I know most of you reading this probably don’t need yet one more reason to go to the polls this Tuesday and cast your votes for Hillary Clinton. Just in case, though, I wanted to share this recent Facebook post by my friend Tori Tomalia, the co-founder of the Ypsi-Arbor improv comedy space Pointless Brewery & Theatre.
I know premiums are going up, and that there are issues that need to be resolved relative to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but I think this note of Tori’s is a great reminder of just how critically important the legislation is, and just how much is really at stake if Clinton doesn’t defeat Trump come Tuesday. As I suspect you may already know, while Trump did tell the American people in one of his debates with Secretary Clinton that he would protect the ACA provision that requires insurance companies to provide coverage to people like Tori, his plan, accord to CNN analysis, “offers no defense of those with pre-existing conditions.” Furthermore, despite what he might have said during the debate, he’s also said on the campaign trail that, if elected, he would find a way to repeal Obamacare “completely.”
And that’s just one provision in one piece of legislation… The truth is, if Trump is elected, we’ll see much of the progress we’ve made over the past eight years rolled back, if not completely erased. And it wouldn’t just be contained to health care. It would be across the board, from civil rights to the environment… Speaking of which, just a few days ago, Trump, who has said before that global climate change is a hoax perpetuated by the Chinese, declared that, if elected, he would end all federal research into solar, wind, batteries, clean cars, energy efficiency, and climate science. So, I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that this really is a life and death decision that we’re being asked to make on Election Day.
Speaking of Obama’s legacy, he said the following a few weeks ago at a dinner hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus.
…My name may not be on the ballot, but our progress is on the ballot. Tolerance is on the ballot. Democracy is on the ballot. Justice is on the ballot. Good schools are on the ballot. Ending mass incarceration, that’s on the ballot right now.
And there is one candidate who will advance those things. And there is another candidate who’s defining principal, the central theme of his candidacy is opposition to all that we have done.
There’s no such thing as a vote that doesn’t matter. It all matters. And after we have achieved historic turnout in 2008 and 2012, especially in the African-American community, I will consider it a personal insult, an insult to my legacy, if this community lets down it’s guard and fails to activate itself in this election. You want to give me a good send off? Go vote! And iI’m going to be working as hard as I can these next seven weeks to make sure folks do.
Hope is on the ballot. And fear is on the ballot too…
So, please get out and vote on Tuesday, OK?
I know some of you have issues with Clinton, but don’t let perfect be the enemy of good… I can see the appeal of voting for someone who you feel more closely reflects your own idealistic personal beliefs, who you feel is, perhaps, more politically pure. Believe me, I understand. It’s something that I struggled with during the primary season. There’s just too much at stake right now, though, to entertain such thoughts. Like it or not, one of these two people will be our president, and we each have one vote as to who that will be. So please don’t throw your vote away on a protest vote. No matter how well intentioned, a vote for any candidate other that Clinton is essentially a vote for Trump, and, as I hope I demonstrated above, there’s just too much to lose. This isn’t just about getting Clinton into office. It’s about protecting what Obama’s done. It’s about ensuring the that people with pre-existing conditions, like Tori, are protected. It’s about continuing the progress in our fight against mass incarceration. It’s about funding alternative energy research, and protecting our planet. And it’s about ensuring the next Supreme Court justice isn’t a far right activist who would seek to roll back a woman’s right to choose. As I see it, the choice is clear. I just hope that you can see it too.
[For more on Tori, and the work she’s doing to to organize, fund research, and find a cure for cancer resulting from ROS1 gene mutations, check out episode 41 of the Saturday Six Pack.]
update: I wasn’t aware when I posted this, but the Obama speech I quoted above, from the Congressional Black Caucus dinner in late September, had been made into an ad for the Clinton campaign, and its really powerful stuff. Check it out.