ONE. DAY. LEFT.

This is it, everyone. The final day of the longest presidential election in the history of America. It's the last day of campaigning, the day of the closing arguments, the end of the road.

After a year and a half that felt like a decade, we have arrived at the final day.

Here are a few things I wrote over the weekend for Shareblue, as we head toward the finish line:

1. Trump's closing argument: A woman cannot be president: "Bias is about a lot of things: Fear, hatred, resentment, privilege. It is also about a failure of imagination. Trump is trading on the fact that many people cannot imagine a woman leading the country—and its military—simply because a woman has never done so before. It is a deeply cynical ploy, to try to leverage women's historical exclusion in order to maintain our continued exclusion."

2. For women, defeating Trump is a message to men who behave like he does: "When I cast my vote on Tuesday, I will be casting my vote for Hillary Clinton, because she is the most qualified candidate. I will also be casting a vote for women's equality; for my own equal rights, autonomy, agency, and right of consent. For my own value. And I will be casting a vote against Donald Trump, because he is manifestly unfit to hold office. I will also be casting a vote against gender bias; against every word and deed directed at me by men who wanted to convey that I am less-than."

3. She's earned it:
The way Clinton has campaigned throughout this general election should, at long last, put to rest any notion of an uppity woman who feels "entitled" to have the nation's highest office handed to her.

She is the most qualified candidate ever to seek the presidency, and she is unparalleled in her command of issues both foreign and domestic. She has gathered a colossal amount of experience, and she has done her homework.

She has campaigned relentlessly, making speeches until her voice nearly gave out, and drove herself to exhaustion making appearances even when she had pneumonia.

She has gone on a listening tour, held large rallies, done intimate town halls, met with small groups of people at their businesses, at schools, at community organizations, at places of worship.

She has met with, and talked to, and listened to, and taken selfies with countless people across the country. She has shaken thousands of hands, heard thousands of personal stories, written notes to people she has met, inquired about how to help those in need.

She has said, over and over, that she will be a president for the people who vote for her, and for the people who do not.

She has told her supporters, again and again, that she does not take their support, their donations, and their votes for granted.

She has, in sum, worked for every single vote.
I am ready for tomorrow. I am ready to vote. I am ready for Hillary.

Shakesville is run as a safe space. First-time commenters: Please read Shakesville's Commenting Policy and Feminism 101 Section before commenting. We also do lots of in-thread moderation, so we ask that everyone read the entirety of any thread before commenting, to ensure compliance with any in-thread moderation. Thank you.

blog comments powered by Disqus