We have represented the Brown community in the Rhode Island General Assembly for many years, and we have been proud to sponsor bills and advocate for the progressive issues that so many Brown students care about, from marriage equality to publicly financed elections. These issues are not always popular at the State House, but we believe in fighting for the causes that matter to us and to our constituents. Working with Brown students, we have helped push through meaningful changes in state laws as varied as the legalization of medical marijuana and electronic filing requirements for campaign finance reports to facilitate public viewing of these records.
On Tuesday March 4th, Rhode Island voters get to help determine who will be the Democratic candidate for President. We strongly urge you to join us in voting for U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Our state and our nation face significant challenges, and it is critically important that we have a strong progressive leader in the White House who is ready to address those problems immediately. It is clear to us that Hillary is the leader our country needs right now for the pressing issues crying for attention. We must bring our troops home from Iraq and take care of them upon their return. We must establish peace and order in Afghanistan. We must end the economic recession and mortgage crisis here at home. We must foster green economic development to combat global warming. We must provide universal health care. We must fund increases to Pell grants and more affordable loans for higher education.
Hillary Clinton has demonstrated to the nation and the world that she is strong both personally and politically. Hillary has been tempered by attacks for her decision to lead the effort for health care in the 1990s as well as to stay in her marriage. With steely determination, along with great intelligence and proven concern for the well-being of children and families, she made history with her election to the United States Senate representing New York. Hillary is ready to bring our progressive visions to reality in Washington.
Hillary's campaign is certainly exciting to us because we believe it is past time for our country to have a woman president. But, more importantly, Senator Clinton's candidacy comes at a time when our country needs a leader with a resume like hers. She has always been willing to fight when it is necessary to fight, not just when it is easy or showy. Health care is now one of the most pressing issues as high costs place impossible burdens on individuals and small businesses. Hillary took on the special interests in the 1990s when she attempted to make health care affordable and accessible. While she lost that fight, she's never given up on her goal of guaranteeing adequate health care for all Americans.
As First Lady, Hillary Clinton traveled to China, a nation not known for its promotion of women's rights, to speak at the World Conference on Women. She proudly proclaimed that "human rights are women's rights... and women's rights are human rights." Her words inspired and empowered women and girls all around the world, including the two of us.
We know that actions speak louder than words. In Hillary Clinton we have a leader who offers us not just a vision of the future but a record of translating her promises into policies. Women across the country now have over-the-counter access to the emergency contraceptive Plan B. Millions of low-income children have health care coverage through the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Public elementary and secondary schools in Arkansas improved measurably with her efforts there. Hillary fought and stalled attempts to write discrimination into our federal Constitution through the Federal Marriage Amendment. Internationally, as First Lady and then as a senator, she worked to advance peace in Northern Ireland.
We've been disappointed to see Hillary Clinton's experience devalued during this campaign because she was First Lady. We believe that Hillary Rodham Clinton's record speaks to her enormous potential to bring change as President. Recently we listened to Richard Holbrooke '62 and were struck by his description of the international challenges the next President will inherit. Holbrooke described our nation as involved in two wars - and possibly on the cusp of a third with Iran - with an increasingly powerful China and global environmental problems. Holbrooke said that generals know and respect Senator Clinton and would be comfortable with her as our Commander-in-Chief. We agree with Holbrooke that Hillary Rodham Clinton is not just the best-prepared candidate, but also the one with the clearest vision to lead our country through the problems both at home and abroad, the problems we know of and the others that will inevitably arise.
As we begin to restore and expand economic prosperity for every American - not just the wealthiest, to bring our troops home and heal their wounds, to stop global warming while building a new and stronger green economy, to guarantee reproductive freedom, to expand the rights of LGBTQ Americans, to build a public education system for the 21st century, to provide access to higher education at a manageable cost, to provide health care that is universally available and affordable, we need a president with immense personal and political strength and as much depth and breadth of experience as we can possibly find. In Hillary Rodham Clinton, Democrats have a candidate who can both win in November and immediately begin implementing progressive policy changes.
We each vote for our own vision of a brighter future for all Americans. We hope that you share our vision and will join us in voting for Hillary Clinton on March 4th.
Rhoda Perry P'91 and Edith Ajello are a state senator and representative, respectively. Their districts include College Hill.
