...because you are who you are"is my main takeaway from the first Trump/Biden debate. It refers to Trump's flippant response when he was asked about the over 7 million confirmed cases and over 200,000 deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. While his attitude is reason enough for outrage, I would like to devote this post to the second half of that quote to try and answer the question "Who is Trump?". He would like to be thought of as a conservative Republican. But after four years of his Presidency, his actions are beginning to contradict his words to the point where organizations like the Lincoln Project and a growing number of individual Republicans are speaking up to disagree. Meanwhile, the bulk of the Republican Party has capitulated to Trump's populism. This schism within the Party raises the question: just who is a conservative? Conservatism has been defined as a political philosophy which favors continuity of tradition and culture, other ideas such as property rights, religious values and established norms, and a resistance to change. Based on that, I can't think of a more conspicuous example of an anti-conservative than Trump. Speaking of which, most people would say the opposite of "conservative" is "liberal". This is probably the most pernicious fallout of the culture wars. I feel that the opposite of "conservativism" is "radicalism" which favors a total and precipitous upheaval such as revolution. Trump's disregard for established norms, fiscal prudence, morality and legality makes him nothing but a radical. During the debate we got further proof of this when he refused to say he would accept the election result if he lost and told his white supremacist supporters to "stand back, stand by". His chicanery was laid bare when, next day, he claimed he did not know who the Proud Boys were and that what he had told them to do was "stand down". That he thinks he can continue to fool enough of the people enough of the time goes to show his arrogance. The debate also showed that Trump has little more than bluff and bluster to offer undecided voters.
As Joe Biden said in the debate, there is only one antidote to the atrocity that is the Trump presidency. And that is for people to vote in unprecedented numbers like their lives depend on it. An overwhelming turnout and a decisive outcome would remove the possibility of the kind of tactics Republicans seem to be planning in case the vote appears to be close. If you are going to vote by mail, you must make sure you know the rules in your jurisdiction and follow them to the letter leaving no room for the kind of challenges Republicans are likely to raise. If you plan to vote in person, you should vote early where possible. You must go prepared to prove your eligibility to vote and to face down any attempts at intimidation. Trump supporters may show up asserting their right to bear arms. But they do not have the right to intimidate voters or to shoot law-abiding citizens asserting their right to vote.