Hispanic Fanatic

In the wake of the right-wing takeover of America, we have learned from astute members of the media that voters hate wokeness, despise the Democratic Party, and demand that liberals listen — for just one goddamn minute! — to real Americans and their concerns.

All of this is grimly hilarious, in that these media figures are being paid real-life dollars to hammer out think pieces that regurgitate each other’s lazy ideas and baseless assumptions.

If Kamala Harris had persuaded an additional 1% of the electorate to vote for her, she would have won the popular vote, possibly won the electoral college, and earned the respect of these same pundits who would be praising her for bringing Beyonce on stage instead of snarling that progressives live in blue bubbles.

The fact is that “the overwhelming evidence we have from years of pre-election polling, issue priority surveys, international trends, and focus groups is that the Democrats, like incumbents across the democratic world, lost the trust of voters on the economy, mostly due to inflation.”

The idea that Americans were so enraged by DEI that they voted for Trump is based on “a fictional account of the past, a handful of indefensible analytic leaps, and easily debunked scapegoating.”

Of course, there were definitely Americans who voted for Trump based on his hatred for anyone or anything that doesn’t place the white Christian straight male at the center of the universe, and I will write about those types of voters next week.

But the thesis that the Democrats would have won if only they were more like Republicans is highly suspect. And while I am no expert on campaigning or political strategy, I have to wonder if it is the wisest approach for Democrats to sell out their few remaining principles and become more like the GOP in a futile attempt to convince white blue-collar men to not hate them, when in truth, Harris lost swing voters because of the motherfucking price of eggs and not because trans people can pick their own bathrooms in certain states.

One could argue that Democrats should double down “on what produced such significant political gains for the party,” which are college-educated voters and young people who haven’t completely given up on the future. In fact, given that the last four presidential elections “have gone Democrat, Republican, Democrat, Republican — which hasn’t happened in America since the late 19th century — maybe they should just wait for an inevitable anti-Trump backlash.”

Yeah, maybe it’s best to chill on throwing the progressive base under the bus, which wouldn’t be the electoral bonanza that the Democratic establishment imagines.

One final thought: Studies have shown that our sense of morality shifts with the seasons. People are more likely to align with conservative ideals during the spring and fall, which is when anxiety levels peak. During these times, people “tend to be more distrustful, more xenophobic and more likely to conform,” all of which are traits of the Trumpian mindset.

So that explains it. We just need to move our elections to July.

Economic anxiety sure justifies a fuck of a lot, doesn’t it?

According to exit polls, the chief reason we have a convicted felon for president is because so many Americans were tense about their grocery bills, rent payments, and cost of gas.

The economy is booming, but many of our fellow citizens think the Trump era was better. This is incorrect, and it’s also a bizarre form of nostalgia mixed with repression (i.e., “that pandemic never happened!”).

However, it is undeniable that many Americans are struggling. Of course, the main cause of that is a wealth gap so massive that it boggles the mind. It’s ironic that people are finally catching on to the fact that the uber-rich are the only ones who have benefitted from the wealth redistribution that started under Reagan, but their solution is to vote for the guys who want to exacerbate that inequality even further.

Yes, the day after Trump won the election, “the wealth of the world’s 10 richest people soared by a record amount.” In less than 24 hours. these oligarchs became “a record $64 billion richer from Trump’s reelection.”

I’m sure that is a source of great comfort to those voters who complained that they can’t cover their underwater mortgage. Speaking of which, what will happen to those people who sold out their principles for the promise of cheaper gas? How will they react when prices do not go down, but skyrocket (which will happen if Republicans implement their hairbrained economic policies)?

You see, the Trump has “no policy plan for cheaper gas or cheaper eggs.” His goal “is to let an unelected Elon Musk run roughshod over the government, along with every other crazy radical Project 2025 right-wing fever dream, all while Trump pursues his own personal grievances.”

Of course, the economy will likely hum along for another year, maybe two, during which Trump will take credit for the second straight good economy that he has inherited from a Democratic president. Then all bets are off.

And all those voters who bemoaned the high cost of eggs will be forced to answer the question of whether they even like eggs all that much, or if they just wanted a white guy who would promise them the world, rather than a black woman who had an annoying cackle.

Indeed, progressives have “received a slew of messages gloating that Trump had won the election and that Republican voters had owned the libs,” but for those of us attuned to history, we cannot help but think of earlier eras “when ordinary white men sold generations of economic aspirations for white supremacy and bragging rights.” 

It’s disturbing, so unsightly, to discover how easily Americans are bought off.

And soon, they will discover that they have made a truly horrendous deal. There will be no lower prices or inexpensive goods or affordable housing.

There will be “a tax cut for the richest 5 percent of Americans and a tax increase for all other income groups.” And there will be the sound of billionaires lighting hundred-dollar bills and laughing, laughing, laughing.

I believe it was the philosopher Loki of Asgard who said, “It’s the unspoken truth of humanity that you crave subjugation…. You were made to be ruled.”

Well said, Loki, well said.

There is a reason that we create stories about heroes. Our natural tendency is to cave in to fear, run away from trouble, and let someone else take charge. Heroes are rare, and as such, they are inherently more interesting than the vast majority of people who let their anxiety rule their actions. Heroes are inspirations to us, the cowering majority.

Fear is powerful and innate. It is difficult to overcome, and even more difficult to reason with. 

Our recent debacle of an election proved, as if there was any real doubt, that if you scare people enough, they will turn to you for help. They will let you rule.

Trump said Haitians were eating cats and dogs, and this resonated far more than Harris’ proposals to help people buy a house. This is fear in action (it’s also hatred, ignorance, stupidity, racism, and other assorted vile behaviors, but that’s a topic for another post).

People who are honest about Trump’s victory know that “anger and fear were going to work in this election, whether you’re afraid of immigrants or afraid of people who are trans.” Yes, maybe progressives believed that “everyone’s better angels would prevail,” but “the better angels went on vacation when Donald Trump came down the escalator, and they haven’t returned.”

It’s a fearful country, a terrified nation.

Trump’s “promises of fixing what he called a broken country — even if it means abandoning long-held principles — was the whole point.” Conservatives believe it is better to let an addled lunatic do whatever he wants if it makes their fear subside, even temporarily. And Trump has gotten millions of Americans and his entire political party to fall into line, evidenced by the fact that “moderate Republicans used to occasionally criticize Trump’s most outlandish behavior, [but] fealty to Trump is now almost uniform among the GOP.”

These are some seriously petrified motherfuckers.

Well, the nation’s voters are going to get what they asked for. Of course, they probably won’t like what comes next. Indeed, vast swaths “of the Trump majority will soon have cause for second thoughts,” because if GOP’s plans are implemented, the “resulting pain is likely to be felt throughout American society.”

But Americans voted for fear. And that’s exactly what we’re going to get.

Dear America,

You really fucked up. I mean, really, really fucked up.

There has been much talk — misguided, self-serving, and delusional talk but active speech nonetheless — about Kamala Harris “reaching out” to Republicans or adjusting her policies to better appeal to conservatives.

Let’s set aside the fact that asking the GOP to do this is never broached. Even in the years before the Republican Party acquiesced into lemming-like obedience to a felonious madman, it was laughable to even consider that conservatives would pull back on their antiquated, frequently obnoxious ideas just to obtain liberal sign-off.

No, it always progressives who must compromise, be civil, go high when others go low, and in general, abandon their principles.

But let’s say that Harris, for some bizarre reason, decides to do this. What exact Democratic idea should she kick to the curb? Democrats are already timid on climate change, gun control, and universal healthcare. Should Harris say, “In the spirit of compromise, I will outlaw gay marriage”? Would that be enough for conservatives?

Ha — no.

Most of the Republican Party has made it clear that they would rather burn the country down than work with groomer Satanists and the woke mob (that is, anyone who doesn’t have a MAGA tattoo inked across their chest). The hard right cannot be appeased.

The few semi-sane Republicans remaining have long ago dropped Trump, so it is unclear what mythical segment of the conservative movement would now acknowledge that the guy is a toxic, gibbering mess who is a direct threat to America. They are more than willing to go down with any ship for which he is the captain.

Pressuring Harris to kowtow to extremists who would happily imprison her is an absurd suggestion. It is also historically dubious.

For example, back in 1964, Lyndon Johnson cut a deal at the Democratic National Convention with Dixiecrats who were ostensibly in the same political party but were also raging bigots. Johnson agreed to “a compromise that would permit the seating of an all-white Mississippi delegation.”

And how did this moral abnegation work out for the Democratic Party? Well, in the 1964 election, they lost Mississippi and the rest of the Deep South. And they have continued to lose those states in every election since then, as the racist wing of the Democratic Party absconded to the GOP, where they found a cheery welcome and the foundation of a political base that endures to this day.

So backing down to lunatics didn’t help the Democrats in 1964. And it will not help them in 2024.

By the way, all those xenophobes in the modern GOP had better enjoy their cozy home. Because there is nowhere else for them to go. The political parties will not be flipping back. The Republican Party owns the bigot base for the foreseeable future.

Of course, those lunatics didn’t just self-generate, ex nihilo, when Obama was elected (although everybody knows that the nation’s first black president had a catalyzing effect on racism). No, the backlash to Obama was “really a long-running ‘whitelash’ that’s intricately woven into American history and currently targets not just black people, but any group that threatens a shifting consensus of who is American and who is not.”

Perhaps the GOP will kick out the racists and rebrand (although that won’t be happening anytime soon), or the racists will form a third party, European style. Who knows?

But for this election, at least, the right-wingers are ensconced in the GOP, and the Democratic Party gains nothing by appeasing them.

For once, the Democrats can’t afford to back down.

Why are we even discussing this?

One candidate has been attorney general of the biggest state in the country, a senator, and the vice president, serving all functions without any real controversy and fulfilling her duties in a competent (albeit unspectacular) manner.

The other served as president, botched the biggest health care crisis in American history, drove the economy into a ditch, tried to overthrow the government, and is running based on a platform of hatred, conspiracy theories, authoritarian fantasies, and pure revenge. Also, he jabbers incoherently, mostly about himself, and displays total ignorance about basic governance.

Polls show a tight race.

Seriously, what the fuck? Who watched that debate, saw an easily flustered septuagenarian rant about immigrants eating cats, and thought, “I’m good with that guy having access to nuclear launch codes”?

It’s only recently that the media has started paying any attention to “Trump’s visible incoherence, cognitive impairment, inability to cogently discuss the simplest public matters, and increasingly strange flights of fantasy.”

But even as Trump’s slippery grasp on reality fumbles away, the GOP will stand by him, no matter what, further proof that we should “ever underestimate the durability of a demagogue with a captive base, a desperate will to keep going, and—perhaps most of all—a feeble and terrified opposition of spineless ciphers” (i.e., the Republican Party).

Perhaps nothing can be done to rectify the “worm-eaten degeneracy of the GOP mind.”

But surely, those fabled undecided voters in swing states, the true source of electoral power, will now snap out of it and come to their senses. 

Well, apparently, many undecided voters are “still not convinced by Harris.” Yeah, they’re still considering voting for the aging lunatic with 32 felony convictions who talks openly about being a dictator.

Once again, I must ask, seriously what the fuck?

One side offers an optimistic view of America and hope for the future. They offer coherent policies designed to improve the country.

The other side insists we are living in a hellhole dystopia. They offer only blind rage and the punishment of everyone who isn’t a straight white Christian.

This is not an oversimplification. As others have pointed out, Democrats want to give schoolkids free lunches, while Republicans want them to work in slaughterhouses and pump out babies by age 16.

Tell me that I’m getting it wrong.

There is a bizarre obsession that permeates the Republican Party. This ironclad mindset holds that government exists solely to give money to billionaires, build the largest military in the history of the world, and oppress the shit out of people who don’t genuflect at the altar of 1950s suburbia.

Conservatives view any attempt to help people — by offering affordable healthcare, improving education, or lifting individuals out of poverty — not as socialism, or even communism. According to the GOP, these endeavors are demonic and evil. Virtue is banning books, harassing trans people, jailing immigrants, and forcing women to carry dead fetuses to term. 

When one looks at the different philosophies, it’s worth asking the following; Is there anyone voting for Trump who is not an oligarch, a conspiracy nut, a Christian nationalist, or a right-winger with violent tendencies? Well, that covers much of his base, but there is another contingent of supporters. 

There are millions of Americans who are deeply unhappy with how their lives turned out. And they want someone to blame. They have found a home in the GOP, which has become a party of grievance and wrath (and straight-up weirdoes).

The energy and good vibes that the Harris/Walz ticket exudes is in direct contrast to the anger and contempt that the Trump/Vance campaign has made its hallmark. The GOP is offering literally nothing to voters other than fear and vengeance.

Aren’t we all sick of the nonstop anger?

Why not try just a little fucking optimism and basic decency this time?

Is it a cult? Perhaps it is more cult-like or cult-adjacent. Maybe it’s merely cultish or cult-light. How about cult-curious?

In any case, we long ago ran out of ways to politely describe, rationalize, or justify the unwavering support of Trump’s hardcore followers. About 20% of Americans will vote for Trump no matter how many felonies he gets convicted of, no matter how many women he assaults, no matter how much bigotry and hatred he provokes, and no matter how much he promises to become a dictator if he is re-elected.

This is beyond political identity or cognitive dissonance. It is far past the affection usually reserved for sports teams or nerd obsessions. It is even beyond the unconditional love one feels for family. This obsession is comparable only to religious mania, and the similarity is no coincidence.

Trump fans sincerely believe that “a man who has demanded the execution of people he dislikes is a better candidate for the presidency” than a woman who believes the federal government should create jobs, protect the environment, and promote health and education.

Even when confronted with the fact that Trump hates his own supporters, these true believers indulge in, at best, “skepticism, a momentary denouncement, then an eventual conclusion that Trump is still a man worth their vote.”

Their motivations range from psychological issues to deep-seated fear to bubbling fury to straight-up bigotry, with tangents for ignorance, delusion, and a thirst for vengeance. What’s intriguing about that last item is that they want revenge not just for their own misbegotten lives but on behalf of a pampered billionaire, who like them, “can’t accept what’s happened over the past several years” to an America that has had the audacity to change without their permission.

Even the conservatives who say they oppose Trump eventually fall into line. Recall that early in the campaign season, the other Republicans vying for the nomination accommodated Trump’s behavior “and made excuses for his criminality,” which pretty much gave the green light for “Republican voters to return to Trump, all but ensuring his rise.”

The result is that today, “the potential for political violence from his supporters if he isn’t elected in November” is sky-high. 

It is the behavior of cultists. And it cannot be reasoned with or wished away. This is what blind faith looks like, and it is terrifying.

Yes, we could have done this months ago. And yes, Trump can still win.

But for the first time in this election cycle, Democrats are feeling a little jaunty, a little hopeful, and slightly less terrified.

We have no idea if Kamala Harris will defeat the third incarnation of Trumpian fury. However, it was clear that Biden wasn’t going to win. His supporters could never explain how a guy who had been trailing in the polls for months, coming off the worst debate performance in history, and getting older by the second, was going to suddenly surge to victory. Who the hell was he going to persuade at this point?

By stepping aside, however, Biden has become a revered figure, the courageous leader, even “the Democratic party’s Yoda, and no one ever complained about Yoda’s wrinkles, age, ponderous pauses, or bizarre speech patterns.”

The GOP knows this. Witness their idiotic threats to somehow force Biden to stay on the ballot. They are shitting themselves in fear because suddenly they are the ones saddled with an ancient, rambling, incoherent candidate who “looks older and more deranged” than any presidential nominee in history.

Biden “understood his limitations and, in an act of patriotism, selflessness, and party unity, decided to step away from power,” while Trump is a doddering lunatic “clinging to power, holding on desperately to the myth of a lost election, evoking the same predictable descriptions of carnage and disaster he served up eight years ago.”

Trump will no doubt rant about Harris and make up whacked-out lies about her. He will throw racist and misogynistic insults her way while his handlers insist for the 10,839^th time that he didn’t mean what he clearly said. He will threaten and prophesize and whine. He will babble nonstop in a jumbled cacophony of illogic and garbled syntax. 

And the rest of us will witness this sad display, and with hope, we will give it the only response that it warrants:

Just shut up already, old man.

An inch to one side, and he is unscathed. A couple of inches to the other side, and he’s a dead man. A few inches lower, and he’s seriously injured and off the campaign trail for a while.

But no, that shot had to nick him so precisely, so exactly, that he could claim a war wound but still be back on the golf course the next day. 

He could wave his fist around, blood on his face, with the American flag fluttering in the background in an image guaranteed to sway a million voters who base their decisions on random feelings and gut reactions. 

He could escape injury while his followers get killed. 

He could claim that he took a bullet for America when all he really did was take a bullet from a white male Republican lunatic opening fire with a legally purchased AR-15. 

No one who gets shot at benefits from the experience, except this guy.

It is astronomical how that bullet had to nip his ear but not actually harm him. How the slug had to cause just enough blood to flow that he could use the incident to boost fundraising. We’re talking millimeters that could decide an election.

Of course, he’s always been lucky. He was born a millionaire, for starters. And who else goes bankrupt multiple times, displays the morals of an alley cat, and spews idiotic lies and pathetic excuses nonstop, only to become more popular with each deranged act or massive failure?

Who else violates several federal laws in a blatant mockery of our system of classified information, but then gets the case against him dismissed because of a motherfucking footnote?

This election was “already shaping up as a symbolic contest between an elderly and weakening liberalism too frail and uncertain to protect itself and an authoritarian, reactionary movement ready to burst every barrier and trash every institution.”

Now, it looks like it will be a referendum on just how vile, incompetent, and cataclysmic one man can be without any comeuppance or hint of karma. 

The only person who might be luckier is some politically inexperienced buffoon who parlayed his hillbilly upbringing into a brand, sold out his semi-moderate values to fall into line with right-wing insanity, and is poised to become president if a certain obese septuagenarian wins an election but then suffers a fatal heart attack or chokes on a cheeseburger in two years.

Yeah, these guys have used up all the good luck for the entire country.