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Catch-up

So it's happened. Trump has triumphed. The GOP has been Trumped. America is awaiting its turn.



There have been many, many reactions to this development already. Honestly I had things pegged for a contested convention but his win in New York had a bigger impact than I guess anyone expected. Apparently the average GOP voter does take its cues from those infamous "New York values."

Personally, despite a few tightening polls, I'm managing to stave off panic. I do feel depressed. This entire year has been and continues to be a long cautionary tale about the power of hucksterism. Trump sells dreams. The Wall, America Great Again, the insults, and the simple solutions he spouts every single day, they're all dreams that some significant portion of this country enjoys having. Perhaps Trump really could gun down some hapless supporter in the street and get away with it. You don't question dreams. You understand they possess their own logic, their own message. If you enjoy the dream, then you ignore all of the unicorns and visits from dead relatives. The experience of flying, or winning the lottery or the whatever it is -- that's all that's important to you.

On the other hand, if you are like me, and the words spilling out of his mouth seem monstrous and depraved, you start to look for a way to wake up. I hope by the end of this, enough people will realize they are not going to actually get their fondest dream with this man and they will react in disgust and horror at the creature we've allowed a megaphone for the past year. I hope that we don't need the kind of parenting SF writer Peter Watts suggests.

But maybe we do.

At this point in the year, I'm sort of surprised this kind of thing doesn't happen ALL the time. Or maybe I'm being naive and selective. Reagan was certainly viewed as a kind of freak-show outlier initially. I know FDR got accused of all sorts of demagoguery. Is Trump just one more novelty that America will come to accept and cherish? Or does he represent something far darker?

At this point I can honestly say, I am looking forward to voting against this man. I'm going to vote against him for everything he's said, who he represents, and the damage he will do. I will also happily vote against John Miller or Barron.

I will enjoy voting against Trump nearly as much as I enjoyed voting for the current president.


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