Cartoons…

Dear Editor,

I take exception to the recent cartoon in the Reader showing both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton with the caption, “Pick Your Poison.”

First, I am a Bernie Sanders supporter, but now that Hillary has been selected as the Democratic Nominee, I will work for her election. As my wife pointed out, we have an “after-Bern” as evidenced by the very progressive, Sanders-influenced platform on which Hillary will run.

There are two possible readings of this cartoon.  The first suggests that Trump, whose enlarged head spews out blotches of poison from dagger-shaped teeth, overwhelms the smaller Clinton figure. Donald Trump supports violence and torture. As his rhetoric incites fear, division and hatred, his voice is truly poisonous.  In this interpretation, “Pick Your Poison” means that if you want poison, there is Trump.

The second interpretation suggests that both candidates are equally poisonous. This interpretation is unfair to Hillary and is a false equivalency. Hillary has worked for children’s and women’s rights, worker’s rights, and rights for the LGBT community. She agreed with Sanders to guarantee tuition-free college education for most students, to work for environmental protection, and to go after the major financial institutions on Wall Street who triggered the Great Recession. And, she is on record in opposing the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

It seems that all Donald Trump has done was to help himself financially and not pay workers for work they have done by declaring bankruptcies.

For 25 years, the right-wing has accused her of many things, and put her under a number of investigations, but there was never any finding of illegal behavior. It is true that she must overcome a sense of public mistrust. Is Hillary perfect? Of course not. No politician is. Perhaps she has been careless or has not fully disclosed mistakes she has made, but this is no reason to sit out this election.

If Trump gets in, then any hope of a reversal of economic inequality, and any hope for a progressive future for our country will be stymied for years to come.

There is a real difference between these candidates and along with Bernie Sanders, I encourage you to get out and vote for Hillary Clinton.

Philip A. Deutchman
Sandpoint