We’ve been suffering from a leader who is more a threat to us than someone who cares for us. Who talks crazy talk; who operates by creating chaos, creating an image that he’d do anything to get what he desperately lusted for. This is all we can be sure of; we know his history of racism and misogyny, his cruelty, spite, and envy. We also know he can spontaneously lash out, especially at reporters, but dreads confrontation unless he has total control. How stable can anyone be who needs to lead by making those he leads distrustful and afraid of him? Whose character is one that usually lives in nightmares? And in his case, maybe “crazy like a fox” is still crazy.
Images of Jan. 6, 2020 explode in my mind. Images of violence against Congress people, threats against poll workers and vote counters and state Attorneys General. Will DT interfere in the 2026 elections, order the DOJ to seize ballot boxes? Or force state legislatures to fake results? He’s done such things before. What will happen? Our televisions and other news outlets will be getting a workout. What a week awaits us.
If you need reasons to vote, or information on who to vote for, or against, please ask yourself: Who started a war on a whim, or maybe to distract from the Epstein Files, that he’s losing, and is costing each and every one of us more than we even know. It’s raising the costs of living, depleting resources, threatening the loss of positive standing and allies in the world. Who talks of “America First,” but is creating “America Alone”—Except possibly for Putin and other autocrats.
Who, as reported by The Hill, had his Secretary of War/Defense, Pete Hegseth, recently fire another key general, Army Lt. General Brett Sylvia, for meeting with journalists in the Pentagon. This despite the fact we’re in a war that’s costing us greatly. The firing took place not only just before the midterms, but concurrently with the U. S. Central Command drawing up plans for more attacks on Iran. Hegseth has pushed out more than two dozen military officers. Why? And why now?
He’s trying to take away our constitutional right to speak freely and won’t tolerate any opposition. His attempts to seize dictatorial power run the full spectrum of our lives; for instance, there are his media bans and his use of the FCC to pressure and threaten broadcast networks and other media companies to bury any content that hints at opposition. Have the generals also been voicing opposition to or spreading the truth about how badly the war in Iran is going?
In the same vein, on 10/26 we learned DT’s DOJ had for the third time filed charges against James Comey. The case goes back to 2016 and was previously investigated two times and dismissed by the courts. Several commentators, like Chris Bowers, have written about how all 3 cases are, at best, flimsy, and clear examples of vindictive prosecution. DT is continually undermining the rule of law and has turned the former Justice Department into a Revenge Department.
Also recently, he once again acted to undermine our constitutional right to vote and has been interfering in another election. One example: according to an investigation reported by MSNOW, his DOJ claimed over 20,000 cases of election fraud in California. But from September to mid-October his DOJ brought charges against only 28 of them, which constitutes .0001% of California voters. 5 were dismissed almost immediately. The charge against the others mirrors a similar case in Nevada, when DT claimed there were 16,000 cases of election fraud. Then the DOJ published a list of only 185 cases; and when the state investigated, it found zero had voted illegally. The intent here is intimidation, particularly of people of color. Even if all the charges get dropped, they create fear in these communities.
He’s continuously been trying to force states to turn over voter records and information to the DOJ. After the courts continued to block and deem these orders illegal, on October 28, he requested subpoenas, more than 100 of them, demanding the records. Voting is in the hands of states, not the President, but he doesn’t seem to care what the constitution says.
Ask yourself: who is undermining the healthcare system and health insurance? Who is undermining the economy with tariffs that just raise our cost of living, undermine businesses, and fail to decrease the national debt? And according to the Congressional Budget Office, his one legislative victory, the Big Ugly/Beautiful Bill, is costing the poorest Americans on average $1200 while boosting the income of the richest by $13,600.
Who is it that is undermining our nation’s ability to respond to the destruction of our communities and economy caused by extreme weather events– while at the same time assuring that such events will only get worse because he’s eliminating the key regulations meant to protect us from worsening environmental disasters.
And we must ask: who is it who has committed a level of corruption never seen before in this country and which is costing each of us more than we even now know? We could go on and on.
The polls show he’s sinking, or he’s already sunk. Depending on when you read this, our job, our mission, which we can’t refuse to accept, is to vote; is to get such large numbers of Democrats and Independents to vote that we throw his GOP sycophants out of office, and there will be no way to fudge, destroy, or dispute the results.
And then to be prepared to speak out or whatever, to defend the results as the situation requires. Because—we know this—we need to turn Congress into a force that limits his power and stops his destruction of our nation and our lives. That might even impeach— but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
And we need to occasionally stop and take a breath. To look around us. Be sensitive to our mental state, and kind to ourselves, before, after, and while voting– if we haven’t already done so. And doing what we can to ensure a safe and lawful vote– and then to protect the results.
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