Thank You, Hillary Clinton

(Photo Source: Hillary for Iowa Facebook Page)

Thank You, Hillary Clinton.

Thank you, Hillary, from the bottom of my heart. You have met thousands upon thousands of supporters over the years, and I am one of them. You have meant more to me than you can even imagine. There is no other politician that has inspired me more than you have.

I grew up with Bill Clinton as our President and you as our First Lady. I even did a report/presentation about President Clinton in 4th grade. One of my friends told me afterwards that even though he didn't side with your husband, he still thought I did a great job with my report.

I was a teenager when George W. Bush was President and in my first year of college when you first ran for President. (The previous summer, I turned 18 and immediately registered to vote.)

During the 2008 election, the two candidates I liked were you and then-Senator Obama. When my state's caucus came around, the first time I could vote in a presidential election, I voted for you. When you lost the Democratic nomination, I knew we were still going to be in good hands with Barack Obama--and we were.

I watched as you traveled around the world as Secretary of State to repair relations and to make our country and the world a safer place. You were the epitome of a true leader during those four years. That obviously didn't come as a surprise, since you have been in every position you've held.

The night President Obama was re-elected, the hashtag #Hillary2016 was trending. That inspired me to create the @HillaryIn2016 Twitter account the very next day. In the four years since, I've met so many fantastic people who were also supporting you, as well as meeting supporters in person (including Captain Hillster) when I attended one of your rallies in Everett, WA. (Being able to see you in person and shake your hand was a very surreal experience.)

[More: Reflecting on the 2016 Presidential Election: Coming to Terms with the Results]

When you announced that you were running for President again, I donated to a political candidate for the very first time. I helped spread your message online. I was chosen as a delegate at my precinct caucus and made it all the way to the Washington State Democratic Convention as a Clinton delegate. I very much wanted to make it to the National Convention, but I fell short, just like in 2012 as an Obama delegate. That didn't stop me from continuing to help you get elected in the months since the convention.

Throughout this election--throughout your whole public life, really--I have watched you handle everything with grace and dignity, even when you were unfairly attacked on a constant basis. The way the media treated you, the way your opponents treated you, I don't know if I could have dealt with all of that. And I don't know how you did, but your calm presence always reassured me that if you can deal with that opposition, then all of us can deal with anything that we face.

Not a day went by when I didn't feel proud to be supporting your candidacy. You were the most qualified candidate ever. That should have been enough. The sexism that's been on full display has been unbelievable. We all were ready for you to be the first female President. You did win the popular vote, so that's proof enough that we are ready to shatter that "highest, hardest glass ceiling."

Your entire life, you have fought for all of us, especially women and children. And for that, our country--and many countries around the world--will forever be grateful for everything you've done. We did what we could to help you become President. There were supporters who did a lot more than I did, and I know I could have done more, but know this: you did not let us down. We will always be proud of what you have accomplished (including everything you've done to help the LGBT community) and the history that you've made.

As you said in your concession speech, "This is painful, and it will be for a long time." We're all there with you. But like you have said many times on the campaign trail, we've been knocked down, but we haven't been knocked out.

No matter what you do going forward, we will be there to support you. I'm sure you're looking forward to spending a lot more time with your grandchildren, and you deserve to go on a million vacations.

We can't thank you enough for everything you have done. Like I said, you have not disappointed us. We are more proud of you than ever before.

Thank you, Hillary Clinton.

Sincerely,

Jeff Dodge

Follow Me on Twitter: @HillaryIn2016 & @TheJeffDodge

Follow Me on Instagram: @HillaryIn2016 & @TheJeffDodge

Reflecting on the 2016 Presidential Election: Coming to Terms with the Results

(ABC Screenshot Source: Jeff Dodge)

Empty.

That's the only way I can describe how I felt the night of November 8, 2016, because I literally didn't feel any emotion on Election Night, only a deep emptiness. I wasn't angry or sad or disappointed. Just empty.

It wasn't until the next day that a sadness started creeping in and a heavy heart got heavier. And it wasn't until sometime during Hillary's concession speech Wednesday morning that I started getting a little emotional.

I woke up the day after the election realizing that, yes, this had really just happened. Hillary Clinton, the most qualified candidate and someone who has gone farther than any other woman in presidential politics, had lost. And Donald Trump, the least qualified candidate with no previous political or military experience--not to mention a racist, sexist, xenophobic bigot--had won. We knew it was going to be hard to keep the same party in the White House for a third term; that doesn't make the results any easier to swallow, though.

Over the next couple days, I didn't have a lot of energy. I wasn't able to genuinely smile or laugh, except for something my great-aunt said to me over the phone. I even said to someone on Wednesday, "The past 12 hours have felt like living in an alternate universe."

It wasn't until Friday that things started to improve and some of my energy returned, but just barely. Aside from watching This Week with George Stephanopoulos (which I watch every Sunday without fail), I decided to have a politics-free weekend, where I stayed off social media and stayed away from the news. That heaviness I was feeling did dissipate a lot, and I finally felt like I was getting back to normal--or as normal as I can be under the circumstances.

[More: Thank You, Hillary Clinton]

People process these things differently. Some were furious over the results. Understandable. Some felt a deep sadness. I can relate. And others were immediately ready to put this behind us and start looking to 2020. As a political news junkie, I'm very intrigued to see which Democrats run next time, but on that last point, I can't bring myself to get over this election yet--and I don't think I will for a long time.

It's not just that Donald Trump won. There's of course a lot of fear and uncertainty involved in that. But it's that Hillary Clinton lost. I am one of her diehard supporters. To me and millions around the country and the world, she wasn't just another politician. She was a truly remarkable leader who has spent her whole life fighting for us (breaking down barriers and making history along the way), and she would have been our first female president.

Some people went, well, we'll see that happen in our lifetime, most likely soon, just not right now. Sure, that's true. I will see that "highest, hardest glass ceiling" shattered in my lifetime--and I'll be excited and proud when that day comes. But, again, to me and millions of others, there was only one person who should have been the first female president--and that's Hillary Clinton.

All of this adds up to a disappointment that, like I said, will take a while to get over, if ever.

I waited a week to write this because of the way I was feeling in those first few days. I wanted to wait until I could properly express my thoughts with a level head. So before I end this, I want to also mention a couple other related topics.

Was Hillary Clinton the right person for the Democrats to nominate? She surely was. I will never budge from that position. I've heard some Bernie Sanders supporters go, you know, Bernie would have won this. To that, I say--no! When you look at why Trump won and why Hillary lost, it's clear that Bernie would have lost as well. The polls were wrong because a lot of Trump supporters didn't want to publicly reveal their support. Then you have lower turnout from African American voters, to bring up just one example. Considering Bernie's demographic is white people (he comes from a very white state and minority voters rejected him in the primaries), his non-white turnout if he was the nominee would have been much worse than Hillary's.

Let's face it: Bernie got easy treatment during the primaries. The media never vetted him, so he didn't have to face any sort of scrutiny over things that he should have been criticized for. And you can bet Hillary's campaign had a lot of opposition research on him, but they didn't use it. Something else you can bet? That Trump's campaign would most definitely have used that oppo. Skeletons would have come out. Us Hillary supporters already knew about some of them.

[More: Why I Proudly Support Hillary Clinton for President]

Then there's the very real possibility of Michael Bloomberg getting in the race as an independent candidate. Bloomberg said that if Bernie was the nominee, he would seriously consider running. That would have pulled a lot of Democratic votes away from Bernie.

But the primaries are behind us. In fact, this whole election is behind us, and now we have to live with the consequences. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, which means she's the people's president, the candidate who a majority of voters chose. Donald Trump won the Electoral College. So he did not win outright. Most people are not happy with this outcome.

Despite that split, Republicans now control the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Elections come and go. But that control that the GOP has right now, and what they do with it, will reverberate for years, even generations, to come--especially when it comes to the Supreme Court.

I'm not someone who's saying, "He's not my president," because that's a lie. (#NotMyPresident was trending on Twitter on Election Night.) I may not have voted for him, but he won and he will be my president. That doesn't mean I have to go along with everything he does, and we should certainly not forget the racist and sexist remarks he made throughout the election. Trust and respect have to be earned.

Like I said, it will take a while for me to fully process the results and to be able to move on from the fact that the political figure who has inspired me more than anyone else, Hillary Clinton, will not be president. As Hillary said in her concession speech, "This is painful, and it will be for a long time." But I'll leave with this: we've been knocked down, but we haven't been knocked out.

Follow Me on Twitter: @HillaryIn2016 & @TheJeffDodge

Follow Me on Instagram: @HillaryIn2016 & @TheJeffDodge

Why I Proudly Support Hillary Clinton for President

(Photo Source: Hillary Clinton Facebook)

I proudly and enthusiastically support and have voted for Hillary Clinton for President.

I've been waiting for this moment for years. 2008 was the first year I could vote in a presidential election--and I voted for Hillary in the primaries. Eight years later, after electing our first African American President, it's time to make history again.

Hillary's passion throughout her life has always been fighting for women and children. On the campaign trail, whenever you hear her talking about expanding access to education, helping those in need and making sure struggling families have the same opportunities in life as everyone else, you can trace the roots of that passion to her work with the Children's Defense Fund. After graduating law school, Hillary joined this non-profit organization that does so much good in this country, especially for disadvantaged kids. The work that she and others did helped get legislation passed requiring schools to educate children with disabilities.

That passion never left her. As First Lady of Arkansas, she put her position to good use by fighting for expanded access to health care, as well as making sure progress was being made on education standards.

[More: Democratic National Convention Night 4: Hillary Clinton Accepts the Nomination]

She didn't back down on these fronts after moving into the White House as First Lady of the United States. She was a forceful leader in support of health care reform. Of course, Republicans did what they do best: they rejected a bill that would have helped millions of Americans. Hillary (and Americans without health insurance) may have been knocked down by this defeat, but she wasn't knocked out. So what did she do? She formed a bipartisan coalition in Congress to pass a bill, called the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), that delivered health care to over 8 million children.

Hillary is a champion of women's rights and has a history of empowering women and girls not just here in the United States, but around the world as well. One of the most consequential speeches ever given by a political figure came on September 5, 1995, in Beijing, China, at the UN Fourth World Conference on Women. In this speech, Hillary delivered a line that continues to reverberate in a strong and meaningful way to this day: "Women's rights are human rights and human rights are women's rights."

A statement like that, a speech like this one, shouldn't be seen as controversial or new or radical or something to dismiss, whether in China or in the United States, but at the time, it was groundbreaking. The basic fundamentals of that line are still in the spotlight even now, when we see leaders trying to deny basic rights that men have freely enjoyed and taken advantage of since the beginning of time. Whether it's education or health care or a whole host of other issues, Hillary has led the way and has been a fighter for women and girls, for children, for poor people, for everyday Americans of all backgrounds.

When Hillary served in the Senate, she worked across the aisle by teaming up with both Democrats and Republicans to make progress in this country. That bipartisan mentality seems to be missing in today's Congress. But Hillary has a history of working with those she disagrees with--and she'll do it again as President. As a Senator from New York, she stepped up after September 11, 2001, and secured health care funding for 9/11 first responders.

As Secretary of State, she restored our standing in the world, employed a "smart power" strategy (always use diplomacy first), brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, advised President Obama to take out Osama bin Laden and made LGBT rights a priority at the State Department and around the world, all while continuing her passion of empowering women and children.

[More: Guest Blog--Hillary Clinton: A Proven and Compassionate Leader]

Hillary will bring this wealth of experience and accomplishments with her into the Oval Office. If you care about the direction of the Supreme Court; acting on climate change, campaign finance reform, criminal justice reform, immigration reform, college affordability and gun control; protecting LGBT rights, women's rights and voting rights; protecting and improving the Affordable Care Act; making the wealthy pay their fair share--the list goes on and on--then Hillary is your candidate.

Hillary is without a doubt the most qualified candidate running for President, and one of the most inspirational politicians I've ever seen. I wholeheartedly believe in her. She admits to her mistakes when she's wrong and she never quits, no matter what obstacles are thrown her way. Things aren't going to magically be perfect once she's President, but that's why we need someone who is willing to put in the hard work that's necessary to take on those challenges, someone who's been there and who knows how to work with both parties, who knows how to bring people together, who knows how to find common ground to get things done. We need someone with a vision to lead this country and that person is Hillary.

And it's finally time to shatter that "highest, hardest glass ceiling" by electing our first female President. People have been trying to tear her down for years--the not-so-subtle hints of sexism have been on full display. And while that won't go away when she's elected, her presidency sends a strong message that can't and shouldn't be ignored.

Hillary's not running for President for any of the reasons her critics think; she's doing it to continue the passion she's held with her throughout her life--helping women and children. We need a President who is passionate about helping others. That's the Hillary Clinton I know--and that's the Hillary Clinton we'll have as our President.

Follow Me on Twitter: @HillaryIn2016 & @TheJeffDodge

Follow Me on Instagram: @HillaryIn2016 & @TheJeffDodge

Photo Blog: Hillary Clinton Campaign Event (Everett, WA)

On Tuesday, March 22, 2016, Hillary Clinton made campaign stops in Washington State (where I live) ahead of the Democratic Caucus four days later. She held an event at a union hall in Everett, visited with tribal leaders in Puyallup and a rally in Seattle in which she gave her victory speech after winning the Arizona Primary.

If she was going to come to the state, I knew she would stop in Seattle, but I never thought she would head to places like Everett, which is closer to where I live (though still over an hour away). And I never imagined that I would get the opportunity to actually see Hillary in person. I really wanted to go, especially since my thinking was that if I don't become a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, this might be my only opportunity to see her give a speech live; I'm so glad I was able to make it work so I could go.

This campaign event was held at the machinists union hall in Everett.

(Photo Source: Jeff Dodge)

We showed up in the morning and waited for quite a while in a line outside, very slowly inching our way closer to the building. One of the people in line was Captain Hillster, a very dedicated Hillary supporter, as you can tell from his costume:

(Photo Source: Jeff Dodge)

While were in line on the side of the building (far enough back that we could see the back of the building), we saw Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray arrive.

(Photo Source: Jeff Dodge)

As you'd imagine, there was security everywhere, including dogs sniffing around for anything suspicious:

(Photo Source: Jeff Dodge)

Later on, we were far enough ahead in the line that we could see the front door. But then all of a sudden, we heard cheering from the people in the back of the line. I assumed that meant Hillary had arrived, so I and others bolted over there (my mom was there, so I still had my place in line). Here Hillary was walking towards us, speaking with her supporters and shaking hands before heading inside. Unfortunately, I couldn't get myself close enough to shake her hand.

(Photo Source: Jeff Dodge)

After she went inside, I got back in line and eventually went inside, where we had to take everything out of our pockets and have everything looked at, then spread our arms out and be wanded by the Secret Service. (By the way, they wouldn't let Captain Hillster take his gloves or hat inside.)

Then we went to the room where the event was being held. In the back and on one side of the room, there were cameras and reporters in the press area. It was standing room only, so we found a spot, close to where some of the press were on the right side. (We were even interviewed by a reporter.)

When the event started, the first to speak was Senator Maria Cantwell:

(Photo Source: Jeff Dodge)

Then Senator Patty Murray spoke:

(Photo Source: Jeff Dodge)

Then Hillary came out and was introduced:

(Photo Source: Jeff Dodge)

Then the big moment arrived and I was actually in the same room as the one and only Hillary Clinton watching her give a speech!

(Photo Source: Jeff Dodge)

It was beyond amazing! I think you already know how big of a Hillary supporter I am, but being able to hear her in person had me even more pumped up and ready to help get her elected.

Afterwards, Hillary worked the crowd, talking with supporters, shaking hands and taking selfies. Right before the below photo was taken, Hillary was really close to me, but there were still people in front of me and I couldn't get close enough to be right in front of her. So I reached my arm out as far as I could--and our next President shook my hand! It all happened in a flash.

(Photo Source: Jeff Dodge)

Here is the podium that Hillary spoke at:

(Photo Source: Jeff Dodge)

While Hillary worked the crowd, the Secret Service followed her closely and were always paying attention to what was going on in the room:

(Photo Source: Jeff Dodge)

We then made our way outside to the side/back of the building again, hoping to see Hillary leave. While we didn't see her, we did see Senators Cantwell and Murray again and they came over to talk and shake hands.

(Photo Source: Jeff Dodge)

Here is the van for Hillary's staff:

(Photo Source: Jeff Dodge)

So that's my photo journey of attending a Hillary Clinton campaign event. I've only been to one other presidential candidate's rally before (John Edwards in 2008--I was a Hillary supporter, but he came to my community college and it was a great opportunity), I've been to a rally for Governor Chris Gregoire when she ran for re-election in 2008, and I went to a town hall in either 2009 or 2010 for Congressman Rick Larsen. But to be able to go to this campaign event for my favorite political figure was unbelievable.

Follow Me on Twitter: @HillaryIn2016 & @TheJeffDodge

Follow Me on Instagram: @HillaryIn2016 & @TheJeffDodge

[Guest Blog] Hillary Clinton: A Proven and Compassionate Leader

(Photo Source: Hillary Clinton Facebook)

Guest Blog by Kathleen Kelley

Negative news coverage, Twitter feeds and Facebook posts about Hillary Clinton have been perplexing to watch and read. Hillary, who has the best chance at becoming our first female President, is a qualified, intelligent, experienced, determined, proven and compassionate leader. Yet those not ready for a woman President use words like "bitchy," "demon," "old," "witch" and "liar" to describe her. Having worked with Hillary and her agenda of programs in support of children and families since the early '90s, my first thought is: #ImWithHer.

Hillary's biography is available on Wikipedia, in one of the five books she has penned and in the numerous books about her. She is from a middle class, small business, intact Midwest family. She has always been competitive. She grew up in a time when the second wave feminism taught us that we could have it all: a career, a family and happiness. After Bill Clinton asked her to marry him, Hillary struggled with how to balance her career goals and maintain her identity while being a wife to such a dynamic man, and possible a future mother. We all struggled and continue to struggle with work-life balance--and, yes, we get a little "bitchy" when we are pigeonholed into one of these roles.

[More: 2016 Presidential Election Timeline]

Hillary has endured being critiqued for her fashion sense instead of focusing on her common sense. As First Lady, she got more coverage over a change of hairstyle than over her success with pushing for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). We all struggle with maintaining our feminine allure, but that struggle is heightened when public comments are about window dressings and not substance.

Presidents have given Hillary tough assignments because they know she will handle the process with intelligence and compassion. Many women in my era learned to multitask and juggle competing priorities. We (including Hillary) have gotten in over our heads but managed to do the job to the best of our ability. We are expert collaborators and do not let our ego get in the way of finding the appropriate support for projects. We connect the dots and use people in our lives to advance the community.

[More: Democratic Primary Delegate Count]

Finally, Hillary has had her morals and principles challenged. She has chosen to "stand by her man" and to stand by her President. She is willing to consider alternative solutions. She will vet options thoroughly with the information at hand. But like everyone here on Earth, she is not perfect. She believes in a God that forgives and loves. Her belief gives her a moral compass and compassion for her family, her community and the world at large. Those charges of "lying" have been used against her to weaken her political power, yet she has confidently defended her positions.

I admire her honesty, stamina and energy to keep scaling walls placed in front of her toward her march to the White House. There is no one more qualified than Hillary Clinton to be the first female President of the United States of America. #ImWithHer

Follow Kathleen Kelley on Twitter @KathleenUKelley.

Follow Hillary In 2016 on Twitter: @HillaryIn2016.