The Georgetowner Endorses…

There’s an almost obligatory judgment going around about the 2016 presidential election campaign: that voters have never before been faced with a duo of candidates who carry more baggage than an oil sheik embarking on a private jet. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are considered the most (pick one) reviled, mistrusted, loathed, hated, slick candidates in the annals of American elections.
There may still be millions of voters out there trying to make up their mind to make up their mind. Do I vote for Trump, the equivalent of doing a bungee jump on a frayed rope when I can’t afford the funeral, or for Clinton, who is still getting buried by email revelations and who is so secretive, the thought goes, that not only her secrets but my secrets are safe with her (until Wikileaks gets hold of them)?
All this is hyperbole, of course, especially at this stage of the great game. Nonetheless, we urge voters to vote for Hillary Clinton for President of the United States. Don’t do it just as a vote against Trump, although that, all by itself, is reason — in fact, a million reasons — enough. Don’t even do it because she’ll be the first woman to become president. Do it because it’s the right thing to do.
Do we write this with enthusiasm? Yes. Because only Hillary Clinton, in her rhetoric and in her proposals, has offered hope, that greatest of all political clichés. She has, more often than not, sounded positive notes and offered a vision of a bipartisan future. We believe there is no other kind. We don’t believe the I-alone-can-save-you-big-time rhetoric of her opponent.
Granted, Clinton has gone into the muck with Trump — “basket of deplorables” comes to mind — and when she does, she sounds exactly like what those who mistrust her believe she is: a politician of the worst sort. Try to think back, though, and compare the Trump convention — that hellish screamfest of “Lock her up!” — with the Clinton convention, where the possibility of tolerance and inclusion was, for a change, tolerated and included.
For all of the above reasons, The Georgetowner endorses Hillary Clinton for President of the United States.
Locally, The Georgetowner endorses:
— Jack Evans, for the Ward 2 Council seat. He’s running unopposed, which should leave him time to help solve our ongoing deluge of Metro problems.
— Eleanor Holmes Norton for Delegate to the House of Representatives, because of her eloquent voice and championship of home rule.
— David Grosso, running as an Independent, for reelection to an at-large seat on the District Council.
— Robert White, a Democrat, for the other at-large seat.
— Brandon Todd, running unopposed for the Ward 4 seat on the Council.
— Trayon “Ward 8” White, running unopposed for the, you guessed it, Ward 8 seat.
— Former mayor and former city council chairman Vincent Gray, to return to the Ward 7 Council seat that launched his D.C. political career.
There are ten candidates for eight seats on the Georgetown-Burleith-Hillandale Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC 2E). Check your D.C. Voter’s Guide to find your district.
ANC candidates running unopposed are Ed Solomon (SMD 01), Joe Gibbons (SMD 02), Mara Goldman (SMD 04), Jim Wilcox (SMD 06), Monica Roaché (SMD 07) and Zachary Schroepfer (SMD 08). The Georgetowner endorses them all.
Those competing for the other seats are Greg Miller and Rick Murphy (SMD 03) and Lisa Palmer and incumbent Bill Starrels (SMD 05). We had to discuss these choices longer than we thought.
For SMD 03, The Georgetowner endorses Greg Miller for his earnestness and environmental expertise. He will provide a different and bright perspective here.
For SMD 05, The Georgetowner endorses Lisa Palmer, a knowledgeable board member on three nonprofits and the mother of young twins. She will bring fresh energy and ideas to the problems specific to lower Georgetown, especially in the areas of traffic and public safety. And, yes, there should be more women on the ANC.
Vote Nov. 8, and God Help — we mean, Bless — America.