Election day is almost upon is. For many, it can’t come soon enough. We’re all exhausted and demoralized, perhaps even in shock at just how vicious it’s all become. It’s not like we’ve not had to deal with moments of madness before.
The Republican presidential nominee is so often an easy target; they just tend to say some crazy stuff. Like Mitt Romney’s claim that 47 percent of Americans believe they are victims. Or his belief that the middle class is defined as anyone who earns $200-250,000 a year.
George W. Bush was just as much fun. Remember when he refused to let Hurricane Katrina stand in the way of his holiday? Or how in 2001, he issued a hot mic description of Adam Clymer as a:
“…Major league asshole from the New York Times.”
It was all good stuff.
Election Daze
The election we are faced with today is as dissimilar to those in the past as Dijon mayonnaise is to World War I-era mustard gas. U.S politics have sunk so far into the mud that we’ve hit the dry earth beneath it.
On one side we have Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. His thin-skinned monstrous ego has managed to offend just about every demographic you can think of. He’s insulted people, belittled them, been caught on a hot mic threatening to sexually assault women. He’s even burst into the dressing rooms of underage girls unannounced.
To the liberal mindset he is anathema.
Better The Devil We Know
On the other side we have Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, a woman so despised by the right that some have begun calling for her execution. She is no saint. Her campaign has also been rocked by scandals and she is not everyone’s first choice.
What other choice do they have? Gary Johnson? Give me a break.
To some, Trump’s supporters are no longer simply ideological opponents. They are objects of suspicion, or else of moral outrage. At times they are subjected to the kind of insults and generalizations that the right has been lobbing at the left for decades.
And that’s a problem.
Put The Party Hats Away
A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll places Donald Trump one point ahead of Hillary Clinton.
And that might not even be the worst of it
Polls are a useful tool but, like any tool, they have their limits. They have their breaking points. There could be American husbands too scared to tell their wives that they care more about the Trans Pacific Partnership deal than they do about endemic misogyny. Across the country there could be women who are ashamed to admit that they intend to vote against the first woman to have a real shot at the presidency.
In short, there could be a shy vote.
Shy In The Sky
It’s so easy to ignore dissonant truths. There are, after all, some things that are difficult to confront. But turning away from reality doesn’t make it go away; that’s a right-wing response, a GOP go-to reflex. We’re better than that.
We can convince ourselves that we can see into the future with 20/20 vision all we want but the problem with the future is that sooner or later it happens. And when it does, we will be reminded of something. That putting a brave face on things has its uses but it also has its limits.
This last week of the election is crucial. Clinton is still the odds-on favorite to win but if the unthinkable happens, if on election day she is defeated, our own complacency might be to blame.
Psephology is the study of elections and as any good psephologist will tell you, their polls make two important assumptions. First, that the voter not only intends to vote but that the voter actually does vote on election day. Second, that the voter is telling the truth about which candidate he or she prefers.
The Only Poll That Matters
While efforts can be taken to address these critical factors it comes down to guesswork when all is said and done. And that has left some of those watching the election most closely kind of nervous.
Whether the shy vote exists or not is pure speculation. Whether pockets of it linger like fog drifting across low-lying water or whether it clusters in large numbers like fungi clinging to the rotten stumps of trees is impossible to say.
That’s why those of us who oppose Trump, those of us who see him for what he truly is, need to put away the party hats for now and get back to doing what needs to be done.
Getting the vote out.
Featured Image via screenshot from YouTube video
