"People don't show up early, in record numbers during a pandemic, to maintain a status quo." Norman Acord
I sure hope Dad is right!
Seeing the long, long lines of folks, waiting patiently for hours & hours to cast their early votes, has been truly encouraging & heartwarming.
It certainly is promising to hear, for example, that the number of early 2020 voters in Texas has already surpassed the total number of 2016 Texas voters!
And I would love nothing more than for Saturday Night Live to go back to being irrelevant again. I would adore waking up in the morning without immediately wondering "What horseshit will our President spew today?"
But never forget, hardcore conservative Republicans never skip an election day. Never ever. Having seen the polls, they are now trying to cheat (limit votes, intimidate voters, delay vote-by-mail, and cast doubt on the results.) Just in California alone, the GOP set up fake ballot drop-boxes. And in Los Angeles, someone tried to set fire to one of the real drop boxes.
If you're actually voting at the polls Tuesday, please keep your cellphone in hand, and discreetly record your entire experience -- especially if you feel threatened or intimidated. The FBI just might need to see your footage! (And please, be very kind to the poll workers. Obviously, they are working under unbelievably stressful conditions.)
I'm prepared, as we all should be, for Donald Trump (and his mouth-breathing morons) to try anything -- anything -- to hang onto the White House. He's just had yet another fence erected around the White House. His ISIS-esque truck convoys are already shutting down major freeways and even tried to run a Biden bus off the road, for Christ's sake!
I'm not sure what will provoke them more this week -- a Trump loss or a Trump victory? Either way, we can expect the worst of these fools to act out. It's why so many storefronts are boarding up and shutting down this week.
Nevertheless, I'm already making my sign ("Every Vote Counts/Count Every Vote") and am prepared to take to the streets should Orange Shitler declare victory before the votes are counted, or if he attempts to cast doubt on the results, or any number of shenanigans he'll attempt to maintain power.
If the past four years have shown us anything, it's that Trump will try everything. He knows he has nothing but legal troubles to look forward to (and hopefully a lengthy jail sentence) if he loses.
Perhaps even more dangerous is what will happen when the megalomaniac has to face the fact that he has failed. Big time.
However, there is a very real possibility that Trump could legitimately "win" the electoral college again, if not the popular vote.
That's why every one is on edge this Monday.
That's why everyone must vote.
It seems, during every presidential campaign cycle, we hear the old hyperbolic saw "Vote as though the future of your country -- as though your life -- depends on it!"
I'm still in shock that it's no longer hyperbole. It truly is that important for YOU get out tomorrow and vote (if you aren't one of the millions who already have!).
So gird your loins, find your inner Wonder Woman or Superman, slap on your mask (and a shield, and gloves wouldn't hurt), and go out there and be a super hero for representative democracy!
We must send a message so loud, so undeniable, that the entire world hears it!
Then hunker down with whatever gets you through this most bizarre of weeks! And please, stay safe!
