing in on the presumed obligation of women to support a woman candidate, youβre hurting yourself.
Were we supposed to vote for Carly Fiorina because sheβs a woman? Didnβt think so.
In the romance that is presidential politics, no one wants to feel taken for granted or have our intelligence insulted.
You have a good case to make. Make it. Instead of telling young women theyβre wrong for supporting Sanders, and countering defensively that you have young women supporters, too, embrace their passion for change. Acknowledge that as a woman who has fought for womenβs progress for decades, youβre glad theyβre involved and making their own choices.
Embrace these young women. Because, hopefully, come November youβll need them.
