Vice President, Joe Biden
Jumpin' Joe is right. Howling mobs of neo fascist rubes have run completely amok during the primary season, sweeping away any republican candidate who might display even the merest scintilla of reason, or tolerance.
At the moment, Donald Trump, a raving, narcissistic, liar and bigot--who recently has taken to imploring his followers to raise their right hands in order to swear allegiance to him--currently possesses 458 of the 1,237 delegates needed to win the republican nomination. Ted Cruz, another congenital twister of the truth, not to mention a more eloquent fellow traveler in the crazed world of the ultra right, trails him by 99 delegates. Marco Rubio, the last hope of the shredded remains of what we used to call the GOP establishment has only 151. Everyone else, other than John Kasich, is gone, drowned in a maelstrom of strident xenophobia, violent fantasies, false memories, and outright lunacy.
Photos of the Trump supporters, raising their arms--many of them, not straight up, but at an angle--in fealty to his wild rhetoric, look alarmingly familiar to those of us who have actually opened a history book every now and then. They certainly did to Abe Foxman, holocaust survivor and former head of the Anti-Defamation League.
In an interview with an Israeli media outlet, Foxman was quoted as saying, "It's a fascist gesture. He is smart enough--he always tells us how smart he is--to know the images that this invokes."
Trump, during his daily round of free campaign publicity gleefully given to him by the American television industry, deflected, denied, and shrugged. It was an ego infused jitterbug we've seen before and will no doubt witness ad nauseam right through November and frighteningly, perhaps,beyond.
According to the candidate, "It's ridiculous. We're having such a great time. Sometimes we'll do it for fun. They'll (the crowd) start screaming at me to do the swearing, do the swearing. Honestly I didn't know it was a problem."
Yeah, well the Germans used to do it for fun too, at least until bombs started falling everywhere and the Red Army showed up at their doorstep.
Thankfully there is a sliver of light amidst this roiling madness. In the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, despite wild boasts to the contrary, Brother Trump is getting his head handed to him by both democratic candidates.
According to the survey, if Hillary Rodham Clinton and El Donald faced off in a national election right now she would win, 51% to 38%. Bernie Sanders would beat Trump, 55% to 37%.
The same poll shows, Mrs. Clinton leading Ted Cruz 47% to 45%, a difference within the margin of error, and she's in a dead heat with Marco Rubio, 46% to 46%.
How about that? It would seem there is, at last, some truth being preached by Messrs. Rubio and Cruz. As these words are being typed you can bet print and TV ads, plus new robo-call campaigns highlighting the numbers are being rushed to completion.
Of course those ads will be aimed at convincing thinking people to switch horses for the good of the party. Unfortunately for the deft strategists involved in their creation the crazy fucks who support Donald Trump don't give a rat's ass about the party. All they know is their guy hates the same people and things they hate and right now he's riding a wave which doesn't seem stoppable.
Indeed, the current Trumpite philosophy is overwhelmingly victory, or death. Just as long ago, in a different arena and in the face of an earlier imminent disaster, the hard core is demanding that there be no retreat from the Volga River's icy banks.
So what is one to do? After all, there are a couple of arguments here. Do we hope Trump screws the pooch during the remainder of the primary season and Cruz wins the nomination? Do we pray The D Man is held under the magical number of 1,237 before the convention in Cleveland, then gets so royally jobbed that some middle of the road milquetoast becomes the nominee and all his raucous loons revolt?
Or, does someone like me actually dare hope Donald Trump wins this spring, believing either Hillary, or Bernie will kick his arse in November?
Rubio looks to be on life support right now, but the vile little Canadian could pull the primary season out, although to do so he has to hurry. A Trump victory, especially in Florida, or even Ohio will be the tipping point for Senator Rubio and might be for Ted Cruz.
A Kasich loss in Ohio to anyone would certainly be the end for the governor. Even if he wins his home state we all know he's simply along for the ride in the middle of this out of control skid. His only realistic hope is to be, The Guy at the convention if it comes down to a second ballot. You know, the one who will cause all the Trump people to wail in mourning, rend their garments, gnash their teeth, and then finally leave the process, utterly convinced every conspiracy theory on YouTube is true.
The obvious choice is a savage convention where primary victories suddenly become about as valuable as Confederate dollars, but that seems increasingly improbable.
No, it looks like the only option is to yell, "Sieg Heil!" along with the rest of Trump's terrible wankers, then pray that, as Winston Churchill once said, "You can always count on Americans to do the right thing, after they've tried everything else."
sic vita est
3-9-16
Indeed, the current Trumpite philosophy is overwhelmingly victory, or death. Just as long ago, in a different arena and in the face of an earlier imminent disaster, the hard core is demanding that there be no retreat from the Volga River's icy banks.
So what is one to do? After all, there are a couple of arguments here. Do we hope Trump screws the pooch during the remainder of the primary season and Cruz wins the nomination? Do we pray The D Man is held under the magical number of 1,237 before the convention in Cleveland, then gets so royally jobbed that some middle of the road milquetoast becomes the nominee and all his raucous loons revolt?
Or, does someone like me actually dare hope Donald Trump wins this spring, believing either Hillary, or Bernie will kick his arse in November?
Rubio looks to be on life support right now, but the vile little Canadian could pull the primary season out, although to do so he has to hurry. A Trump victory, especially in Florida, or even Ohio will be the tipping point for Senator Rubio and might be for Ted Cruz.
A Kasich loss in Ohio to anyone would certainly be the end for the governor. Even if he wins his home state we all know he's simply along for the ride in the middle of this out of control skid. His only realistic hope is to be, The Guy at the convention if it comes down to a second ballot. You know, the one who will cause all the Trump people to wail in mourning, rend their garments, gnash their teeth, and then finally leave the process, utterly convinced every conspiracy theory on YouTube is true.
The obvious choice is a savage convention where primary victories suddenly become about as valuable as Confederate dollars, but that seems increasingly improbable.
No, it looks like the only option is to yell, "Sieg Heil!" along with the rest of Trump's terrible wankers, then pray that, as Winston Churchill once said, "You can always count on Americans to do the right thing, after they've tried everything else."
sic vita est
3-9-16
So, it has come to this. The Donald knows exactly what he is doing in wooing his supporters. It disturbs me that those supporters span the board from the uneducated, slack-jawed types to sophisticated professional people. I am surprised and saddened that so many Americans cannot see through his showmanship. I suspect that somewhere along the way, Trump realized the U.S. presidency was one of the few things he could not purchase; at least, not in the conventional sense. I believe he sees his candidacy as a personal challenge, a game to be won. As I write this, it is highly possible he could be our next POTUS. He will find the view from the oval office far different than from the candidate's podium. Let us pray, if his dream comes true, that he he will rise to the occasion, as the Missouri farm boy and failed tie salesman Harry Truman did.
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