The Debate

OK, so did you watch the Debate last evening?? Hmmm, yeah, but I preceded it by watching The Daily Show and Stephen Colbert, the latter of which was a rerun of an earlier Colbert Late Night show.  So, we were warmed up a bit, perhaps brightened up a bit. We had no Great Expectations for that Debate. I mean, had we been watching Kennedy v. Nixon, or maybe Clinton v. Bush (I suppose we might have entertained the idea that “The Winner” (assuming there was one) might change our mind about whom we might support for President. Even that seems very unlikely, since the wrong winner might have suggested we vote for Nixon, or Ford –pretty unlikely.

Still, even though we were staunch supporters for both Clinton and Kennedy, Nixon and Ford at least seemed like plausible candidates.  But Joe Biden v. Donald Trump??? Seriously, America??? Donald Trump, as the candidate from the same party that ran Ike???

No, a Debate, regardless of the outcome, was never going to move my vote from one to the other. Instead, watching the debate was more like watching Stephen Colbert, perhaps a fond wish for some moments of light comedy. See, we have grown used to the Late Night comedians making fun of Donald Trump. So, we perhaps were hoping for some reality-based comedy.

But, change my vote?? No. I don’t know, maybe were Donald Trump running against Adolph Hitler, I might have been watching from that perspective.  See, in that case, we have someone who would likely try to destroy the world, v. someone who would try to destroy America. So, would a debate affect my decision to vote for the America saver (Hitler) v the America Destroyer (Trump)?

But in this debate, we have a dude who is highly likely to destroy America (Trump) v. a guy who is likely to keep both America and the world together, even if he falls asleep trying to do that.

So, Trump actually looked more awake, and somewhat more “with it” than Joe. But, again, So What? I could not possibly vote for Donald Trump.  So, could I have voted for Adolph Hitler?  Hmmm, NO. In such an election, I honestly do not know what I might have dome—walk away without voting at all??? I Know, I know. Adolph Hitler wound up killing, what, six million Jews, and others?  And Trump??? Well, he might well destroy the entire world, but certainly America, if elected.  Now, to be fair, Hitler was simply flat-out EVIL. Trump is mainly stupid beyond belief, and capable of being led into disastrous situations that might well lead to the killing of millions of people (nuclear war, maybe??). See, I still believe that Trump is now being “shaped” by rich people I do not yet know. He will be directed to do things as President that may well be disastrous to America and to the World. That is what American Republican voters do not seem to want to understand.

But, in any case, I think debates between Biden and Trump are largely irrelevant. If anyone in America is on the edge between voting for Trump, and voting for Biden, they might well have voted for Hitler, had they been given that choice.  The debate is not pushing them in one direction or another. No thinking, ethical, moral human being could possibly even consider voting for Donald Trump, regardless of Debate Performance.

So, Yes, Joe Biden, did not perform well in that debate. But, to me, that does not matter, because the Debate, any Debate, could not possibly change my VOTE.

The Far Right Agenda

 Project 2025: The Republican Agenda for America

We have mostly been concerned with challenging and defeating Donald Trump in the 2024 election. Much as the extreme right wing supporters, who call themselves MAGAHeads, are focused on electing him. Given his track record, including almost everything he says publicly, I have had grave difficulty understanding their support.  But then, I came across this thing the Heritage Foundation and other fascist organizations throughout America have just published, called Project 2025. And that thing made me understand that the battle goes way beyond Donald Trump.  Trump is a pawn in the hands of an extreme right wing collection of Americans, who seem not so American any longer.  Here is a brief summary of the agenda they wish to push onto what is remaining of America after the election this year.

Project 2025: A Summary

With a 100-member advisory board composed of a “Who’s Who” of extreme far-right groups including Christian Nationalists and bigoted organizations, and tens of millions of dollars in funding from dark money donors, Project 2025 maps out a clear plan of sweeping reforms that would erode multiracial democracy should a “conservative” win the 2024 presidential election. Spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation, Project 2025 seeks to “rescue the country” from “elite rule and woke cultural warriors,” replacing democracy with Christian-based authoritarianism. The guidelines for the first 180 days of the administration are detailed in a 900+-page document authored by leading far-right voices. This Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise calls for draconian rollbacks of sexual health and reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ equality, racial equity, public education, climate, and environmental protections, all the while preferencing an exclusionary interpretation of Christianity and stripping rights from multiple communities. Among policies called for in the first 180 days of a conservative presidency: • Eliminating LGBQI+ and transgender rights. • Eradicating federal funding for DEI programs. Participation in any critical race theory or DEI initiative will be grounds for termination of government employees. • Ending reproductive freedom and replacing the Department of Health and Human Services with the “Department of Life.” • Ending climate change and environmental policies by shutting down the Office of Domestic Climate Policy, the Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, the Office of Environmental Justice, and External Civil Rights, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to name a few. Climate science will no longer be used in National Security. • Slashing of the Department of Justice and dismantling the FBI and replacing their traditional independence from political pressure with fealty to the administration. • Purging the government of apolitical civil servants by firing as many as 50,000 and hiring replacements from a database of personnel vetted for conservative values and loyalty, a “Conservative Linked In.” Successful candidates will undergo training at a “Presidential Training Academy” and be furnished “with the insight, background knowledge, and expertise in governance to immediately begin rolling back destructive policy and advancing conservative ideas in the federal government.” • Eliminating the checks and balances built into three branches of government in favor of expanded control by the executive branch. • Replacing the Department of Homeland Security with a 100,000-worker-strong immigration department, militarization of the border and an end to refugee programs. • Fundamentally altering American diplomacy to push anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ+ agendas, adopt a “human rights” regime distinct from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and abandon international organizations and traditional diplomatic and security alliances. This plan is made easier if a “conservative” president is elected soon, but it’s not dependent upon upcoming elections. This is the plan that will continue to drive far-right thinking into the future as Christian Nationalist groups push for these changes. Elements of the plan are already being put in place on the local and state level.

It is hard to sum up into fewer words. But , voters should become familiar with this extremist agenda, because the “other” party in America (what used to be known as the republican party now seems dead, replaced by this MAGAFascist party), that is not yet an official political party.  I have difficulty with the extremism of their ideas, because they remind me of what must have been bouncing around in 1936 Germany, leading eventually to Adolph Hitler.  And I don’t really think that Donald Trump is their Hitler. He is much too dimwitted, and may even be in the initial stages of senile dementia.  No, someone else is coming along and may well appear during the final election stage. He might well appear in the form of a Trump VP candidate, although that remains an open question.  But he will be an extreme right wing candidate, who is capable of thinking well beyond The Donald, who is now approaching a comic candidate.

So stay tuned for the next Adolph Hitler. He may well appear during the next few months. Oh, and it is unlikely to be either Jared or Ivanka.  No, they likely possess the evil natures required, but I do believe the candidate will be outside his family, but well within the ranks of the ideologues in the American Far-Right political structure.

Oh, and folks???? Please VOTE!