It makes me angry when people say that voting is a choice of "the lesser of two evils." That's just not true. One party is trying to move our country (and world) forward, while the other is fighting against progress. It's a choice between 95% good and 95% evil. (No one's perfect, and even the Koch Brothers support reducing mass incarceration.)

Voters have a choice between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Other people will tell you why we must defeat Trump. But I'm going to tell you why you should proudly, happily, and enthusiastically support Hillary:

1.  Hillary Clinton may well be the best qualified Presidential candidate in history. Who else has served in the Senate and as Secretary of State after living in the White House for eight years?

2.  Hillary Clinton has devoted her adult life to helping those in need. She worked for the Children's Defense Fund. She worked to enact and implement the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) which brought health insurance to 6 million children. She led the effort to reform health care in the early 1990s.

3.  Hillary Clinton has been an advocate for women's rights around the world. She went to China and said that "women's rights are human rights” over the objections of the State Department.

4.  Hillary Clinton has been a tireless advocate for parity in the treatment of mental health by health insurers. This issue exemplified her understanding that change takes place incrementally and that it takes a commitment of years or even decades to make the progress we need.

5.  In 1998, Hillary Clinton said that there was a "vast right-wing conspiracy" to bring down Bill Clinton. Conventional wisdom was that she was paranoid and thin-skinned. But time has shown that she was right. Read Blinded by the Right, Killing the Messenger, or any number of other books by former right-wing writers who were paid to make up lies about both Clintons. We can’t reward a campaign of lies and manipulation.

6.  Hillary Clinton has shown her toughness and good judgment in dealing with the unfair attacks on her. What other candidate has been subjected to so many lies, half-truths, innuendo, sexism, and vitriol? We know Hillary can handle pressure because she has doing it for decades.

7.  After losing in 2008, Hillary Clinton put aside her personal feelings to become a valuable partner to President Obama. She was an excellent Secretary of State, participated in negotiations that led to the Iran nuclear arms agreement, and developed relationships with foreign leaders unlike any other Presidential candidate in recent memory. She gives respect and support for the accomplishments of the Obama administration and says that she wants to build on those accomplishments.

8.  Hillary Clinton is an excellent speaker and debater. Listen to her foreign policy speech on June 2nd: the whole speech, not just the sound bites. She held her own in debating President Obama, and many observers said that she was the better debater.

9.  We need to guard against sexism, even in our own reactions. Trump said that Hillary Clinton was "yelling" and that she had an unpleasant voice. But Trump, Sanders, and other male candidates "yell" far more loudly and intemperately than Hillary ever does. When you listen to her speak, ask how you would react if the same words came from a male voice at the same volume.

10.  Jill Abramson in the left-wing Guardian says that “Hillary Clinton is fundamentally honest.” Trump and other right-wingers accuse her of being dishonest, but they are basing their claims on the phony scandals the right wing has been peddling for years. No politician (and no person) can be in the public eye so long without saying things that can be pointed to as "flip-flops," but name one important thing Hillary Clinton has been untruthful about.

11.  Hillary Clinton has apologized for her mistakes. She has said she regrets her vote to authorize President Bush to intervene in Iraq, and she's said she's sorry she didn't handle her email differently. No politician can avoid making mistakes, but a good one learns from her mistakes.

12.  Hillary Clinton’s election would have the same impact on young women that the election of President Obama had on young black people.

13.  In endorsing Hillary Clinton for President, the New York Times said:

Hillary Clinton is the right choice for the Democrats to present a vision for America that is radically different from the one that leading Republican candidates offer — a vision in which middle-class Americans have a real shot at prosperity, women’s rights are enhanced, undocumented immigrants are given a chance at legitimacy, international alliances are nurtured and the country is kept safe. 

14.  Rolling Stone endorsed her, stating:

On the question of experience, the ability to enact progressive change, and the issue of who can win the general election and the presidency, the clear and urgent choice is Hillary Clinton.

15.  Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety, the country’s largest gun violence prevention group with more than three million supporters,  endorsed Hillary Clinton for President, saying:

Hillary is the only candidate who has consistently stood on the side of gun safety. She’s the only candidate has stood with gun violence survivors. And she’s the only candidate who has shown the backbone to stand up to the gun lobby’s extreme “guns everywhere” agenda. 

18.   In 2011, Secretary Clinton went to Pakistan and demanded greater cooperation to reign in groups responsible for terrorist attacks across the border into Afghanistan, saying that:

You can't keep snakes in your backyard and expect them only to bite your neighbors. Eventually those snakes are going to turn on whoever has them in the backyard.

That showed courage in confronting a U.S. ally to change their behavior. (I think this statement also captures what has happened to the Republican Party.)

16.  Hillary Clinton won the Democratic nomination fair and square, playing by the rules, with no manipulation or underhanded tactics. With or without superdelegates, she has earned the right to be the leader of our party. Progressives must unite to win and to continue the progress we’ve made in the last eight years.

17.   I'm proud to have helped elect the first African-American President. Let's be proud to have elected the first woman as President.