When it comes to politicians, that is.
I get frustrated with progressives who are abandoning Hillary Clinton for the Green Party's Jill Stein based upon a misguided perception that she is somehow more "real" and "authentic" when it comes to progressive politics. In the minds of these people, Hillary talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk, whereas everything that Stein does is based on principles so lofty you would need a combination of Jacob's Ladder and the Tower of Babel to reach them.
Well, as it turns out, that height is too lofty for even Jill herself. It would seem, based upon this, that she does not put her money where her mouth, and the platform of her party, is.
But that's not particularly surprising. To be political is to seek power, and it is simply impossible to seek power without currying a little favor from those who have what it takes to make the world go around. Of course, this might not matter so much if Stein were really in the business of building a political movement. But she's not. She's a publicity parasite who shows up every four years and piggybacks her "campaign" on the back of the media coverage given to the Democratic and Republican candidates.
Say what you will about Hillary, who herself (along with her husband) sometimes seems far too interested in money. She has built a political movement, one that contains real accomplishments with real and positive impacts on the lives of Americans. She is not perfect. But, if that's your litmus test for supporting a candidate, then put down your lantern, Diogenes. And spare me the lectures about purity; I believe that politics is the art of the possible. And so does the next President of the United States--Hillary Clinton (pu! pu! pu!).*
*Warding off the "evil eye" in Judaism (or, in more secular terms, avoiding the tempting of fate).
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