Why We Need Hillary Clinton

Some of my progressive friends downplay or are unimpressed by the prospect of a Hillary Clinton presidency. Some may be unenthusiastic about voting for her, but I feel such sentiments are seriously misplaced. There are plenty of reasons to vote for Clinton based on what she will do and try to do, irrespective of the necessity of voting against the horror that would be a President Donald Trump. Hillary Clinton in the White House would move the ball forward on a number of crucial issues. Everything mentioned below would likely go the other way and be lost in the event she is not elected. So be sure to vote! Here are ten to ponder:

1. The Supreme and lower Federal Courts. She will nominate judges who will restore the Voting Rights Act, overturn the awful Citizens United and McCutcheon rulings, safeguard women's rights to make their own decisions on reproductive issues, defend the recent rulings on LGBT rights, and allow reasonable safety measures with regards to curtailing gun deaths without taking away the legitimate rights of law-abiding gun-owners.

2. We will finally get a comprehensive immigration plan that secures the border, protects American workers, and makes reasonable accommodation to US businesses to legally bring in foreign workers when necessary. This will be done while still keeping immigrant families together and providing a path to citizenship to the undocumented who have been here a long time, are self-supporting and have stayed out of legal trouble.

3. The wealthy and corporations will see their taxes go up, though not to the levels they were under Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s. The revenues generated will create tremendous opportunity, including free state university for the working and middle class, paid family leave for new mothers and fathers, make America the world leader in solar energy and create 10.5 million jobs in a massive renovation of our national infrastructure. If you've been overseas anytime recently you know how badly we need this.

4. We will uphold our climate agreements and make it at least possible to avoid the worst effects of human-generated climate change.

5. Twenty million people will not have health insurance taken away from them.

6. She will fight for a national minimum wage increase to $15 an hour.

7. The NATO alliance will be preserved. The only way Vladimir Putin's Russia dares to move on former Soviet-occupied states such as Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and others is if NATO breaks up or the U.S. gives indications it may not defend its allies in Europe, as Trump has done. She won't let that happen.

8. Iran won't get the bomb. Rather than "tear up" the Iran nuclear deal, which would remove all our inspectors, give Iran free rein to pursue nuclear weapons, and leave us with no other option but military attack, Clinton will keep the agreement in place and enforce it.

9. The U.S. will remain committed to nuclear non-proliferation. The policy under a Clinton presidency will be to prevent the spread of nukes to any new countries, as opposed to Trump's view that places like Saudi Arabia and Japan probably ought to have them.

10. Our daughters and granddaughters will finally see that the American dream can happen for them;  that smart, committed females can be the boss too!