Bros 4 Hillary: A Small But Present Group of HRC’s Support System

In the 2016 presidential election cycle, a certain demographic of men, ‘bros’, have made their voices heard. Specific definitions vary, but bros come in all shapes and sizes. You have your frat bros, your lifting bros, or your skater bros…they take many different forms. Whatever specific sect they belong, the American bro was an audible group for one of the Democratic primary candidates in this cycle: Bernie Sanders and his ‘Bernie Bros’. But what about the victor of that long primary race, Hillary Clinton? Based on coverage and hard statistics, Clinton does not excel in that demographic as Sanders did, but are they out there? I made it my personal duty to find out. The namesake of this article comes from my research. “Bros 4 Hillary” is a national Facebook group with tens of thousands of members…all of whom are dudes who support Secretary Clinton. But as I surveyed the group’s members, I discovered that its (the group’s) definition and mine are entirely different. Unsatisfied, my search went on.

First, a little full discloser about myself… a sort of ‘about the author’ if you will. I, myself, am someone who has referred to the brand Ralph Lauren as an acronym in the past. You can also catch me wearing ‘boat shoes’ without the slightest glimpse of standing water in sight. I also honed my tennis skills as a high schooler at a country club. Frankly…I played/play tennis in general. But although those traits might not suggest that I am of the blue persuasion politically, I am a firm and devoted supporter of HRC. To be fair, though, I swooned a bit for the sweet song that Senator Sanders sang until I did more in-depth research and converted to Hillary in the last third of the primary cycle. Now, confession to cover my bases aside, I am here to suggest that I am not the only one of this developing image to feel so enamored –converted or not– by the prospects of a second Clinton presidency.

I don’t receive being referred to as a ‘bro’ as a compliment, but as they say, looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, probably is a duck. I’ve come to terms with this realization during my tenure at UWM. It’s not ideal, but ultimately it is what it is.

To find fellow members of the Clinton-clan that may fit one of the three aforementioned descriptions, I asked some friends what they thought, because, ya know, birds of a feather… I guess.

“Hillary is the most experienced presidential candidate in history,” UWM senior Jake LeRoy said.  “She offers actual solutions and plans for America’s problems. The fact that her current opponent is even in contention is the reason we need to invest in education.”

LeRoy thinks there are more of us out there. In fact, he has a few buddies currently enrolled in post-graduate programs that feel similarly.

“My two friends in law school share the same opinions and both are voting for Hillary. “

Although LeRoy understands the negative connotations of seeming like a bro, he wears his Titleist hat and vest to campus proudly.

Considering that he’s shared why he will be voting for Hillary, I figure I should do the same. Besides the already stated gap in credentials, I support former Senator Clinton for a bevy of other reasons. For one: her experience in foreign policy. She traveled the world during her time as secretary of state, meeting foreign dignitaries and helping solve international issues. She played a key and decisive role in brokering a peace deal between the US and Iran. Through her work as first lady, senator and secretary, Clinton earned the respect of heads of state the world over…except for Russia. But why would we want to elect a candidate that repeatedly compliments the dictator-esque behaviors of the Russian president, who also endorsed said hypothetical candidate. From a social standpoint, I am very liberal. Establishing that, there is only one candidate for me. I am a firm supporter of Planned Parenthood and all of the health services it provides far beyond abortion. But on the topic, I feel that it’s 100% the woman’s right to choose. Honestly, if you think about it, does it make any sense that old men continue to take it upon themselves to determine what women can and can’t do with their bodies? I don’t think so. On the topic of race-relations and immigration, I am also quite liberal. I feel there should be better access to things like jobs, education, housing and health care for people of color. I feel that Hillary is the candidate to attempt to address the systematic racism in our country. As far as immigration goes, neither I, nor Hillary, believe in this ‘open border’ policy that the opposition is assessing to her. I do feel that there should be better access to citizenship and am against the separation of families, though. That, in a nutshell, is how I feel about Hillary. Not all Hill-bros think alike but it’s fair to assume they think similarly on some of these topics.

For myself, some of my buddies, and a growing group of Americans, our visors —worn backwards, of course— say ‘Keep America great’ as appose to THEIR slogan. And we look forward to this in the form of a Hillary Clinton presidency. Although our numbers don’t amount in totals comparable to that of other candidates, we are there and we intend to make our voices heard November 8…bro.