Wednesday, November 4, 2020

Quick Thoughts: Election 2020

Here we are once again, and again I gotta say that I cannot believe how close this is.  I saw an article from one of the major news magazines on Twitter awhile ago saying that the President has once again shocked coastal elites.  I gotta say, that's God's own truth.  I don't always think of myself as a coastal "elite," per se, but in this instance, I once again feel like a stranger in my own country.  

I really don't get it.

Let's start with the obvious.  We're four years into this thing.  There aren't any surprises.  We all know who this President is.  He is not trying to hide it.  So.  If you've now voted for Donald Trump twice, the only possible explanation is that you're one of his fans.  

You're not voting "against" anything.  You actually like this shit.  

This is the part I don't get.

Latino men in Florida went overwhelming for Trump this cycle, ostensibly because they're afraid of "socialism".  Which makes sense in the context of their relationship to the Castro Regime, but not in any way that's tied to the reality of the actual United States as it exists in the Real World.  The Democratic Party nominated arguably the most conservative man in the entire establishment as their standard-bearer.  I mean, I get that most people don't actually follow the primary process in the opposition party nor read position papers overmuch, so maybe my surprise here is by virtue of my own shortsightedness and naivete.  

Which is to say that it doesn't matter who Biden *is*.  It matters who his detractors need him to be.  

But come on!  If you're still listening to Trump and his people at this point, it can only be because you actively like these guys.  I don't think anyone thinks he is particularly honest in any way, save in the existential way that admits to being a sexual deviant.  He is, in a sense, an honest criminal.  And yet, somehow that's enough for people.  A lot of people, as it happens.  A plurality of them.

I got on one of my kids the other day for making the statement that she would "never" vote for Kamala Harris.  I asked her what she knew about Harris, and when she shrugged, I actually yelled at her.  A lot of people, I think, are just seeing Harris's skin color and assuming her political positions.  This from Democrats.  This from people who were fans of Herman Cain!

Reality is that Harris and Biden have always been centrist Democrats.  Anathema to the progressive wing of their own party.  And really, you actually knew that already.  It's why folks kept bringing up the Crime Bill from the 90s along with Harris's record as a California prosecutor.  It's why Trump kept touting his own work on Criminal Justice Reform with Kim Kardashian West.  The thought was that since the Dem's had nominated a team that most real Democrats (at least) disliked, the reality of the team's voting records might dampen enthusiasm and therefore turn progressives off from going to the polls.  But it's ironic because here's Trump running on an ostensibly Law & Order platform in the middle of widespread social unrest against two Democrats with a much stronger demonstrated record of supporting law enforcement!

You can't make this stuff up, truly.

Some of you are now scratching your heads.  I will therefore remind you that I have been a registered Republican since 1992 and am actually in favor of REAL law and order.  I always have been.

 After a long night, it's starting to look like Biden may yet pull this thing out.  If trends hold, he'll take Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Michigan, and amazingly, that will be enough.  Granted, nothing is actually settled, and there remains the very real possibility of an election contested in the courts.  However, I *think* Biden is going to win both the popular and Electoral College vote.  Alas, I have always thought that he would need to win these things by 10+ points in order to overcome the eventual legal shenanigans from the President's lawyers, and that means that I am at this point fully expecting to have the Courts themselves overturn the Will of the People.

I declined Harvard for West Point at least in part because I have always believed in this country.  I believe in the Republic in action.  I always have.  

If Trump wins a fair election, I won't be happy.  However, I'll make my peace with it.  The guys isn't gonna hurt me or my family, God knows.  However, I'm not sure that my faith can survive an election overturned by court shenanigans, of which we ought to see quite a few.

How long until my military and veteran friends start calling for an end to the counting of absentee ballots?

Like I said, you can't make this stuff up.

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