To some Democrats, Hillary Clinton is the only viable presidential candidate for 2016. Megan Mandeville met her at an Association of Corporate Council event last month. "She was incredible," Mandeville said. "She has to run! There's no one else we can put up there. The minute she does, I'm volunteering."
Mandeville was one of the people signing up for the "OUT4Hillary" campaign held at the Downtown Bar and Lounge April 16. The event was designed for people—and, in particular, members of the LGBTQ community—to send a message to the former secretary of state that they are ready for her to announce her candidacy.
Austin McLain described himself as a "super-volunteer" for Ready for Hillary, a super PAC started in 2013 by two people that is now a nationwide, grassroots movement. "Every day, thousands more people are joining this movement," the website says. "She will have a grassroots army of supporters behind her who are ready to help her win."
McLain—who worked with a New York City LGBTQ group on Clinton's 2008 campaign—left work and drove down from Milwaukee specifically to recruit from the Chicago LGBTQ community. "I am taking the exact same steps I took in 2008," McLain said. "I'm just getting started early."
Despite there being no indication from Clinton that she is planning to run as yet, McLain is confident an announcement is just a matter of time. "When she was running for re-election for the New York senate in 2006, her rhetoric was along the lines of 'I have no intentions to run for president," McLain said. "If you look at the way she reacted then and the way she's reacting now, it's very similar."
McLain is convinced Clinton is the only choice in 2016, not only for Democrats to retain the White House but for the continuing momentum of LGBTQ equality. "I think she has shown herself to be both a great leader and a great ally for the community," he said. "One of the first actions she took as secretary of state was making sure that domestic partners had the same rights to benefits in the State Department."
As people walked into the Downtown Bar, McLain urged them to sign up as a potential volunteer and handed out "Ready for Hillary" badges and bumper stickers.
Mandeville signed up in the hope that she will watch the glass ceiling shatter with a Clinton win and she says she isn't the only one. "I was recently in a room with 1,400 lawyers, men and women" she said. "And the entire crowd was saying 'what can we do to help her win?'"
McLain isn't at all worried about Clinton's potential Republican opponents. "In 2012, I don't think there was single candidate that I thought 'that one could be worrisome,'" he said. "I'm seeing the exact same trend this time around."
He is hoping U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, will run against her. "If he ends up being the candidate, then I'm going to look forward to Hillary's inauguration day in 2016," McLain said with a smile.
