Having Grasped at Straws, They Slip Through His Fingers
Starting with a more local/regional topic, we had our first gullywasher of a storm for this winter. The highlands got about a foot of snow, and the lowlands got pounded with rain. Any fire activity that might remain in my region would be limited to smoldering deep underground, so today will be the last day I report Fire Day number in my post heading.
Shifting to more global/national topics, the 2020 U.S. Presidential election is over. Every major U.S. news outlet, including Fox News and other conservative sympathizers, has declared Joe Biden the winner. The leaders of every world power have called Biden to congratulate him, with the telling exceptions of Russia and Turkey. When the states certify their votes and the electors cast them in a few weeks, it will be nothing more than a formality with no possibility of surprises, just as it was in 2016.
So why hasn’t Trump conceded the election? His campaign has gone into full retreat mode, withdrawing almost all the legal challenges that haven’t already been thrown out by judges. Why not show a bit of class in defeat, do what one can to smooth a transition and thus nurse a deeply wounded nation, and get started on the right foot for a possible 2024 campaign?
The answer is simple. The reason he is being a jackass and refusing to concede (to the detriment of the entire nation, mind you, not just Democrats/liberals) is that his base wouldn’t have it any other way. See, Trumpers are the archetype of the Ugly American: self-centered, overly defensive, and driven by identity politics. The way they deal with challenges is to oversimplify and accuse the “others”, just as the way they deal with success is to oversimplify and self-congratulate. They claim to espouse principles like dignity, respect for our laws, and a level playing field for all candidates, but really they only apply these principles to the “other” side. When it comes to their own behavior, anything goes in victory or defeat…anything…including moronic displays of “patriotism”, violence, and cold-blooded murder. This pattern is reminiscent of the supporters of virtually every fear-based regime since the dawn of time. The only word for them is thugs.
Trump has nothing to lose by playing his childish games, and everything to lose by conceding now, when you look at it through a thug’s eyes. Despite all their flag waving, thugs don’t care about America, and neither does Trump as Thug-in-Chief. What they care about is their fragile identities and winning at any cost including American lives…and if that involves the opportunity to grab the Kevlar and the AR-15 and go stomping around somewhere in front of cameras, then so much the better. In a thug’s eyes, conceding defeat isn’t classy or smart or respectful of democracy, it’s just weak. And because every bully is really just a punch-throwing coward, no display of “weakness” (what the rest of us would call respect or courtesy or manners) can ever be tolerated.
So don’t expect Trump to ever concede the election, even as he is escorted out of the White House on January 20, 2021. He will continue to claim huge numbers of fraudulent votes (it would have to be millions, all for Biden) swung the count in Biden’s favor…all without a shred of evidence, and all counter to the many credible reports that 2020 was the most-watched, most-policed and most secure election this country has ever seen. The saddest part is that his millions of thugs will continue to believe him and will actively do what they can to sabotage the rule of law over the months and years. If you were upset by images of BLM protesters in urban areas, wait until you see your statehouses, city halls and shopping centers overwhelmed by armed men spewing hate and occasionally bullets. The divide is far from healed.
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