A short answer to a simple question

Because I am a woman.

Because I believe in a woman’s right to choose.

Because I believe she should have access to contraception and other affordable health services.

Because I believe in her right to earn the same wage as her male counterpart.

Because I believe she is strong, and valuable, and the most ardent promoter of peace.

Because I believe that the Violence Against Women Act should have been an easy pass.

Because I believe that rape is rape, no matter how it’s spun.

Because I believe that trickle down economics never worked for anyone except for those at the top.

Because I believe that ending poverty is a moral obligation.

Because I believe that no one should go hungry and that no child should be homeless.

Because I believe that the voice of people in government should be more powerful than money.

Because I believe in the fundamental dignity and worth of all Americans.

Because I believe that while one’s faith might inform politics, that it should never be used to deny rights to different groups of citizens based on certain interpretations of a certain book.

Because I believe we are our brothers and our sisters keepers.

Because I believe that we love whom we love and that our rights as lovers, whether married or single, should never hinge on whether we love as a man and a woman or as a woman and a woman or as a man and a man.

Because I believe in the value of public education.

Because I believe in our teachers.

Because I believe in equal access to higher education.

Because I believe in Dreamers and in their promise and potential.

Because I believe that supporting our troops means keeping them out of harm’s way whenever possible and providing jobs and benefits and decent pay for all who put their lives on the line.

Because I believe that veterans should not be homeless.

Because I believe that war is seldom an answer.

Because I believe that clean energy is the only solution to long-term sustainability.

Because I believe we owe it to the planet to keep Mother Earth solvent.

Because I am diabetic.

Because I believe in affordable health care.

Because I believe that the elderly should have easy access to healthcare without the burden of trying to stretch a voucher.

Because I know what Medicaid means for mothers with sick children and no way of covering hundreds of thousands in hospital bills.

Because I believe that a great America is one that values the contributions of all its citizens and one that creates space for all to flourish.

Because I love my son, and I want him to grow up in a world of hope and promise, with access to healthcare and education, in one just a little bit kinder and a whole lot cleaner.

Because all of that apparently makes me a bleeding heart liberal, I will cast my vote for President Obama as I did four years ago.