Why Trump Still Worries Me

We're heading into a chaotic and potentially broken Republican convention in Cleveland within 24 hours, and these thoughts still plague me:

We are dealing with the fact that a major political party in the United States - the Republicans - willingly and in some cases happily voted for a known bankrupt-burdened, ego-driven constantly-lying con artist with no political experience at all to run for the highest office in the land.

This is something I've seen here at home. Here in Florida, our Republican neighbors happily voted for a confirmed Medicare Fraud in Rick "No Ethics" Scott to run our state as governor back in 2010, picking him over a staid but reliably conservative politician. And because of that, and because not enough Democrats and NPA voters showed up to do anything to stop him - TWICE - we've been stuck with a corrupt, crony-empowering, regulation-cutting, budget-slashing coward who has allowed our waters to turn toxic and our communities to turn into hellholes.

I mean, Christ honestly, this is what I wrote about Scott in 2010:

I've spent more than a few posts yelling and screaming about how the Republicans have failed in their leadership: about how they provide us with con artists, snake-oil salesmen, egomaniacal freaks, borderline racists, and outright liars.  But in previous cases the Republicans at least tried for a pretense of choosing 'sensible,' or least publicly clean candidates that don't have billion-dollar-sized damages trailing in their wake.  With Scott?  Dear fucking God, they're not even trying to hide it anymore.  This guy - responsible for the largest fine in Medicare Fraud history - is openly trying to buy himself an office ($40 million of his own money and counting), and for what purpose?  What do you honestly think Scott is trying to do achieve?  All I can think of is that he's hoping to get into office so that he can use the shield of "Public Trust" to avoid any culpability in the private sector he may have generated...

Just trade out Scott's name for Trump's, and take out how Scott was using his own money to win because I doubt Trump really is spending anything on his run, and what I wrote in 2010 is the exact same thing I'd be writing RIGHT NOW.

Only now it's not just the state of Florida at risk, it's the entire United States of America, and God Help Us the whole fucking planet.

This is why, despite all the stuff I read on other blogs and even in the national media punditry commentary that "it can't possibly go wrong", I am absolutely terrified that something is going to go wrong. That voter suppression efforts in key states might actually work on a large enough scale to flip Democratic states to Republican... That Democratic voters might not show up to vote, either disgusted by Hillary being too Centrist or convinced by the Far Right media that she's pure Evil (like they've been screaming about for 25 years and NEVER proven right)... That enough Far Left voters pull a 2000 Nader and keep Hillary from winning one too many swing state... That like it or not you should never underestimate the Democratic Party's ability to screw up an easy win...

Trump may be so terrible and horrifying and inept a candidate that it seems impossible that he could actually win in November... but if he's on the ballot, he has every legit chance even if it's .0001 percent of a chance when the time comes in November. So it's not really impossible: you cannot deny there is a likelihood however slim of a President Trump.

That we've actually allowed this to even get this close to happening should create nightmares for every sane person outside of the 27 percent Crazification Factor for the rest of the year.

And this is why I have been screaming - will keep screaming - at the Democrats and Moderates and Independent voters and Sane voters to make sure they get the DAMN VOTE OUT this November and that they DO NOT for the LOVE OF GOD VOTE REPUBLICAN... AND DO NOT for the LOVE OF GOD VOTE TRUMP.

In all regards, I won't be paying too much direct attention to the Cleveland convention (I can't believe Tampa's convention was four years ago already...). It's promising to be a hater-fest of epic scale, where the party is openly planning themed nights around "BENGHAZI EMAILS ZOMG" and "Clinton's Penis" (I am not making this up). This is what they've got to offer America: nothing about education, or jobs, or immigration reform (other that BUILD THAT WALL), or an informed discussion on the role of government in modern society. They're not even bringing out a positive, friendly version of their "God and Guns" platform to pull in the moderate faithful. They're not going to do much to promote a party platform - "No Porn" is the more cringe-worthy part, but the entire thing skews so far Right that even Goldwater would have choked on it - they seem embarrassed to discuss.

The Trump convention is going straight to the mudslinging: they're going to pull the Eastwood Chair stunt but multiplied by eleven.

Cleveland is coming up next. God Help Us.