We are about to cast ballots in the most important and scariest election of my four-score-plus years.
There is simply no other way to say it. While the times we live in are unsettled and confusing, the election we face in two weeks could easily be the “end times†for our democracy, depending on the results.
From top of the ballot to the bottom, the Republican Party clearly poses such a threat. Deniers of the 2020 Presidential contest are on ballots in many places. Should they be victorious, the term “free and fair†election will be just a distant memory.
And, they’re not hiding it. They’re putting their plan right in your face in ways never seen before.
Example: Kevin McCarthy - the guy who covets the Speakership of the U.S. House and who’s already rearranging the furniture in the Speaker’s suite of offices - has announced the priority agenda in the next congressional Session.
Cut Social Security. End Medicare.
What damned fool would make such a claim in the final days of a national campaign? What damned fool would scare - and piss off voters over age 65? Who the Hell would make such a brazen threat?
Speaker-wannabe McCarthy. A very dangerous and overly ambitious cretin. That’s who! He’s so damned cocksure he’ll be moving up that he has no shame. His “in-your-face†bravado is absolutely mind-blowing. And, he means it!
It used to be Republicans talked about cutting government “entitlement†programs like Medicaid or food stamps or child care. Not anymore. Not where McCarthy is concerned. He wants to go after what is literally the life blood for many seniors.
But, even if the GOP has a majority in the House, it seems doubtful he can make good on his boast. Both Social Security and Medicare are trust funds. We’ve paid into them all our working lives. They aren’t “entitlements.†We’ve all made deposits for our later years. In his grand chest-pounding, McCarthy seems to be more confused than normal. And dangerous.
But, the “mountain†he has to climb to be successful is (1) sell his entire majority caucus on the murderous effort and (2) get a Senate which may - or may not - have a Republican majority to go along and (3) get past a Presidential veto stamp.
For at least the next two years, a Democrat in the Oval Office is the backstop for anyone in this country over the age of 65 who lives paycheck-to-Social Security paycheck.
Example: the Secretary of State race in Arizona. According to current polling, Trumper Mark Finchem is going to win that contest. He was a leader in the abortive election recount of Arizona ballots from the last election. He’s repeatedly said if future voter numbers aren’t to his liking, he’ll change ‘em.
And - Arizona could wind up with a Trumper as Governor. Kari Lake and current Secretary of State Katie Hobbs are in a statistical tie. Lake is also an election denier and a Trump acolyte.
There are others who pose threats to our Republic. In Ohio, Wisconsin, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida and more. All have candidates for various offices that are Trump followers or just plain unfit for service at any level. Does the name Herschel Walker ring a bell? How about J.D. Vance in Ohio or Marjorie Taylor Green in Georgia?
This election - possibly more than any other in recent times - could result in serious - and dangerous - changes in the direction of our country. The increase in far-right candidacies up and down the ballot should be a warning to us all. Most of them out there aren’t hiding their dangerous dialogue. Just like the outrageously political lusting of a McCarthy or a Finchem or a Lake.
At our house, we’ve voted. But, not before looking carefully at each race and a thorough review of the state voter guide.
We do live in dangerous times. Making careful, informed choices on your ballot can help reduce that danger.