It's Almost Over, but will the Fat Lady Sing?

 

                                                                                  Flickr

Two weeks from today the 2020 presidential election will be over. Or will it?  This election has not been like any other election in our country's history for many reasons.  Among them is the election is taking place during a pandemic which has forced a change in the way the candidates carry on their campaigns.

Old fashioned person to person campaigning, for the most part, has been replaced by virtual campaigning to protect the electorate from being infected by COVID-19. I should say that only the Democratic candidate JoeBiden has adhered to the CDC's recommendations on the social distancing and the wearing of face masks to prevent the spread of the virus.  Trump on the other hand, even though he supposedly has contracted the virus, continues to hold large in-person rallies in defiance of the medical experts.  Some have called his rallies "super spreaders".

Many had thought that the 2016 election was bizarre, with all of the personal attacks, lies, and the help of the Russians to swing the election to Trump, but the 2020 election takes the cake.  Because of our antiquated and undemocratic system of having the president chosen by the Electoral College, Trump lost the popular vote, but narrowly won the vote in the Electoral College.  And this could happen again this time around.

 As with the polls in 2016, Trump is losing and losing big time.  But this time the pollsters insist that they have learned a great deal since 2016 and are more confident in their results. Even though Trump's popularity has been the lowest of any incumbent for most of his presidency, his disdain for the rule of law, the politicization of our government institutions, and his constant lying, points to the possibility of the corruption of the electoral process. 

For the first time in our nation's history, an incumbent president has called for the arrest and conviction of his political opponents. Also for the first time in our history, Trump has refused to denounce white supremacy and has actually signaled the use of violence from right-wing terrorist groups who support him.  He has also mocked a Democratic governor for being targeted for kidnapping and possibly being tried and executed, by a right-wing terrorist group masquerading as a militia group.

Perhaps the most egregious thing that Trump has done is to refuse to commit to a peaceful transition of power if he loses the election.  Even Vice-President Pence has refused to commit to the transition.  He has fired up his supporters at his rallies by calling for "12 more years" and convincing them that the election has already been rigged against him.

For the first time in my life, I have voted by absentee ballot, as have millions of other Americans.  As Trump believes the majority of those who vote by mail are Democrats he has tried to sabotage the United States Postal Service. He installed one of his lacky campaign contributors as the Postmaster-General, who proceeded to slow down the delivery of mail by destroying automated mail sorting systems or taking them out of service.  He even directed the removal of those oh so familiar blue mailboxes.  Fortunately, this sabotage of the USPS was halted after an angry public complained about the detrimental effects on the delivery of prescription medications, Social Security checks, and other essential services.

Not to be deterred Republicans in Red states, especially the South have been working overtime to suppress the votes of Blacks ad other minorities.  In Texas, the GOP governor has limited the number of drop off boxes for absentee ballots to one box in heavily Democratic areas or those areas with a large Black or Hispanic population.  In GOP-led states with large Native American populations legislatures are making it as difficult as possible for people living on a reservation to vote, as most of these residents support the Democratic party.  Imagine, these Republican bastards have stolen their land, stolen their culture, stolen their religion, and now they are trying to steal their vote! 

Usually at this time in an election people look for the "October Surprise", a news event that attempts to influence the outcome of the election.  In 2016 it was FBI Director Comey's announcement that he was reopening the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server.  This announcement was widely considered to be the nail in the coffin for Clinton's campaign.  It was later found, after many lengthy investigations that nothing illegal was found,  but it was too late for Clinton - and the American people.

The latest attempt to spring an October Surprise on the electorate failed when Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani presented fake documents to the New York Post regarding Biden's son Hunter. The information was found to be supplied to Giuliani by Russian agents to discredit Biden.  With 2 weeks to go, I doubt Trump, Russia, Giuliani, and Barr will give up so easily.

Trump and his grifter family and associates fully realize that if Trump loses the election they could easily end up in prison. Trump also realizes that he is almost 1 billion dollars in debt to some foreign power and if he loses the election he won't have the US Treasury and taxpayers to steal from.  In other words, he's up the proverbial creek without a paddle.

I'm afraid that Trump is like a rabid animal backed into a corner and will stop at nothing, even endangering the health and safety of the American people, to retain his office.  On November 3rd this whole mess may not be over.  Even if Biden wins by a monstrous landslide, Trump may incite his followers to violence and refuse to accept the results.  He may refuse to leave the Oval Office on Inauguration Day causing the Secret Service or the military to drag him out screaming and kicking. 

If God forbid, he loses the election in a close race and the decision has to be made by the Supreme Court, we're done for.  Trump and Moscow Mitch have already prepared for that likelihood by pushing through the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the bench to anoint King Donald.

I don't think this country, as we know it and love, can exist with another 4 years of Donald Trump.  If anything, Trump's past 4 years have proven how evil and ruthless he is and can be.  His psychopathy has been increasingly worsening and I fear for the outcome of this election.  Usually, election day is the end of the political cycle, but in my opinion, the 2020 election will be far from over on November 3rd or on January 20th.  It's not going to be over, because I don't think the fat lady will get to sing!