Last night I had the strangest dream.
It was November of 2020 and I was in a voting booth, and I looked
down at the ballot for the president, and the only two names on it
were Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney. Then I woke up bathed in sweat
with my heart pounding, and it took me a while to realize that this
was not only a nightmare, but it was a nightmare that could very well
come true!
Here we are, 12 months plus change from
the 2020 election, and who is positioning himself to run for the
Republican nomination? None other than the loser from 2012. And he
is bolstering his “Never Trumper” credits on a daily basis,
standing up, like Superman, for “truth, justice, and the American
way” against treachery, treason, and criminality (not to mention
bad manners and bad hair). And of course part of his plan is that
Donald Trump will, in fact, be out office by November of 2020, and it
matters little how or why – the main thing is that Romney will by
that time be seen as the salvation of the Republican Party – the
man who can set things right and rid them of the taint of Trump.
What will he have to offer the American public as an incentive to not
only vote, but to vote for him, other than the fact that he is not
Donald Trump? Nothing in particular, just the same old boring
mainstream Republican pap, which typically features pleas along the
lines of “We're almost as compassionate as the Democrats.” Which
is not a winning formula, as had been amply demonstrated already.
Romney will run as the anti-Trump and his platform will be,
basically, to pledge that the Republicans will never never never, and
we mean it, nominate anyone even remotely like Trump ever again.
Great – but the Democrats already occupy that territory, so why not
just vote for them and be certain? (And by the way, if you think the
Democrats/liberals/leftists would ever give the Republicans credit
for ousting Trump – in the event that occurs – think again. The
Republicans will be forced to live a life of austerity and penance
for generations to come. Which, in turn, is saying that they will be
rendered extinct on the national level, leaving a gap to be filled by
– whom? But that's a topic for another day.) (And also by the way,
if not Romney, who? Does anyone even remember who was in the gaggle
of Republican candidates who fell, one by one, to the Trump tidal
wave in 2016? And has anyone heard anything from them since? The
fact that Romney, for all his faults, is willing to stand up and be
counted at this point may be all he needs in the way of credentials.)
What about Hillary, then? She is
rapidly moving from the impossible and unthinkable into at least the
“buzz” category, and has, of late, been much more vocal in her
opposition to Trump (although she's been making excuses for why she
lost since Election Night 2016). Add to this the impression that she
and Joe Biden are the only halfway normal human beings in the bunch,
the rest being delusional on some level or just plain frauds. (And
doesn't it say something about that motley crew that Hillary, by
comparison, can appear normal? “Sad”, as Trump would say.) Then
we have three very important facts: (1) The Clintons and Obama
still control the Democratic Party, no matter how many empty suits
pretend to be in charge; and (2) The Deep State political machine
that Obama and Hillary put in place is intact, alive and well, and
eager to, once again, enter the fray (actually, they never left it);
and (3) The mainstream media are more fanatically anti-Trump than
ever, as is the “entertainment” industry.
The only bump in the road should
Hillary capitulate to all of her adoring admirers and declare for the
presidency again is the basket of already-declared candidates, who
have already expended considerable time and money on their campaigns,
with the election still more than a year away. They are likely to be
somewhat upset should Hillary ride into the Democratic convention on
a white charger and insist on being nominated by popular acclaim.
But you can be sure that they will fall into line with nary a peep,
the way poor old Bernie did in 2016 even though he knew he'd been
cheated. As a number of commentators have pointed out, the
Democrats' strength is in their unity; they may have their occasional
squabbles, but when the chips are down they always present a united
front – something the Republicans have never seemed to be capable
of.
So anyway, that was my nightmare –
although some would prefer to call it a dream.
Footnote 1: Unlike Hillary's case,
Donald Trump does not own the Republican Party. It would be more
accurate to say they have disowned him. So don't expect
loyalty to play any part in next year's election; in fact, disloyalty
will play a much bigger part, as exemplified by Mitt Romney. The
Never Trumpers are alive and well and living not only in Congress,
but in the Republican Party hierarchy. Now, whether they will have
the nerve to defy tradition and refuse to re-nominate Trump is
another question; it kind of depends on how afraid they are of the
grass roots. After all, even if Trump is denied a second term, most
of them will still be in contention for re-election. I imagine we'll
see a variety of responses to this dilemma. And there will be a lot
of strange new respect for anyone who takes part in the mutiny even
at the risk of their own political career.
Footnote 2: Hillary vs. Tulsi Gabbard
– why single her out? Because she's the only one of the Democratic
candidates who has been making libertarian-type noises. And in
Hillary World, libertarian = defiance of rightful authority (i.e.,
her) and skepticism regarding overseas adventures (vs. the Democrats'
newfound respect for endless war) – among many other things, no
doubt. So Tulsi has to go. But that's not as much of an issue as
the fact that Hillary is already engaged in a debate with a declared
Democratic candidate; maybe she felt that Tulsi was the
lowest-hanging fruit, and thus a good test case, considering the
number of other candidates Hillary would have to run off the road in
order to win the nomination. And as for Jill Stein, since Hillary is
now blaming her and the Green Party for her loss in 2016, the Greens
have to be neutralized by being identified as Russian puppets.
Footnote 3: As I've said before, Trump
basically threw the Republican Party a lifeline by winning in 2016.
The problem is, they refused to take hold of it, so they maintained
their position as perpetual losers who are rendered acutely
uncomfortable by winning. Now, when it comes to 2020, if Trump wins
with or without their support, it will create another opportunity to
take hold of the same lifeline, and I imagine that will be rejected
as well. If Trump (or some other Republican) loses in 2020, the
Republican Party is doomed on the national level, for the simple
reason that “they” – the opposition – will never forgive the
Republicans for having nominated Trump in 2016, never mind that many
of them opposed him and have dug in their heels on his programs ever
since. And the idea of the Democrats, and the opposition in general,
giving the “Never Trumpers” in the Republican Party “credit”?
Ha! They will be flushed down the toilet along with all the rest.
(Who knows, maybe on some level the Democrats see the Republican
“Never Trumpers” as being disloyal, and disloyalty is the
greatest sin a Democrat can commit – as amply demonstrated by
Bernie's abject capitulation to Hillary in 2016.)
