When I started blogging, back in 2003, it was about politics. Mostly about John Kerry being unfit to be President due to his self-confessed war crimes. Yes, really.
But that was a long time ago, and now we are faced with the reality that the next President will be, regardless of who wins, manifestly unfit for the office. I am more fit, by far, than any of those appearing on the ballot. Mostly because I am not actually seeking the office. I think we lost a lot when we moved from the original style – the candidate didn’t campaign, their friends and supporters did. This allowed the winner to claim, even if no one quite bought it, that they served at the behest of the people, and not for any self-aggrandizing motives. Modern campaigns, by way of comparison, are nothing but rampant self-aggrandizement, at the expense of clarity, honesty, integrity, and any other positive traits.
The other reason I am over it is that the rise of social media has turned so many people into raging assholes. People attacking their friends over who they support, mocking people for not being qualified to have X opinion, then continuing to offer their equally unqualified Y opinion. Frankly, this is as good a reason to boycott social media as any I have ever seen. We all have opinions, and I have had long, friendly, productive discussion with people holding political views a full 180 from mine. But I see Facebook…and people just need to stop. Stop virtue signaling, stop lowering yourself to the level of the brain damaged on the far ends of the spectrum, stop intentionally misconstruing metaphors (and similes, and analogy, and simple phrases you know you understand perfectly well), stop encouraging the false dichotomy that says your candidate embodies pure virtue while the opponent is pure vice. Stop encouraging and reinforcing the echo chamber. Just stop.
Stop. Acting. Like. Fucking. Children.
Start remembering that you are supposed to be friends with these people, and insulting their beliefs is a great way to lose them. Start remembering that no one, even you, is perfect, and that we all err. Start remembering that you need to forgive to be forgiven. Start acting like adults.
And so, here we are. With no good choice for the office. Obviously, this is my opinion, but let me lay this out a bit…
Gary Johnson – Libertarian
Well, not really, but that is the ticket he is on. Johnson has failed one of the key metrics for a libertarian (and Libertarian). He supports using the power of the state to compel business behavior (yes, a cake). While this may seem minor, to me this is either a failure of comprehension of a core tenet of the party/belief, or a revelatory glimpse at his inner belief. Of course, it could just be pandering too. None of those are good things, but the most damning is his apparent inability to pay attention to world events. I know being on the spot is not the same as being at home watching. But come on. Aleppo. Name a world leader – not even one he admires. Failure at these basic questions just isn’t an acceptable response from someone who wants to lead a nation.
Dr. Jill Stein – Green
I know, who? Let’s be honest, the Green Party may be hot stuff somewhere, but that ‘where’ isn’t here. Their bright moment was in 2000, when Nader/LaDuke pulled in 2.74% of the vote. Since 1996, they have won .71%, 2,74%, .10%, .12%, and .36% of the Presidential voting. Their Congressional support is…less. So, from a numbers standpoint, the Green Party is barely an ‘also ran’. Her positions are the usual leftist cant – free everything for everyone, no mention of how to pay for any of it (realistically), slashing defense, etc. In the midst of all that, there are some points that are of interest. Mostly in the ‘freeing political prisoners’ area. She lists a who’s-who of the usual suspects, including Leonard Peltier (in prison for the murder of 2 FBI agents – questionable conduct during the investigation), Mumia Abu Jamal (in prison for murdering a police officer, little doubt of guilt, possible improper jury instructions), Bradley ‘Chelsea’ Manning (violations of the Espionage Act, releasing 750,000+ classified documents to Wikileaks), Julian Assange (not actually in prison, but wanted for questioning on rape charges in Sweden), Edward Snowden (also not in prison, in exile/asylum in Russia, charged but not tried or convicted under the Espionage Act), Jeffrey Sterling (yet another Espionage Act conviction, see a trend?), and Edward Pinkney (vote fraud). So, by my count, one political prisoner, two non-prisoners, and legit convictions for the others. In hindsight, I want to delete that, but took too long looking them up to verify info and typing to bother. But hey, accuracy isn’t required in Presidential politics, is it?
Donald Trump – Republican
Well, not really, but that is the ticket he is on. Look, we all know why he isn’t a good choice – vulgar, rude, crude, thin-skinned, offensive, juvenile, small hands, etc. But. But there is this other thing happening. Despite, no, because of the Republican establishment (and the Democratic candidate, supporters, media, etc.) dismissal of anyone who supports Trump as racist, xenophobic, ignorant, stupid, inbred, etc., Trump draws massive crowds everywhere he goes, and has managed to become the nominee. Every other week, he is declared done, out, over, and he never is. While I do not support him, do not like what I see from him, and wish someone else were there, counting Trump out has not proven to be a good bet. There is a part of me that wants him to win, just to see how many leftist crybabies actually try to leave for Canada. Yes, it will be a rough four years, but there is this one thing that the left refuses to consider. Trump. Isn’t. Stupid. Nope, you don’t make, lose, and make again the amount of money he has without having something happening upstairs. That also means, that unlike the left, and the current President, Trump very likely knows how to put the right person in place, and then let them do their job. Of course, when he blusters about knowing more than this or that specialist, the media crucifies him (unlike Obama, who declared the exact same thing, to no media criticism). Look, he probably should not have made it this far, but people are sick of being told to know their place by self-appointed ‘betters’, and Trump is what you get after eight years of the party refusing to stand their ground on anything, refusing to adhere to the supposed guiding principles of conservatism, and then telling the base to accept their shit sandwich with a smile. There is no lesson being learned by these idiots, so expect more Trumps going forward, and the eventual death of the Republican party. Trump is not the disease, the RNC and the ‘leadership’ is. Trump is merely the visible symptom of the disease.
Hillary Clinton – Democrat
First, Clinton is the single most qualified candidate to be the nominee since George H.W. Bush in 1992. And that should terrify you, because why have we not seen more (or equally) qualified candidates before now? I rank her above Al Gore in 2000 simply because she also served as Secretary of State, where he did not. She knows how it works. And she is also the candidate we should be most afraid of. Why? Is it the innumerable scandals that attach to her – from the laughter over getting an accused rapist off to Benghazi, emails, and mysterious deaths in the Clinton’s circle. It says something about her that there are consistently repeated, and believed, rumors that she also swiped $200,000 worth of White House furniture, art, silverware, etc. (it was maybe $50,000 in gifts intended for the White House), was fired from the Watergate investigation for being wildly unethical and attempting to circumvent the constitution (wasn’t fired), is a reptilian from beneath Antarctica (unproven, but unlikely). Apply these rumors to, say, Laura Bush, Condoleezza Rice, Michelle Obama, or any other woman in politics, and it isn’t believed. Not so with Clinton. Which says a lot about how people view her. Of all the scandals that attach to her – both true and false – the one that gets me the most is the email one. Look, the statute is clear – moving classified material from where it belongs to where it does not is a crime. Period. No intent, no ‘evil intent’, just the simple fact. Under that metric, Clinton (and/or her people) should be under federal indictment. The end. She lied about it, there is every appearance that the entire investigation was fixed from the beginning to the end, and it simply shows someone who acts as if the is above the law. I just do not believe her when she speaks, and think that she is possibly one of the worst nominees since…well…ever. Trump is a toddler, but he is less problematic than Clinton. Look at it like this – if she is guilty, she demonstrates a level of corruption that should be unacceptable. If she is totally innocent, then she is blisteringly stupid, ignorant, and unlucky as hell. Both of those are reasons to vote for anyone other than Clinton.