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With under a month to go before Election Day, our nation faces a clear choice in the election for president.
The Republican nominee, Donald Trump, repeatedly has demonstrated that he is not prepared by way of experience, temperament or substantive knowledge about the issues on which the American people want a president to focus.
Trump is a bully without a conscience who would not have the moral authority to lead a great nation at a time of challenge.
The Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, is the most qualified candidate to seek the presidency in my lifetime.
As first lady, she helped bring Republicans and Democrats together to put in place the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which got its start in Pennsylvania under Gov. Robert P. Casey. CHIP helped 8 million children receive health-care coverage across our nation.
As a U.S. senator, Hillary helped New York rebuild after the 9/11 attacks and made it easier for members of the National Guard to access health care.
As secretary of state, she helped negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas. Clinton also led efforts to combat international sex trafficking; rallied the world to put in place unprecedented sanctions on the Iranian regime, and was in the Situation Room advising President Barack Obama when the decision was made to move forward with the mission that killed Osama bin Laden.
Clinton has spent a significant amount of time in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and she understands our struggles and our opportunities. She has lived a life of service that has produced results for our nation.
In addition to having a different set of experiences, the candidates have very different visions for where to take our nation. Trump wants to double down on the same policies that drove our economy into the ditch in 2008 and 2009 – when our nation was losing more than 700,000 jobs per month.
When it comes to foreign policy, Trump is dangerous. He believes that more nations should have nuclear weapons, has praised brutal dictators such as Vladimir Putin and Saddam Hussein, and has said that our strongest international alliance, NATO, is obsolete.
Clinton believes in an economy that works for all, not just those at the top. She has proposed very specific plans. She would invest in rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure, helping to fix Pennsylvania’s 5,200 structurally deficient bridges. She also would invest in early education so our children can learn more earlier in life and earn more later.
Clinton has proposed connecting 1.7 million Pennsylvanians to the 21st-century economy by ensuring access to rural broadband. She has outlined a detailed plan to enforce our trade laws and pledged to use a three-part test on any trade deal: Any agreement must grow incomes for the middle class, create jobs and enhance our national security.
Clinton also has proposed a plan to intensify our efforts to destroy ISIS, while increasing security at home.
The analyses of independent experts make it clear how these different visions would impact our nation. Moody’s Analytics, whose chief economist worked for U.S. Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign, has examined both candidates’ economic plans.
According to this analysis, Trump’s economic policies would result in a loss of 3.4 million jobs and send our economy into a “lengthy recession.”
In contrast, this analysis found that Clinton’s economic policies would grow the economy and create more than 10 million jobs in her first term, which works out to approximately 400,000 jobs in Pennsylvania.
Further, an examination done by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation and reported on by The New York Times found that Trump’s tax plan would increase the after-tax income of the wealthiest 1 percent by 5.3 percent, whereas Clinton’s tax plan would provide substantial benefits to the middle class by, for example, expanding the child care tax credit.
The clear choice our nation faces in this election has never been more consequential. Donald Trump denigrates and insults America. Hillary Clinton believes that America is great because it’s good – a nation that can and will be stronger together.