Dear Secretary of State Clinton and Senator Sanders,
It’s
been a very long, very contentious road to the DNC, but now we’re here. We’ve
made it. It’s been a great show so far, and we’re only halfway through! We were
all really worried at first over whether or not you two could pull off bringing
the party together to present a (mostly) united front against one of the
biggest threats our country has ever known. It remains to be seen if this will
be successful. A lot of hearts were broken, and a lot of minds have been closed
in the race to the nomination. Both “sides” still have some growing up to do
between now and November.
One
of the things that stood out to me the most during the nomination process, was
how you two played off of each other. You two have always been
#StrongerTogether. You made each other better candidates. You brought out the
best in each other and forced one another to work harder to be the best candidate
you could be. And you both succeeded. The Democratic party currently boasts an embarrassment
of riches when it comes to amazing people. I have always felt proud about being
a Democrat, and I am happy to say that this feeling never wavered during the
nomination process.
The
nomination has been made now, and Senator Clinton has been chosen to carry the
party to the general election in November. Senator Sanders, you have been
gracious and humble these past few days, and are to be commended. I can’t have
been easy for you. You have helped change the direction of the party. You have
changed the conversation. You have pushed Senator Clinton farther than anybody
else probably could have, and I hope you are very proud of yourself. Senator
Clinton, you have the strongest chance yet to become the first woman president
this nation has ever known. Whenever Sanders pushed you, you pushed back, but
never pushed over him. You are one of the greatest candidates I have ever seen,
and I am so proud to get to vote for you in November.
One
thing has become clear to me during this long process: regardless of what you
two feel about each other, you’re stuck with each other. The party needs both
of you to win, and the country needs both of you to keep working together to
become the best that we can be. I don’t care if you two can’t stand the sight
of each other once the cameras are off and the doors are closed. You two complement
each other perfectly.
My
proposal: Senator Clinton, you need to offer Senator Sanders a position in your
cabinet, and Senator Sanders, you need to accept it. There are three positions
that would be a good fit with your passions. Secretary of Education would allow
you to continue your fight for tuition-free college for every American.
Secretary of Energy would allow you to continue working for the betterment of
the environment. This would help the nation, and the world And Secretary of
Labor would help you keep fighting for the working class, the middle class, and
helping to achieve goals like equal pay for equal work, and a $15 national
minimum wage.
They
say that still waters run deep. On the surface, the water might look calm, but
underneath, the current is moving swiftly downstream. I think the same could be
said of revolutions as well. Sometimes they come with violence and a frenzy of
action, and sometimes they sneak up on you until they’re over and you never knew
it even took place. I personally believe that slow and steady wins the race.
Maybe the changes won’t happen overnight, but we’ll get there.
Being
president would pull you in too many directions to be able to give any of your
passions the true attention you need to give them. And by helping out in the
cabinet, you help free Senator Clinton to give her attention to other needs. She’ll
have a very full plate on her hands and will need all the help she can get.
Juggling the needs of the nation while also keeping her eye out on the rest of
the world will take every spare moment she can give.
What
better way to continue bringing the party together and healing the rift that
was created over the last year, than by announcing that both of you will
continue to fight for America after being elected to the White House in
November? I would encourage both of you to seriously consider this idea. I don’t
care if you hate each other; you can work from different buildings if you have
to. As public servants, making the United States of America the best it can be,
should be your top priority. It’s time to let go of any bruised egos, hurt
feelings, and negative personal opinions of each other you may have, and
continue to work together. We will thank you for it. History will remember you
for it.
Signed,
Summer
Whitesell
Seattle, Washington
