2024: A Bad Moon Rising

Credence Clearwater sang about doom and gloom creeping up over the horizon.  The next plague is becoming clearer and clearer, and will soon be upon us all, invading every corner of our consciousness:  the 2024 Presidential Election.  The actual event is nearly two years out, but already it’s here.  The two major political parties have already pretty much selected their candidates. 

On the Democratic side, you got Joe Biden.  He’ll be 82 years old then.  His questionable mental cognitive abilities will surely have diminished further.  He’s the Grand Champion of Big Government, if there ever was one.  According to Joe, any societal problem can be fixed if government throws enough money at it, by golly!

And in the Republican corner, you got Donald Trump.  He’ll be 78 then.  Ah, Trump.  What can I say that hasn’t been beaten to death?  Well, I’ll give it a shot anyway:  he’s a lying, immature, egotistical, belligerent, inept, racist brat. Impeached twice.  He’s a  big-time loser who is dragging the Republican party down with him.  And yet, some 31% of Republicans still back him.  If the field of candidates is large (like it was in 2016) and Republicans do not consolidate support around a single individual, then he could potentially become the nominee.

The Trump debacle really made me re-evaluate how I view politicians.  Previously, all I really cared about was issues, policies, and philosophy.  Spare me the sleazy details about their personal lifestyle quirks.  I vividly remember the Gary Hart campaign back in 1988.  No, I was not a Hart supporter, but I was thoroughly disgusted when his campaign ended because - get ready:  he was caught fooling around with a floozy.  Once.  Now compare that to all the deplorable things Trump has done.

Trump made me realize that, like it or not, the President is the face of our nation.  He should be a role model, someone that parents can point to and tell their kids:  you can grow up to be just like him!  The President is supposed to make us all proud to be Americans, to unite us, to inspire us to do good things.  Trump did just the opposite.

Many Republicans counter by admitting that, yeah, he has his flaws, but he accomplished a great deal!

Hmm.  Let’s dig into that a bit.

First off, realize that government grew while Trump was president.  The 2016 federal budget was $4.2 Trillion.  The 2020 budget was $6.5 Trillion.  That’s a 155% increase.  And don’t try to blame it on the Democrats, because in 2016, the Republicans controlled the White House and both houses of Congress.

To his credit, Trump did cut back on some environmental regulations, and cleared away some bureaucratic obstacles for developing the COVID vaccine.  But like the budget, you gotta look at the big picture:  governmental regulatory power continued to grow.  It’s like saying he reduced sea levels by removing a few bucketfulls of seawater.  And let me point out that no government agencies, bureaucracies, departments, or major acts of legislation were eliminated while he was in office.  Obamacare still stands strong, despite the promises to repeal it on Day One.

Much ado was made about his tax cuts.  I will beat this dead horse to death one more time:  A tax cut without a corresponding spending cut accomplishes nothing.  Now - in all fairness - federal spending always increases, no matter who is in office.  But the point is that Trump was not some big-time government slasher, regardless of the rhetoric.

Trump backers like to point out that the economy grew under him.  Umm ... what exactly did Trump do to accomplish this?  I already pointed out that spending and regulation grew on his watch.  Furthermore, he instituted trade wars with Mexico, Canada, and China.  This is how to stimulate an economy? 

There’s a lot more I could dwell on to show that Trump policies are nothing to cheer about.  But let’s get back to the original issue:  If Biden and Trump end up as the major-party candidates, whom should you, oh voter who cares about preserving what America is supposed to be, support?

Actually, you do have options.  First off, there is nothing in your Citizen’s Contract that says you must vote at all.  A vote for any candidate means that you like what they have done and want them to keep doing it!  Do you like what Biden has done?  What Trump has done?  No?  Then by golly, let them know via the ultimate boycott.

And then there are minor parties.  There are several to choose from.  Minor parties have one big advantage:  they aren’t in it to win it.  Rather, they exist to advocate a clear and consistent philosophy.  Furthermore, a party or candidate doesn’t necessarily have to win an election in order to have an impact.  Imagine if a minor party candidate for President received, say, 15% of the popular vote.  No, they would not win, but it would certainly get somebody’sattention.  This is absolutely doable.  All it takes is for enough voters to take the time and learn about the minor party candidates and what their message is (don’t depend on the news media).  Then ignore the poll statistics, stop following the rest of the crowd like a sheep, and support the candidate who best matches what you truly believe.

Instead of a bad moon rising, 2024 could be a glimmer of hope.

Glimmer of Hope