Building up

This train of thought comes from a couple of things I have seen recently.

One was this video, Martha and Sara:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUD7swQkgGA

It is the story of a family whose daughter was born deaf, where she would not be able to learn to speak without immediate intervention. Things I never thought about were how they had to keep refitting for hearing aids with a growing child, and even how soon you need to intervene to allow for speech. Knowing that, I was not surprised that it was expensive.

They raised an accomplished and independent daughter. Two things that helped them were the State Children's Health Insurance program and legislation that required public schools to provide resources for children with disabilities. Those were things that Hillary Clinton worked for.

I had kind of forgotten about SCHIP, but yeah, it's been in place long enough that children who have been provided for through the program are grown.

If we think about Hillary Clinton's efforts toward health care, it is easy to think of it as a failure. Congress turned it down. That must have been pretty crushing, but she kept looking for other possibilities. SCHIP is associated with Edward Kennedy and Orrin Hatch, because they sponsored it, but Clinton was a part. There was a falling out over a cigarette tax amendment and political maneuvering, but ultimately the program was created and it has done good things.

This was the other thing:

http://shareblue.com/the-significance-of-hillary-clintons-work-on-behalf-of-children/

There are not a lot of financial or political rewards for focusing on children. They don't vote, and they don't have a lot of money for making donations. They have parents and you might expect the parents to care, but I know a lot of parents whose children have been insured through SCHIP that hate Hillary. The programs are valuable, but the person working for the programs may not be valued.

That is the opposite of the pure revolutionary fervor that so many people have found exciting this election cycle. It requires patience. It requires making allies, even in the face of disagreement. It requires facing failure, brushing yourself off, and trying again. Progress may not come easily, but it can last longer when done carefully.

That is the woman I'm voting for. That is why.

I'm with her.