Today is Election Day in the United States. We in the rest of the civilised world have been watching political events in the US over the last four and a bit years with a mixture of horror, befuddlement, sympathy and astonishment. One barely knows where to begin. Yet I, and every one else with an interest, have been over this ground many times. So wherever one begins, one has a tendency to repeat oneself.
I recently watched an interesting exchange on Facebook which posed an interesting question. Is it every decent citizens duty to publicly stand up against tyranny or does the sacred right to casting a secret ballot still hold true? Both arguments have substance to them. I could build a case for either. The former holds that there is a moral obligation, the latter is an absolute pillar of democracy. A subjective view versus an objective truth.
I have to side with the right to a secret ballot. And yet I find the case against Trump proven with regards tyranny, treason and incitement of civil conflict. I’ve read conversations between bloggers that could pass for transcripts of conversations between KKK members in the 60s. The language, the themes, the arguments – nothing has much changed. And it is clear where they find their inspiration. Indeed, Trumps messaging regularly sounds a little like the David Duke campaign for higher office.
I watched Trump openly lay the ground for Russian interference in 2016, creating the cause, the case and the environment for foreign electoral intervention on his behalf. I watched him openly and unashamedly try to shut down the subsequent investigation. Regardless as to the depths of his, or his teams, involvement in Russian collusion, Trump has arguably committed a capital offence.
And then there is the relentless assault on the basic underpinnings of democracy. His attacks against the media, the judiciary, the very electoral process. He has stoked discontent and the threat of violence when the responsibility of his office demands that he promote respect and dignity. He sees democracy as his enemy, as an existential threat to his own well being, and he is fighting back at the very foundation of America.
One must respect the secret ballot. The person making that argument rightly noted that ad hominem attacks and language invoking Godwin’s Law tend to accompany such conversations. But there are times when being blunt with ones vocabulary is appropriate. Today’s vote is about rejecting white supremacy, nepotism and fascism. Trump may be just a wannabe fascist, but he’s laying the groundwork.
I believe that the USA still has a majority of decent, right minded people. This is the day to prove that. Trump has been taking his lead from tin pot dictators, not the Founding Fathers. Send him packing.
The Mexile 
How anyone could consider him for reelection is beyond belief! I’ve seen so many of his supporters completely convinced that he has done everything he said he would do but just like in the “Emperor’s new clothes” we from abroad or even across the fence can see the naked truth that he is a charlatan, a cheat and a thief.
Have they all lost their minds or are their lives so miserable that they are so willing to hitch their wagon to a star who doesn’t give one iota for them or their ilk?
Our eyes will be out on sticks watching all the action, don’t hold your breath..
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Colm it’s all pretty simple. There’s a lot of dumb people out there. And there’s a lot of white supremacists. And they tend to vote enthusiastically.
We can but watch and wait.
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“Trump has arguably committed a capital offence.”
You will get no argument from this man of the Ohio country on his actions being justified of the ultimate penalty but killing former presidents is bad form. Putting his kids in jail, is all well and good, from my vantage. The high court is well stacked with his lackeys , lets put them to the test.
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Executing previous leaders isn’t a great look. But it’s worth noting the sentence to point out the gravity of his actions.
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I just watched Trumps speech, claiming victory. He sounds like a man who thinks he may have lost. And he just went full Hitler. I make no apology for breaching Godwin law.
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I don’t know. I have have been out of the country for eighteen years, While I do read the news and have friends and family back there, it is hard to have a feel for what is really happening back home. I do suspect that there are many who are still humble decent citizens.
Rich
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There are many. But are there enough?
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It is playing out the way the talking heads said it would: Trump ahead in the walk-in vote on election day, declaring victory when millions of votes are still in the counting stack and then yelling “I’ll sue!”. If anything, the buffoon is predictable. Even his own party is asking him to please shut up until all the mail-ins are counted. The GOP’s brand is badly damaged , they know there will be a future without Trump, ether next year or in four , he has a limited shelf life.
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In a matter of days, I went from depression to cautious optimism to elation. However, I am still keeping my fingers crossed that the pendejo’s rants will prove to be nothing but empty bluster.
By the way, I am glad that you put a link on your previous blog site back to this one. I was wondering what had happened to your blog.
Bill (Travels of a Retired Teacher)
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I should stop moving my blog around so much. I may have finally settled here though. Forever. Maybe.
I woke up in the morning to see that Trump was doing better than expected. Although a few of the wiser sources that I follow insisted that Biden was still likely to prevail, I had a horrible feeling that he might not.
And then Trump gave that little speech, declaring victory and then stating he was off to get some court orders to stop some further counting. And I knew he’d lost. I knew he’d lost, because it was clear as day that Trump knew he’d lost.
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The Pendejo won’t be kept down! It may stop when that guys from the insane asylum come after him with their special jackets to bind him and take him away. But no, that si not what is going to do it. He still has to use all of his lawyers and hopes that the Supreme Court will see it his way. He won’t get very far with this. It is just a matter of time before that drag him out of the White House. Loser!
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He’s just doing what all wannabe fascists do when they’ve lost. He’s trying to cancel the election. It won’t likely work.
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