How can it
be so close? That question is on the mind of so many people I know, and yet no one
has a good answer.
There’s no
logical, rational way that the Orange One can win. If he actually does,
however, it will destroy my entire world view, one that’s always been based on
logical reasoning and rational thought.
Harris and
her people have, after all, conducted a pitch-perfect campaign. She’s doing
everything exactly right. Saying all the right things, going all the right
places. Her campaign’s timing and momentum are perfect. She has all the
bi-partisan support, and all the money, that she could ever hope for.
Meanwhile,
there’s dementia-addled Trump – buffoon, ignoramus, pathological liar, conman, rapist,
malignant narcissist, and all-around despicable human being – blathering
nonsense. But wait, there’s more, say his former generals: he’s fascist to his
core, incompetent, a grave threat to our democracy.
Every day he
displays for all to see his deepening lunacy. His rambling trains-of-thought
are so constant that he had to give them a brand – “the weave” – to try to
explain away his pathology. He can’t speak for five minutes without veering
into incoherence and fantasy.
And every
day I ask myself again, how can it be so close? How can nearly half of all the
people I see around me – driving down the freeway, pushing shopping carts
in Walmart, going to football games – how can nearly half of those
normal-appearing people want this lunatic to be in charge?
There are
all his well-publicized issues to fear: reproductive rights, immigrant
roundups, Project 2025, tariffs, abandoning Ukraine, and on and on. Not
appreciated are the less-visible administrative actions that will wreck havoc
on progress of the Biden-Harris administration on environmental regulations,
climate change, Native American rights, and protections of natural resources,
marine sanctuaries, and wilderness.
As bad as
Trump is, he surrounds himself with evil, nutty people who are capable of
implementing his moronic agenda. People like the Pillow Guy, Stephen Miller,
Corey Lewandowski, Roger Stone, Steve Bannon, Mike Flynn.
Does the man
actually believe his fantasies and lies? Once a pronouncement passes his golden
lips, does that make it true? At least to him? A genuinely new non-fact-based reality
for him and his acolytes? He won the 2020 election. January 6 was about peace
and love. He left in a peaceful transition of power. In Ohio, Haitian
immigrants are eating cats and dogs. In Colorado, Venezuelan gangs are out of
control. Does he really, deep down, believe that bullshit?
I used to
think it was all a con, that he was as phony as his fake university, watches,
and coins. Lately though, as we all watch his mental deterioration before our
eyes, I’m not so sure. Like a dealer getting high on his own product, it’s
possible that his brain is so far gone that he believes his own con.
I have
distant friends and relatives who, I’m pretty sure, will be voting for this
asshole. I’ve heard all the justifications from such naifs, and it’s all
balderdash. How can any issue – taxes, abortion, immigration – take precedence
over the clear and present danger to our democracy that he presents? How can
people explain away the warnings from Dick Cheney, Mark Milley, Mike Pence, and
all those other Republicans who worked for Trump and know him best?
Of course
I’m voting for Harris. For me, it’s not that complicated. She’s brilliant. And
she’s not Trump. That’s enough.
We’re less
than three weeks from the climax of this crazy story. Trump’s going to lose,
and I predict it won’t be as close as the polls now suggest. Of course, that
won’t be the end of it, since there will be myriad challenges and charges of
voter fraud and cheating. But like the last time, he will lose. Then we’ll see
if President Harris and Vice President Walz can deliver on their promise to
turn the fucking page.
