As I write, there are less than 2 weeks before the polls close, votes will are counted and hopefully a clear result will be known, and I sincerely hope that Kamala Harris is the President- Elect. However, it’s almost certain that if the result is a close win for Harris, then America faces an existential threat. To the delight of every dictator in the world from Tehran’s Supreme Leader via Moscow and Putin, Beijing and Xi to Pyongyang and Kim Jong Un.
If you think that’s being a wee bit over the top, I would point out two things.
One being statements from various individuals and groups about how they are armed and prepared to use those arms to “stop the steal” a second time. That anyone could threaten to use arms, not a threat to be taken lightly in the US, to overthrow the result of an election they lost in the name of democracy, is a piece of irony too far for me or any sane person to comprehend. Remember that the crowd on January 6 wanted to “hang Mike Pence” Trump’s own Vice President.
Second, I would cite the over 90 lawsuits which have been filed in the swing states by Trump’s allies alleging voter fraud, dead people voting and two suits in Arizona alleging that non-citizens have voted. All before the first week in October was out. Polling is on 5 November but already Trump’s people were alleging irregularities before a vote had even been cast because ballot papers were not even sent out until October 9th. You don’t have to be Nostradamus or even Mystic Meg to see where they’re going with this.
There is a real threat that Trump’s supporters will be incensed, not only because they believe he won in 2020, against all the evidence and they will again refuse to accept his 2nd defeat. But also because on November 26 he is due to be sentenced in the New York case where he has been convicted on 34 counts. Being the self-centered sociopath that he is ,Trump will tie the two events together and convince his gullible followers that he will be jailed, and the election was rigged so that a weaponised Department of Justice could jail him.
I would dearly love Harris to win by a very substantial margin in numbers of States as well as the popular vote and leave no room for doubt in the Electoral College but that’s just not going to happen.
Two things I cannot even begin to understand is a) “Evangelical Christians” who can vote for a liar and convicted felon, a man who doesn’t just break all 10 commandments but tramples them into the dust and b) the number of people who say that they “don’t know enough” about Harris. Surely they know enough about Trump to make any doubts about policy etc meaningless.
The fact that you have hundreds of Republican and Military figures not only voting but campaigning for Harris should tell them enough. But sadly his grip on what remains of the Republican Party seems to be unshakeable. In 2020 and 2022 the results showed that Trump is a liability to the GOP and cost them the dearly in House and Senate races. Particularly in the run-off election in Georgia. We can only hope and trust that enough Republicans join with Independents and the Democratic Party to elect Harris and give those Republicans who put Country first have the chance to reclaim their Party from the madness and chaos of the last 8 years.
As the campaign has progressed though, I have become more and more nervous. Yet I find myself wondering if Harris’ salvation might come from the strangest source. Last month, Trump’s former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley declared that Trump was “a total fascist” additionally former Marine General John Kelly quoted Trump as saying “Hitler did some good things” and wanted Generals more like German Generals.
We all know that this race is projected to be on a knife edge and the result could be down to just a few voters in the swing states. If this is the case, it may well be that the votes from the US military which often arrive days after polling day may well be crucial in deciding the final outcome. Wouldn’t it be the final irony if the US military, traditionally a Republican voter group, were to listen to the growing list of former Trump people who warn of the dangers he represents and elect Kamala Harris as Commander in Chief.
Finally, like everyone else I was shocked when I heard the tragic news about Alex Salmond’s death. He was an extremely charismatic individual as well as politician and his passing is a severe loss to a Nation which is short on self confidence and inspiration. Like most of the readers of this blog, I was sorry that relations were allowed to deteriorate as badly between two giants of our movement. But his passing leaves us all poorer for his going but richer for having known him.