These are the folks who reach for their phones half-way through the Infomercial to order crap from the TV (with free shipping (plus $8.50 in “handling ” charges)); they are the ones who can be fooled all the time; who are born every minute; who wouldn’t know a half-truth from an outright lie; who buy the “previously owned” car from the crooked salesman; who worry about what will happen to the hero on their favorite daytime soap opera, because they cannot differentiate reality from make-believe. They are, as Strother Martin would have it, “morons on our team.” They are bona fide U. S. citizens who have decided that the man standing before them with strange hair and small hands selling his own peculiar brand of snake oil will take them to the promised land. He is their deliverer! They don’t care that he is a chronic liar and filled with hate. They will not be confused by the facts because their tiny minds are made up. They are suckahs!
Clearly, there’s no point in trying to reach such people, and especially in this format — a blog post with a couple of dozen readers (on a good day). But one always hopes that somehow those still sitting on the fence will get the idea and wake up. We really need to continue to nudge them.
The University of Virginia recently had a poll and predicted that Hillary Clinton will win the election. They have never been wrong — they even predicted that Sanders would not get the nomination. Clearly these people are astute political animals who are able to read the tea leaves and see the future. I worry only that many people will take them seriously and think it’s “in the bag.” However, it’s not over, as they say, until the fat lady sings. And she won’t have sung until we all get out and vote for the one person in this strange, even ugly, political race who has the experience and know-how to run this country.
It’s hard not to get worked up about this race. Neither candidate will ever earn a popularity contest; they are both flawed in their way. But only one of them has made it absolutely clear that he doesn’t have the knowledge or experience — or even the concern — to be president of these United States. Only one has made it clear that he doesn’t understand the risks of a nuclear war. Only one has made it crystal clear that he is blinded by his own ambition and his hatred for those who are different from him and his determination to bring down those who oppose him. Only one has shown a complete lack of awareness of the role this country must play on the international stage.
To be sure, I am biased. But this bias is based on considerable reading and listening to what is being said. I do wonder why others are not doing the same. I would love to see a president who embodies all the principles I regard as essential to running this country and getting it back on the straight and narrow; somewhere along the line it fell off and desperately needs straightening out. But no one person can do this and we must choose the one out of these two (who are the only serious candidates) who can work with a crippled system and who has the political savvy to make the best of a bad situation. Until real change comes about this country will continue to be run by the special interests and money will be the determinant of political policy. In the meantime, we must vote for the only sane candidate out there — the other one is only for suckahs.
hughcurtler 
Well said, Hugh. Trump would be a disaster. I have searched for comparable situations in which someone with zero experience for the job and yet such a cock-sure attitude about EVERYTHING still ended up getting the job. The comparisons I’ve thought of or found have been scary and disastrous. Two I’ll use here:
The brash, former Marine Les Steckel replacing Bid Grant as Vikings head coach in 1984, the team collapsing amid Steckel’s drill sergeant heavyhandedness, player mutiny and fan revolt. They had a 3-13 record. Steckel was fired, Grant brought back in to restore order and trust. Lenin. A brilliant orator, knew his political science. Absolutely no experience running a government, let alone a country as big as Russia. The result: famine, executions, chaos.
Unfortunately, the presidency isn’t like an NFL coaching job. You can’t fire the failing one and bring back a legend. And a bad coach only loses games, not lives. Trump, like Lenin, is a demagogue who promises what people want to hear promised, can easily foment dissent among groups of people who believe the country had let them down (it has in many cases, of course, producing a severe disenchantment Sanders also tapped into. But in Trump’s case, there is too often an nclination to allude to if not outright provoke a violent response.) trump, like Lenin, has no experience running something so big, nuanced, diverse as this great, sprawling country. His promises, like Lenin’s, are grand, broad gestures because he doesn’t grasp the subtleties, do we get all-or-nothing proposals like elimination of the Depatment of Education and a lot of federal education funding, building a wall on the Mexican border, deporting every illegal immigrant, banning all Muslim visitors to the U.S., etc. Such demagogues, when they end up seeing the futility of such big schemes, so often resort to the last big scheme in their holster – the one they think is sure to keep them in power., and in fact, give them justification to expand their power: they go to war. Putin has been doing it now in Russia. Strong-arm men in Africa do it all the time. Reagan did it after the Beirut barracks attack – he Nader Grenada! Thatcher invaded the Falkland Islands when she was floundering domestically. Etc. etc.
Trump speaks so casually about war, about killing, about torture, about whole groups of people that he generalizes as enemies or bad people. Of all the things that should worry us about Trump, this is the most important, I think. His rashness and ego combined with his inexperience could get a lot of people killed.
Well said. Let’s hope the folks at the University of Virginia are right again!
Doggone iPad keyboard. Reagan did not “Nader” Grenada, he invaded it.
Hugh, there will still be a litany of attacks on the emails, Foundation, etc. The key is to remind folks Trump is actually worse than what he has shared in his candidacy. Here is man who has exploited so many through a modus operandi of lying, stiffing, cheating, and self-centeredness. Assuming 45 years of real estate development and the measured 3,500 lawsuits per a USA Today article, that averages out to 1 1/2 lawsuits per week. His business is not large enough nor has that many customers to have that many lawsuits. It has to be the man in charge that is causing them. Keith
I will continue to do my best! Thanks for the comment.
One of your best yet, Hugh! I believe I shall have to re-blog this one, with your permission?
Absolutely! Many thanks.
Hugh – you may call it bias, but I would call it well-thought and informed. I certainly hope UV is right, but I agree that I am a bit afraid of voter complacency. Vote.Vote.Vote
Yes indeed! We need to get out the vote!
It occurred to me after I sent this message that I might have been encouraging triple votes 😉 Alas, that is not a good idea!
No indeed! One vote for the only person deserving of it!
Reblogged this on Filosofa's Word and commented:
Tonight I share with you a post by fellow friend & blogger, Hugh Curtler, one of the most politically astute, yet humorous bloggers I know. He is spot on in his assessment of those who would vote for da trumpeter. Love Trump? Hate him? Either way, this post is a must-read for all! Thank you, Hugh, for allowing me to share!
This has got to be one of the strangest elections I’ve seen. It is important to get people registered to vote, and to get them to vote on election day.
Absolutely. No question!
Pingback: Three bloggers who offer context and rational discourse | musingsofanoldfart
I’ve been saying all along “do your homework” and it looks like you have done just that. I can not understand how people cast a vote based on just the mere thought of “not liking” the other candidate….lazy, uninformed and misinformed voters are my fear.
Mine as well. There appear to be far to many of them. It’s not how it was supposed to be!! Thanks for the comment.