US democracy drags on. But decorum is dead

@wwaycorrigan

[For an audio/vlog version of this story, click here.]

Hubris. Melodrama. Scheming and screaming. Refusal to accept one's errors. Refusal to accept defeat.

Kamala Harris or Donald Trump: Which one is the greater threat to democracy? (Photos from X and Instagram.)

No, I'm not referring to South American football teams — although, all the above do apply to them. I'm referring to US presidential elections; those of recent vintage at least.

Fat chance

Watching the Democrats and Republicans battle it out is akin to two schoolyard bullies facing off. 'Yo momma's so fat' sort of stuff. OK, you're right, that might be a bit unfair to the inventiveness of some of those fat-momma quips.

It can make for compelling viewing for sure. Yet, it doesn't inspire confidence that the world's most powerful country has competent leadership.

The June debate between the now-retired candidate, President Joe Biden, and the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, was unedifying. Hey, a real axis of evil — China, Russia, Iran and North Korea — may be threatening the West but how well would their leaders do facing into a par five in inclement conditions? It's pointless having a good shot on the battlefield if you can't shoot your way around a golf course, you know?

At least Biden can focus more on his golf game — or simply just try to focus — now that he's no longer in the race to prolong his stay in the White House. Trump, though, will — or should, anyway — be spending less time on the tee and more time on the campaign trail.

'Whatever Harris decides to discuss, her big problem is that she's not an orator.'

His fiery rhetoric is, um, par for the course. He had promised a toned-down, more unifying style in the immediate aftermath of the assassination attempt on him. Trump saying this is one thing. Delivering it, quite another. A slightly milder speech than normal at the Republican National Convention aside, his tone remains more bellicose than benign.

Calm-ala Harris?

In such an atmosphere, adopting a less hostile approach when trying to win over those crucial swing voters makes more sense, one would think. It remains to be seen if Trump's new opponent, the presumptive Democratic Party candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, goes for such a strategy i.e. focusing on policies and plans rather than ad hominem attacks. The early signs are that she'll play the man more so than the ball.

One area where she might offer something different to both Biden and Trump is in the god talk, as in having less of it. At times I wonder what's the point in having these elections if it's all in the hands of the Almighty. Many of the USA's political heavyweights reference their Christian god more than the average Islamic fundamentalist mentions Allah.

This isn't necessarily a problem, particularly if it is accompanied by concrete proposals. However, the god talk rings hollow in the toxic political climate of today's USA.

Nonetheless, Harris is going to be on safer ground talking about gun control rather than god control. Jesus is still a big vote-winner in American politics.

Whatever she does decide to discuss, her big problem is that she's not a talented orator. Well, she's not an orator full stop. (Or period, as our US friends say.)

A dying democracy

Thus, the Harris handlers will most likely advise her to stick to the well-tried but not altogether trusted line that 'Trump is a threat to our democracy'. Keep it simple, stupid.

A fresher, smarter approach would pay greater dividends, but that's probably beyond Harris's ken. Or maybe she'll show us in the coming weeks some political acumen that has heretofore remained hidden. It has been a crazy election cycle after all.

Yet, the constant over these last few years has been the vitriolic nature of US politics. This isn't going to change anytime soon.

Some argue about just how democratic the USA is, but it's certainly no dictatorship. Its version of democracy is still alive. What is dead, or dying in any case, is decorum in political discourse.

And with the death of decorum, decline or dictatorship is not far behind. Or both.
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Democrats' Biden time strengthens Trump's card

[Listen to an audio version of this blog entry here.]
In January of this strangest of years, unaware of what was coming down the line, I made a couple of what could be seen as rash decisions.

Four more years of President Trump? It looks quite possible now. (Image from Facebook.)

One was to resign from my full-time, relatively well-paid marketing job. I'd had enough and I wanted to focus on some personal, yet financially impotent projects.

Along came corona

The other was to write a piece suggesting that a Donald Trump re-election might be the least-bad option for the United States of America. 

Despite what some doomsayers had predicted when he won his first term in 2016, the world didn't descend into complete chaos. There was no apocalypse, much to the disappointment of some radical leftists. 

What's more, at the time of writing, there appeared to be a real possibility that the Democrats would select a candidate too leftist for the majority of the electorate, thereby playing into Trump's hands.

Then, along came coronavirus and the Black Lives Matter protests. Things certainly did get quite chaotic, apocalyptic even, the world over and particularly so in the Land of Opportunity. 

The mishandling of both was levelled firmly — and understandably if exaggeratedly — at the feet of President Trump. 

It was looking so grim for the incumbent that it seemed the Democrats could put forward Nicolás Maduro — replete in a US tracksuit to entice some jingoistic Republicans to the cause — and still expect to comfortably win November's election.

That fascinating prospect aside, up until recently, the biggest challenge for the challengers had been to ensure that their actual candidate, Joe Biden, stayed alive. The rest would take care of itself.

However, with the conventions of the Big Two now done and dusted, what were considered advantages for the Democrats just a few short weeks ago now appear to be working against them.

Whilst receiving widespread support initially, many US citizens are growing increasingly tired, angered even, by the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests. The Democrats, having fully supported the movement, are struggling to distance themselves from the rioting.

'While the thoughts of a Trump victory are anathema to many, it could be the saving grace for the Democrats, a realisation that lunging left is politically suicidal.'

Trump's playing of the law-and-order-president card appears to be hitting a sweet spot, despite the opposition pointing out, correctly, that the violence is happening under his watch. The thing is, while he is commander-in-chief, he can easily and effectively shift the blame. 

Radical leftists, who are pulling the Democrats' strings, are behind it all. Images of the burning of his effigy by protesters serve to reinforce the point. 

With time and a November endorsement, he will restore calm. A Biden presidency, on the other hand, will do anything but.

The right calls?

The current pandemic will, of course, play a big role in the outcome of the election. 

Yet, despite the relatively high death toll in the US, should employment figures continue to improve ahead of election day, Trump has another positive to play with. 'I had the economy roaring BC (Before Coronavirus), and the signs are it will bounce back quickly under my watch. All you'll get with Sleepy Joe are higher taxes and rising unemployment.' This is sure to resonate with many undecided, centrist voters.

The one, really only, bipartisan issue is the need to deal with a menacing China. 

Again, Trump can point to the hard line he has already taken in this regard. Can a soft-centred Democrat Party with its radical leftist undercurrent really be trusted to play tough with Beijing? It's a pitch that the many doubters may just find too worrying to let slide.

Also, while the thoughts of a Trump victory are anathema to many, it could actually be the saving grace for the Democrats, a realisation that lunging left is politically suicidal. 

By veering back towards the centre, the party would become a far more formidable force for a Republican Party that will have its own soul-searching to do post Trump.

So, as we move into the final quarter of a year that many of us wish we could wipe from memory, my January rashness, despite all that's happened, might actually prove to be rather prudent. 

Getting out of my job when I did may have been the right move. I don't feel worse off mentally in any case. And the US might just decide that it is better to go with 'the devil you know'.

Whatever happens, the closing chapters of 2020 are set to be intriguing.
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Trump: Better the devil you know for the US?

As much as some may wish it wasn't so, the person — nay man as it has been and looks set to be for at least another four years — calling the shots in the White House exerts global significance.

Trump: As the opposition dithers, he looks set to win four more years. (Photo from Facebook.)

So while there will be those outside the USA, and even a small number inside, who will plead indifference to this year's presidential election, the winner is sure to have some sort of influence on their and all of our lives, whether we like it or not

'Trump hasn't started World War III. Not yet anyway.'

Now, at the risk of being a bit premature here considering events of the past week and the fact there's the best part of a year still to run on the incumbent's term, we can say, thankfully and as predicted before he was elected, that Donald J. Trump hasn't started World War III nor turned his country into a Fascist dictatorship.

Making America heard again

What he has done is brought back that US bravado, or cockiness if you will, making it seen and heard again both at home and abroad. 

This isn't to say it's been all gung-ho, trigger-happy stuff in a classical American Wild West style. No. He's used the carrot-and-stick approach in dealing with his nation's most threatening challenger to world supremacy, China. Ditto with North Korea, more or less.

The stick has been used more so with Iran of late as we've seen to deadly effect, although it can be argued with some justification (how much the assassination of Qasem Soleimani will impact things domestically in the US in November is difficult to say at this remove). What he has failed to do is come good on his promise to reduce US troop numbers in the Middle East.

That latter negative notwithstanding, with an economy in fairly rude health by all accounts, coupled with low employment, a good number of his fellow citizens feel he has done enough to warrant those coveted four more years. 'Far worse presidents were re-elected' is what his supporters will tell you. 'Just look at the previous commander-in-chief, Barack Obama.'

For liberal Europeans, that's a hard one to stomach. Obama was their darling, the old-world style president that had been long overdue for the New World.

'The Democrats have left the country.'

The US under Obama for Europe was like seeing your old friend going out with someone who seemed a really decent, salt-of-the-earth type chap after having a few roguish partners. He wasn't the stereotypical loud, in-your-face guy we'd seen before. 

Alas, she reverted to type and then some when Trump won her over. 'We'll just never understand that young and reckless, yet alluring, US, will we?'

'Do something, Democrats'

A big reason why Trump looks set for re-election, putting to one side a highly unlikely impeachment, is to do with the opposition.

As Ronald Reagan reputedly once put it, 'the Democrats have gone so far left they've left the country.' And just like it has been in Colombia, being associated with anything close to the far left in the United States of America is pretty much toxic at election time.

OK, numbers-wise, thanks to the population concentrations on the east and west coasts, whoever finally appears on the Democratic ticket might actually, just as in 2016, win the popular vote. (One must also take into account the anti-Trump echo chambers reverberating around these more liberal sides to America. Their words tend to find more favour with non-Americans than those living in the 50 states.)

Lies of the land

This isn't, however, how the system works to get the keys to the White House. The electoral college vote should once again get Trump over the line.

I must say that if I ever got the chance to meet the current president, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to stomach him for any length. I certainly wouldn't be at ease in his company in any case. He is, after all, a serial liar. The man who gave us #FakeNews regularly says things that are clearly untrue.

The thing is, those who are doing their damnedest to get him out of office are also blurring the lines between fact and fiction. Truth being the first casualty of war and all that.

In one sense, November's presidential election is similar to what the UK electorate faced in December 2019: What's the least-bad option? The devil you know or the one you don't? 

With an opposition that raises more questions beforehand than answers, Trump is looking like the "safest" bet for US voters, as abhorrent as that is for many on the outside looking in.
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Flying the flag for political incorrectness

Many people still don't seem to get it. Or they wish it wasn't so in any case.

Basically, a significant reason US President Donald Trump proved to be — and still proves — popular across Middle America, away from the east- and west-coast echo chambers that is, is that he speaks a straightforward language.

Trump: Middle America's president. (Photo from Twitter.)

He tells/tweets it as he sees it — for better or for worse. Unlike mainstream, establishment politicians, not everything, nay nothing in terms of tweets anyway, is precisely planned, framed in must-not-offend diplomatic speak.

In the politically correct West, where the leftist discourse has taken a strong hold in the universities, shaping in such a way many of our current and future key opinion leaders, somebody deviating from the accepted script is bound to find favour with those not in the club.

This is not to say that all Trump supporters are dumb hillbilly racists, the standard charge levelled at them.

Indeed, many Trumpists I know find his controversial, excessive tweeting irritating. Neither do they agree with all his utterances — in fairness it can be hard to keep up with them in any case.

Yet, it's the feeling that despite his many flaws, he is about as honest as they come. He doesn't hide behind political advisers. What you see is what you get.

In this day of carefully groomed, mannequin-esque politicians, this resonates. (That the US economy is performing well under Trump's watch is another important plus point.) 

It's a question of, 'Who do you really trust: Somebody who comes across as "holier than thou" or a guy seemingly showing us his warts and all?'

"Now name calling does hurt us."

Trump's presidency and other similar eschewing of the standard political system elsewhere have been the inevitable backlash against the over-the-top political correctness we've had to stomach for the last couple of decades.

Where did our childhood act of defiance towards hurtful words go? You know, the old schoolyard rhyme, 'Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me.'

We realised back then that acts of real violence could be lethal, but name-calling? Whatever. We could rise above it.

Now, however, many of our law-framers and influencers have become too cool for school. 'You can have your free speech but you can't say this and you sure as hell (OMG, did I just say "hell"?) can't use that word.'

We're in the process of creating an impotent, sterile bunch of human beings. Like the announcer at the bumping cars — do they still exist or have they become too unsafe, imparting evil habits in our young? — at a funfair used to say 'one way round only', now it's 'one discourse only', even if it goes against biology, to name but one area of contention. (How many genders do we have now? It's difficult to stay, um, abreast of the accepted pronouns these days.)

The British intellectual, amongst many other things, Stephen Fry has a refreshing approach to all this craziness. At a debate on political correctness earlier this year he said that if somebody wants to call him a 'fagot' — he is gay — then so be it. It's not the end of the world. There are far greater things we should be crusading against.

It's not the case where we want things to become overly verbally abusive — radicals or fundamentalists on all sides are adept at that already — but we don't want people having to consult a lawyer every time they want to speak lest they offend some unsuspecting bystander.

Fry's common sense view is nothing more than we'd expect from a man of his standing. Yet, worryingly, he doesn't seem to be in the majority in the intellectual world.

In Colombia, one of the refreshing things about life here is how it's normal to call somebody by their outward appearance. So you have people being affectionately called 'fatty', 'blacky', 'thinny' and so on.

Imagine how that would go down these days in most "First World" countries. The courts would be on the go 24-7.

With all that in mind, we're now just over two years away from the next US presidential election. The big question is, if he survives all the scandals and potential impeachment, can Trump get re-elected?

A lot, of course, will depend on who he's up against. 

The danger for the Democrats is that in their desperate bid to win back the White House they'll opt for an everything-for-everybody candidate. A product of our one-size-fits-all globalised world. 'Tell us what we want to hear, regardless of the reality.' Ah yeah, that makes it all better.

The Democrats would be doing us all a favour, everywhere, if they look more towards the centre-ground.

Alas, the radical left will do their bit to make sure that doesn't happen. Trump will happily toot to that.

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