The election is over. Everybody but a few confused people have already made up their minds, especially since Kamala Harris replaced President Biden as the Democratic candidate. We just have to sit around and endure the barrage of solicitations and the partisan noise until November 5th. The fact that this election is playing out like this, that it appears to be very close given the sordid character of the Republican nominee, is dreadfully disheartening and embarrassing for those of us who still put patriotism and constitutional government above partisan feelings.
A handful of my Republican friends have volunteered that they will no longer vote for Trump. They acknowledge that he is a sociopath and unfit for the presidency, the clincher for them being the January 6th assault on the nation’s Capitol. Most, however, “stand pat” for Trump.
As I write this I can see their faces and hear the words of Republican friends saying that they don’t care about Trump’s personal life or transgressions, arguing that he is a far better choice than electing a Democrat. He was good for the economy, closed the border with Mexico and was tough on foreign policy. They never mention January 6th nor do they acknowledge that Trump threatens the integrity of our elections, the balance of world politics as well as our democratic government. What they do is savage the Democrats, complain about taxes, the high cost of things and make false comparisons between Democratic shortcomings and Trump’s corruption and perversion of the truth. They characterize Democrats as socialists, neo-fascists, communists, Marxists or radicals with apparent little understanding of what they are saying or worse yet, caring. And I’m sure that the few who read these words think I’m just another clueless liberal who really doesn’t understand economic principles, how the market works, or much about anything in the “real” world. Perhaps, but I sure know right from wrong and truth from lies.
My melancholia comes not from our differences of opinion or any lack of respect for conservative values, but from the apparent disregard and contempt for traditional American values, democratic government, civility, and truth by so many who claim to be Republicans. They seem to have traded who they were for the few baubles promised by Trump. They’ve made a deal with the devil. Damn the American people, damn our constitutional government, damn decency, damn civil liberties and civil rights, damn free elections, damn everything that stands in the way of what Donald Trump wants.
The die is cast. Nothing short of a miracle or catastrophic event in the month remaining will change the outcome. What I find astonishing is that Republicans, knowing what we all know, seeing what we have all seen, nominated Trump as their candidate. What I find demoralizing is that this election seems to be a toss up.