One week to go

As the clock ticks down to Election Day 2024 candidates of both major parties up and down the ballot are whipping their supporters into a frenzy by painting a dire picture of what would happen if the other side wins. It is important to keep in mind that many voters on both sides believe the worst about the other side. Both sides are frantically telling voters what they think they want to hear while appealing to the "undecideds" and trying to hold on to and grow their base. In this atmosphere of mutual distrust - even hatred - middle-of-the roaders would do well to have a clear-eyed and clear-minded perspective amidst the smoke and mirrors inevitable in a hotly-disputed contest. How do we achieve this mental clarity?

Let us start by pointing out that when it comes to lying (including under oath which is the definition of perjury, a felony), cheating on business partners, contractors and wives, draft- dodging and tax-evasion, Donald Trump may not be alone but is probably the most blatant offender. Add incitement of violence and sexual predation to the list and Trump does stand alone. Keep in mind, these are not mere accusations. He has been convicted by juries of his peers after mounting the best defense money could buy. Also, there is a range of criminal cases pending against him which will not get under way till the election is over because of delaying tactics by his lawyers. In fact, it is not an exaggeration to say that Trump is the only presidential candidate ever who must win the election in order to evade justice. And if he does win he can, and you know he will, dismiss pending cases against him. Thanks to the Right-wing majority on the Supreme Court he can do so and get away with it.

Next, let's look at Trump's policies, both stated and implied. From his first term we have a good idea of what to expect from him in a second term. On taxes there is no reason to doubt he will revive the tax cuts for the top brackets which he passed in his first term and which are due to expire next year. On trade policy he is talking about increasing tariffs on imports in spite of agreement among economists that this will come out of the pockets of American buyers, not foreign exporters. These policies are expected to revive inflation which has been coming down and increase the national debt by trillions of dollars. As I said in my recent post "Jawboning" (8/20/24) Trump would do away with the independence of the Federal Reserve taking fiscal policy out of the hands of non-partisan experts and allowing him to determine interest rates, money supply etc.

On foreign policy, he has made no secret of his bias towards authoritarian regimes and his lack of commitment to democratic practices and traditional allies. As a person who has experienced life under a totalitarian regime I can assure you that you would not like it.

This is not a complete list of my objections to Trump's re-election: just the most serious ones. But there is a litmus test which we can apply to anyone running for elected office. I would ask candidates if they would accept the result of the election, win or lose, and if they would eschew violence in the pursuit of political goals. The answer to both questions has to be an unequivocal "no". Republicans like to point to challenges to the outcome by losing Democrats in the past. They neglect to acknowledge the fact that after the challenges to the outcome have run their course, both Democrats and Republicans before him have conceded defeat. Trump is the sole exception to this democratic tradition.

I don't know that I will write another post before Election Day. So, please vote, whether early or on November 5, because if middle-of-the-roaders all turn out to vote we can tip the balance in favor of our democracy.