A Gazette editorial from the Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — History will be made today.
Will Americans choose progressive Democratic Party values that serve average families and the middle class — or will they choose conservative Republicans who favor the privileged elite, militarism, corporations and Puritanism?
Will they choose the nation’s first female president — or will they choose a bizarre, erratic, inexperienced, loudmouth, utterly unfit billionaire who fans prejudice against Hispanics, women, blacks, Muslims, the handicapped and others?
A lot of America’s future depends on the outcome of this desperately close election.
Historically, it will be a double landmark if the first female president follows the first black president. It would be a two-phase breakthrough in the hit-or-miss progress of liberal democracy.
Hillary Clinton has a huge record of government service, and is committed to Democratic platform goals, such as universal health care, equal opportunity, low-cost college and women’s rights.
We’ve never seen political hatred so raw as today. A Washington Post commentary said:
“High-ranking Republican officeholders are now suggesting that they may impeach Clinton as soon as she takes office. These are not just backbench loudmouths of the Louie Gohmert variety, but people with genuine power, including Ron Johnson, the senator from Wisconsin, Michael McCaul, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, and veteran legislators like James Sensenbrenner and Peter King. The message is being echoed by top Trump surrogates like Rudy Giuliani.”
Columnist Jill Richardson calls today’s balloting “a historic election for women” — not just because the Democratic nominee is female, but also because millions of American women mobilized against GOP nominee Donald Trump’s male chauvinist sneers.
“Trump’s loathsome boasts about grabbing unsuspecting women by their genitals led to 1 million women sharing their own stories of their first assaults [on Twitter],” she wrote.
Today is a historic moment. America’s future will be seen as ballots are counted tonight.
