Hillary Clinton is often framed as the “women’s candidate” for president. This is not unfounded; her positions are relatively pro-women, and she has a history of advocating for women and children. Many major feminists have come out in support of her, including Gloria Steinem who claimed that women who voted for Clinton over Obama in 2008 were more “radical,” despite the fact that Obama has proven himself to be more liberal than Clinton in almost every way.
It seems that many women, especially feminists, support Hillary Clinton largely because she happens to be female. Obviously this is a huge problem. While it’s true that having a woman in the White House would be a major symbolic victory, feminists should be more concerned with electing the most pro-women, pro-equality candidate. It’s deeply troubling that so many women can’t see past the fact that Hillary is female and that having a female president would be pretty cool, when there are serious issues with our country that need to be addressed. Unfortunately, some of the same people who agreed that Michelle Bachmann and Sarah Palin would be bad for American women don’t seem to see that a Clinton presidency wouldn’t be the best thing for our country either. We need a strong pro-women candidate to solve these issues, and Hillary just isn’t the strongest pro-women candidate in the field this election.
Enter Bernie Sanders, the 74-year-old Vermont socialist with a thick Brooklyn accent. Bernie’s ideology has proven to be much more consistently in favor of average American citizens, particularly women. He has a very strong record of voting for consistently liberal positions that dates back through the several decades of his long career in politics. Issue by issue, his views are more in line with feminism than Clinton’s contradictory voting record shows of hers.
Minimum wage: Sanders supports a $15 dollar minimum wage, while Clinton supports a measly $12 minimum wage. For a minimum wage earner working 40 hours per week, 50 weeks per year, this difference amounts to an extra $6,000 made under Sanders’ plan. Considering the fact that 62% of minimum wage earners are female, and 5.4% of women earn minimum wage compared to 3.3% of men (PBS NewsHour), this would make a huge difference in the lives of American women. It would also fight against the classism and income inequality that plagues poor individuals of all genders.
Family leave: As a senator, Sanders is co-sponsoring Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s bill that would grant all workers 12 weeks of paid leave in the case of serious medical conditions, pregnancies, newborn children (mothers and fathers), or family members with medical emergencies. This plan would provide much needed time off to women who want to be mothers but perhaps could not afford it under current circumstances. It would also guarantee paternity leave, which is an important issue that is often not included in such plans. Hillary Clinton has not endorsed this bill and has not provided a specific plan of her own regarding family leave.
Reproductive rights: Both candidates are very strong on this issue. However, some argue that Clinton’s famous line about keeping abortion “safe, legal, and rare” has further stigmatized abortions and women who get them. Sanders also plans to expand Planned Parenthood’s funding and has a better plan to make all types of healthcare more affordable.
Healthcare: Sanders wants to create a new single-payer healthcare system, a type of “Medicare for all,” whereas Clinton wants to keep the current system of Obamacare. Both want to lower costs for prescription drugs, but only Sanders would allow drug imports from Canada (importing prescription drugs is currently illegal in the U.S.).
LGBT rights: Sanders has a long history of supporting marriage equality. He also plans to protect LGBT Americans from discrimination by police, healthcare providers, financial lenders, and others. Clinton has only recently come out in support of marriage equality.
Foreign policy and veteran’s affairs: Hillary Clinton is notorious for her pro-war stance. She would likely support a large military budget at the expense of social programs that would do much more to help regular Americans. Bernie Sanders believes that “war should be the last option,” and has a comprehensive plan for providing better healthcare to our veterans, many of whom are women who lack care due to current issues with the VA. He also co-sponsored the Women Veterans Access to Quality Care Act as senator.
Criminal justice: Both candidates want to abolish private prisons and require body cameras on police. Sanders wants to require public reports on shootings by police and deaths in police custody, and he wants to limit the amount of force that is justifiable by police. Sanders also supports legalizing marijuana, a drug that has ruined countless lives and been at the forefront of racial profiling. Clinton has some good ideas as far as criminal justice, such as reducing mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent offenses, but it was her husband’s administration that implemented many tough-on-crime policies that have destroyed countless lives.
Sophia Cunningham is a vegan feminist from Orange County. She is interested in studying politics and sociology, and she spends her free time reading, writing, and singing. She hopes to educate others about social issues and the importance of activism in everyday life
