I think it’s safe to say that I get fairly anxious before most presidential elections; 2012 being the only recent exception, since Obama’s reelection was a near certainty. But this year I’m in an especially pronounced fetal position, a position I’m sure a lot of other folks have assumed.
At the time, I considered George Bush to be the worst president ever. I still do. I thought he had fascistic tendencies, but I don’t think I ever felt he was a full blown fascist, or that he posed a threat of ushering in a fascist state. He and his ilk operated within certain norms. True, we had Dick Cheney to worry about, but even he never posed the threat that does the Donald.
Trump knows no boundaries. Since it’s all about him, he will do anything that he can get away with, and if he can get away with making himself a dictator, he will. We now know that the FBI, or at least powerful elements within the FBI, would like to see him in just that role. He has a lot of support among the nation’s police, thanks to the fact that all across the country we have trained our police to be more like an occupying force than public servants. Were Trump to decide to exercise unconstitutional power as president, who, precisely, would be able to stop him if he had the nation’s police and the FBI on his side?
We have never faced this very real possibility before, except, perhaps, in the hyperbolic imaginings of extremists or paranoids. This time, it’s different.
So, I’m in a mental fetal position, though I’m trying to do what I can. I’m not one for phone calls or door knocking, but luckily I’m our local party treasurer, and for many and sundry reasons, that’s kept me busy, so I can say I’ve done my bit. And on Tuesday, I’ll be standing at polls, giving people rides, and collecting results. You know, they also serve who only…
So, I’m looking forward to that moment when the networks flash Hillary’s picture as the winner of this election. From everything I’ve read, it still looks like a sure thing, but unlike 2012, that’s not enough this year. And as soon as she’s safely elected, I can start carping. I’ve already got plans.
After I wrote the above, but before posting it, I found that I’m not the only blogger in the state suffering from some sort of election related disorder.
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