How ironic for a steadfast, scandal-free, ex-prosecutor and human rights leader to dethrone the world’s creepiest, scandal-ridden misogynist, immigrant-hating demagogue, white supremacist fan and convicted sex abuser.
Remarkable timing, the perfect villainous foe, and a precedent-breaking choice together offer America a rare boon. It’s no mystery, however lamentable, that here’s only the second woman close to running the White House. How electrifying that, without the primary noise but also the elevation, a spirited California woman of color stands poised to make history. A Harris win not only fulfills an incredible, opportunity-fostering story line, but restores the American promise of gender neutrality—recognizing half the population is qualified, talented, and electable. Assess the moral arc of justice if her breakthrough ascension neatly trounces the most unfit, primitive, chauvinistic, and scandal-besmirched nominee ever from a national party.
Context informs this opportunity as even a brilliant woman politician struggles against an equally competent and appealing, white, male opponent. If Harris makes history, thanks both to Biden for withdrawing and to backward MAGA extremists incapable of seeing who Trump is, to which tycoons he owes loyalty, and what damage a reckless presidency will do. Who doubts that a legacy of electoral primitivism towards empowered women doesn’t still provide high resistance to openness and change? Thus does hard-nosed, even merciless analysis of past voting patterns impede a woman as president.
Behold how hair-pulling, maddening times have improbably produced a stunning, dramatic choice for America’s CEO. Two unlikely bumper cars are on a crash course, but only one will escape intact. In this corner we have an exceptional, unanticipated nominee: the ascension of a woman VP as the party leader orchestrating a brilliant (and tardy) run. In the other, the most dangerous nominee ever—a busted bigot who thinks a fascist-festival at Madison Square Garden, stinking with fire and brimstone, is the perfect final pitch. Even Mitch McConnell and top Rethugs wrote Trump as future GOP nominee after his disgraceful 2020 departure.
A bad MSG show, a worse response
Sunday’s tumult of Trump depravity exposed with unerring precision the dark nightmare of his MAGA mindset—and second term. That Trump remains bald-facedly unapologetic, despite high vulnerability on procreative freedom, fascist/dictator talk, tariffs, climate, and lunatic mass exportation, exposes a shocking tin ear. Trump claims to know nothing about choosing the horrendously offensive speakers at the MSG fiasco, nor even which staffers approved, hired and paid them. Hardly, from a super-micromanager? This vile lie doubles down the undeniable ballot downsides from this ugly, fascist-style stunt parade.
No surprise that the demon of demagoguery still doesn’t understand outrage against his fomented coup/insurrection after a fair election, nor the PR debacle of distorting the monstrous melee of the Jan. 6 tantrum as full of “love and peace.” Nor does Trump understand that his entire past—rife with lies, regime chaos, impeachments, investigations, indictments, and dozens of felony convictions—all reduced options against a perceived, thus vulnerable “status quo candidate.” He has so far failed to convince enough marks that a Trump replay won’t reinforce the very worst of his mafia-style, dictator delusions.
No wonder this self-appointed patriot declares that he’s never done anything wrong and, further, that virtual sainthood precludes him from ever committing a wicked, lawless act (thus no remorse or repentance). Whereas Harris represents a meteoric, up-from-the-bootstraps success story, Trump demands we believe his prominence results wholly from “overcoming” his millionaire birthright, gaining him the right to speak for the couldn’t-be-different, blue-collar crowd feeling cornered. This Trump fantasy ploy is an amazing expression of boundless gall, the “victim” deservedly born on third base thanks to purer blood and breeding.
Staggering contradictions, anyone?
Yes, a life of unremitting victimization must explain his predatory elitism, informing not only a spate of treasonous crimes against his homeland, but fondness for all-powerful, apparently non victimized foreign enemies, flush with his sexism, racism and contempt for law. Behold the “populist” Trumpworld where winning is all that matters, everything is on sale, lying is so much better (and more bendable) than telling the truth—all to justify absurd cries of “rigged” election—but only when he loses. Thus, do not all innocent victims inevitably end up overcome with self-absorption because the world is out to get them (at times with cause)? Why else his apocalyptic paranoia that (weirdly) aligns with fundamentalist religious paranoia?
After a Trump loss, we’d have to admit his extremist MAGA base brings out in the open, indeed revels in the darkest sides of intolerant, parochial, power-addicted America. Trump clarifies, in awful ways no one would have endorsed or predicted a decade ago, what’s at stake if we don’t elect our first woman president. In a dramatic plot more familiar to the horror movie fiction crowd, here’s a sane, competent, trustworthy heroine (surprisingly free of lying, for which she gets no credit) battling a publicly disgraced, business and sex abuse bad guy whose last month reveals he hasn’t learned anything about winning a national election.
Harris has turned out to be a compelling, empathetic even masterful candidate despite her late start. Though suspect polling claims this is the closest of races (and a good thing to inspire Harris fans to act), by any rational or normative standards Harris should have a comfortable lead. IMO, that her slim lead is not greater than, say, Biden’s at this point, speaks to the awful, enduring mix of sexism, racism, and misogyny—vs. the loudmouth, white (supremacist), macho male who struts like a manic Mussolini.
Were Harris not female, would this race not be over?
I ask again: would a white, scandal-free, moderate Democrat male of the right age, perhaps a key state, with a strong record and high competence, be even(ish) at this point with a vulgar, provocative menace whose unremitting horror-show already had a failed first run? That I expect Harris to win, and by margins comparable to Biden’s, speak to her exceptional campaigning and targeted, public-service career (for which she gets inadequate credit)—and to the decency and good judgment of voters who appreciate what America is and welcome the destiny of an incrementally-positive democracy plugging away against billionaire forces.
If she loses, we will, alas, learn more about this country’s scary, dark underside than most want to relive, especially when unchecked and promising horrifying fire and brimstone assaults. A clear choice is always better than a muddled conundrum. And yet it’s disheartening to learn that, though now fully aware what Trumpism means and will do, so many fellow citizens think more chaos and incompetence is what America needs or deserves. Like suicide, worldview delusion is not painless for anyone involved.
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