October  30, 2016

To: HFA GOTV Volunteers
From: Robby Mook
Re: The Choice Facing Voters in This Election

We are just days away from the most important election of our generation concluding. Already, over twenty million people have voted, which is an all-time record this early in the voting process. With the stakes so high, a record 70,000 volunteer shifts were completed this weekend alone to get Hillary and Democrats up and down the ballot elected. That’s more shifts than on the same weekend in 2008 or 2012 for President Obama--and those numbers will grow dramatically in the coming days.

I cannot overstate the fact that battleground states have that name for a reason--the result will be incredibly close and the presidency could hinge on the outcome.  Your work to communicate our message and get our supporters to the polls will be the margin of victory in these states.  

Since each of you will be spending so much time talking to voters in the coming weeks, I wanted to brief you on what’s really at stake on in this election, so you can help spread the message. There have been a lot of ups and downs in this campaign. And a lot of distractions. But through it all, Hillary Clinton has stayed focused on what really matters: the American people. Their lives. Their families.  The kind of country we all want for our children and grandchildren. That’s what this election is actually about.  And when you clear away all the noise, the choice is stark.

We deserve a President who’s ready to bring us together… ready to keep us safe… ready to make our economy work for everyone, not just those at the top. But Donald Trump has proven himself again and again to be temperamentally unfit and totally unqualified to be President and Commander-in-Chief.

And let’s be clear: this isn’t just a question of temperament and experience, although those are vital qualities in a President.  What’s really on the ballot in this election are two different visions for America:  Donald Trump’s dark and divisive vision that could tear our country apart, and Hillary Clinton’s hopeful, inclusive vision that says we’re stronger together.

Over the course of the next week, you will hear Hillary Clinton explain this choice to voters, including the difference between:

A president who understands the challenging world in which we live or one who is too erratic and uninformed to have control of nuclear weapons

• As a former Secretary of State and senator, Hillary Clinton brings an incredible amount of experience with the key issues facing America around the world. Traveling nearly a million miles as America’s top diplomat, Hillary has handled issues ranging from nuclear proliferation to military readiness, from women’s rights  to climate change, and is ready to lead from day one.

• Beyond his lack of understanding of foreign policy and unwillingness to learn, Donald Trump is a loose cannon with some dangerous views on major global issues. Trump would encourage more nuclear weapons around the world, has insulted our allies and praised several authoritarian dictators.  He even encouraged a foreign government to hack his opponent, and since then has refused to acknowledge the U.S. Intelligence community’s conclusion that the Russian government has done just that.

A president who has spent a lifetime fighting for women or one who has a career of demeaning and bullying them.

• Hillary Clinton made history this year by becoming the first female nominee of a major party, but she has been breaking ground for women during her entire career. From her groundbreaking commencement speech at Wellesley to declaring for the world that “Women’s rights are human rights,” Hillary has been an inspiring voice, fighting for the rights of women around the world.

• Donald Trump has a very different—and very disturbing—record. We’ve all heard the revolting comments he made on a bus 11 years ago, but while those comments were shocking and appalling, they were not surprising to anyone who has followed Trump’s many public comments over the years. Trump’s comments and actions would be unbelievable if he hadn’t spent years publicly insulting and degrading women who stood up to him, bragging about walking in on nude pageant contestants, who were often under aged, and making jokes about objectifying women. And to the women who have accused him of acting on his comments, Trump has threatened legal retribution.

A president who knows that we are stronger together, compared to one who would sow hatred and division.

• Hillary Clinton believes in an America where everyone counts and everyone has a place. She’s spent her life acting on those beliefs, from her early work at the Children’s Defense Fund through a campaign that has consistently called out Trump’s division and hatred while offering a policy agenda that would bring people together and address the issues that keep us apart. Hillary has prioritized issues like immigration reform, ending LGBT discrimination and criminal justice reform.

• Donald Trump set the tone of his campaign by insulting Mexican immigrants and has continued those insults and divisive comments through today. From Muslims to Gold Star families to a judge of Mexican heritage born in America to one of his own African American supporters just this past week, no one has been safe from Trump’s insults and lies. Trump has also built his political efforts around conspiracy theories, starting with the racist lie that President Obama was not born in America and support from hate movements like that alt-right—whose leaders Trump has been too slow to denounce.

A president who will fight for an economy that works for everyone or one who just fights for those at the top

• Hillary Clinton understands that despite the progress we’ve made under President Obama, the deck is too often stacked against working Americans -- and she has an agenda that will make the economy work better for everyone. Her plan will create good-paying jobs, make sure that those at the top pay their fair share in taxes, while offering working families help with paid family leave, affordable child care and refinancing student loans.

• Donald Trump has spent his life building a business and his own riches at the expense of those around him. He’s stiffed small businesses and contractors working with him, outsourced jobs, run a sham foundation that has served his own needs more than others and likely paid no federal income taxes for years, shortchanging the communities around him. His policies would also benefit people like him, with a plan that offers the biggest tax cut for the wealthy and corporations in history - adding $20 trillion dollars to the national debt over the next two decades, while raising taxes on millions of middle class families.

The choice is clear. Americans deserve a president with the temperament and experience to tackle the issues facing our country and to work with all Americans to solve them, not a candidate who has proven himself time and again to be temperamentally unfit and unqualified to be President and Commander-in-Chief.  They deserve a president who holds the optimistic view that Americans are stronger together, rather than one who could destroy the values we hold dear and tear America apart.

In the coming week, voters have the opportunity to stand up for our values and reject Donald Trump’s dark divisive vision for America.  Thanks to your help, their voices will win the day.