Welcome to My Nightmare

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.)