Absurd

I have been paying attention to US elections since the 1950s, having actually voted in 1956.  And my candidates won some (Ike, Kennedy, Johnson, Carter, Clinton, Obama, Biden) and lost some (Nixon, Reagan, Bush, Trump). I actually voted once for a republican – Ike. How could you not vote for Ike, even though his opponent, Adlai Stevenson was pretty good? Republicans, on average, have been crappy presidents and, on average, not the brightest lights on the planet, although many would argue the reverse.  I was working in government, when Reagan beat out Carter. Reagan brought in as my political boss, the dumbest man I had ever worked with or for. I was running a program evaluation office, and this dude knew almost literally nothing about the subject. Nixon was not dumb, but he bordered on being evil. Given the times, dumb or evil could have resulted in missiles flying and the world ending. I well remember retreating with some frequency, with my Tech buddies at Lockheed to a local pub and discussing where we should go when the missiles began flying—the coast or the mountains?

And then it all calmed down, and we all began growing old.

So, now I’m pushing up against 90, and we face the prospect of Donald Trump.  How did I get here for God’s sake? Well, we survived four years of Donald Trump—an inept Presidential administration such as I have never witnessed.  Happily, before he was able to destroy us, he ran out of time, and was replaced by Joe Biden.  Now, he helped to organize the January 6^th insurrection which led to the deaths of several – “According to the bipartisan House select committee that investigated the incident, the attack was the culmination of a seven-part plan by Trump to overturn the election. Within 36 hours, six people died: one was shot by Capitol Police, another died of a drug overdose, three died of natural causes, and a police officer died after being assaulted by rioters. Many people were injured, including 174 police officers. Four officers who responded to the attack died by suicide within seven months. Damage caused by attackers exceeded $2.7 million.”

So we know for a fact that Trump is capable and willing to sow disorder and even destruction leading to deaths. But if one is paying attention, especially over the past 3-4 months, Trump seems to be sinking into both a world of senile dementia (he is 78 after all) and a world of 1930s Nazi Fascism. And that latter is not an exaggeration.  His normal brain seems to drift into the world of Fascism with some frequency. He talks about gathering crowds of immigrants and either locking them up or kicking them out.  But he also talks about killing his enemies, who include his political opponents, Harris, Pelosi, et al.

Maybe it is the increasing dementia, but he seems to be sinking into some world of 1930s evil.  Partly, he has a manual of almost pure evil, in the form of that Project 2025.  Common Cause outlines the document thusly:

“The extremist “Project 2025” is a blueprint for dismantling democracy on day one of a Trump presidency. It’s a nearly 1,000-page scheme that spells out the end of democracy as we know it:

·         Criminalizing voters: cracking down on simple voting mistakes using a so-called “Election Crimes Branch” – which has never been done by any president from any political party.

·         Installing partisan loyalists: Immediately firing thousands of qualified civil servants at every level of government and replacing them with ideologues willing to push a political agenda.

·         Stripping away our rights: Deploying the National Guard to crack down on protests, robbing us of fair representation by rigging the U.S. Census, and dramatically increasing the President’s power to act without Congressional oversight.

And this isn’t just talk. It’s an organized, coordinated plot concocted by the Heritage Foundation, and backed by over 80 extremist groups and hundreds of millions of dollars – much of it coming from donors who are giving this money in total secrecy.”

So, this Trump is in almost every way, different from any past presidential candidate we have ever seen in America. He resembles fascist dictators, and it is not an exaggeration to see some resemblance to Hitler, I realize that is extreme, but Trump is definitely heading in that direction.

In short, having voted in every election since 1956, and paying attention to our array of presidents and presidential hopefuls, I have never even seen anyone remotely close to Trump.  Whatever you thought of folks like Nixon, Reagan, or Bush, they were all at least American in their thinking. Trump seems some form of demented-fascist. And yet . . . and yet, the election seems close. How could that be? Why is the race not 90-10 in favor of Harris-Walz? This is what I do not understand. Americans, even undereducated Americans, want Trump as their President? Seriously?  I realize that Harris is both a woman and a woman of color. Oh, and she seems to have some Asian heritage also. But she is bright, ethical, and well educated. She is also experienced in the world of American presidential political government.  But people, you want instead this ignorant, stupid racist as your president? Surely Americans are not this stupid. Surely. Folks, Surely VOTE Harris-Walz. PLEASE!. Otherwise, America, literally, may not survive.