“A Republic, if you can keep it.”
- Deadlines and voting results don’t always overlap. But we know Donald Trump, alas, won Florida. And, so far, no civil-unrest reports across the country. But regardless of who the next president is, we can still say this about the inflection-point election still under scrutiny. American “exceptionalism”needs redefining and reworking. Having the biggest economy, the strongest military, myriad elite universities and research institutions, incredibly diverse geography, a world-famous, welcoming statue and an iconic Declaration of Independence is not enough. We’ve become a celebrated ideal with an asterisk for the ages, because America is now exceptionally vulnerable. It’s what happens, frankly, when a sizable chunk of a democracy’s electorate is uninformed (serious civics/modern media classes, anyone?), lazy, easily manipulated by technology and too enamored of a cult leader-demagogue playing the anti-“socialist,” media-demonizing, bigot card across the board. Yes, America is still exceptionally important. But decreasingly so if Trump doesn’t hear “You’re fired” from the voters. America has been a beacon of hope; will it now be barely a blinker? If we’re headed toward a democratic abyss, shouldn’t we be precipiced off?
- “I believe deeply in the principle of an apolitical U.S. military. In the event of a dispute over some aspect of the elections, by law, U.S. courts and the U.S. Congress are required to resolve any disputes, not the U.S. military. I foresee no role for the U.S. armed forces in this process.”—That was Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark A. Milley, still embarrassed by having accompanied–in uniform–Trump for his optics-wincing, photo-op church walk across Lafayette Square.
- “After the election, we’ll get the best stimulus package you’ve ever seen.” That was the stimulator-in-chief. As with, say, infrastructure, the Mexico-underwritten Wall, health care and pandemic management, timing is everything. It’s understandable that Trump would want to wait until after the election to move on the sort of economic relief that many Americans desperately need. Afterall, “Pelosi’s only looking to bail out badly run Democrat cities.” Yeah, the scapegoater-in-chief has America’s back.
- Profiles in carnage: Imagine, a political party that has been skewing so extremist has only won the popular vote for president once in the past three decades. There is no better rationale for getting rid of the electoral college.
- Life’s hypocritical ironies: “I equally wish the Republican Party would place a greater value on life outside the womb. You cannot choose just one and define yourself as pro-life.” That was Jerushah Duford, the self-described “pro-life” granddaughter of the Rev. Billy Graham, who is voting for Joe Biden and warning fellow Christians to distance themselves from a president who’s trying “to hijack our faith for votes.”
- Some 5,000 Americans die weekly from COVID-19. Surely, Trump knows that. Surely.
- “We saved two million lives.” This is the savior-in-chief giving disingenuous a bad name. Had the United States done absolutely nothing—NOTHING–then, yes, many more lives would have been lost. How much lower can the dissembler-in-chief’s subterranean bar go?
- “If I can get better, anybody can get better. And I got better fast.”—That was the super-spreader-in-chief, who was treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center under conditions unavailable to and unaffordable by the average American.
- “A system of government that makes the People subordinate to a committee of nine unelected lawyers does not deserve to be called a democracy.”—That was the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, the revered mentor of incoming SCOTUS Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Too bad that quote wasn’t part of the confirmation process.
- “Hydrosonic missiles.” That was Commander Bone Spurs referring to hypersonic missiles. The former is actually the name of a toothbrush. But close enough.
- “Sometimes, when you are up to your elbows in alligators, it is hard to remember your original objective was to drain the swamp.”—President Ronald Reagan.
- Senators, it has been suggested, should wear uniforms like NASCAR drivers, so we can identify their corporate sponsors.
- Donald Trump: “I’m thrilled to be here in my home state of Florida.” Beyond embarrassing.