Saturday, November 7, 2020

I Was Right. Now What?

Last week, I predicted - correctly, as it turns out - that the election would not go off without a hitch. I'm not going to gloat, though, because that was an obvious forecast for anyone with two eyes and at least one brain cell. We are a deeply divided nation, and the split appears to cut right down the middle. No one was going to triumph conclusively (no matter what idiot pollsters were claiming), margins were going to be razor thin, and yes, people were going to automatically question the results. Duh.

I don't know how many of the rumors of fuckery now flying around the nets are evidence-based, how many are misunderstandings, how many are clerical errors, etc. But I'm going to refrain from blaming folks on my side for being supremely skeptical that all of Biden's preliminary victories are legitimate for several reasons: 

First of all, the long-standing corruption of our urban political machines is an open secret; if you're up for a good time, look up Tammany Hall for some relevant context. Then follow that up with some research on the many documented cases of pants-on-head cheating that have been discovered and prosecuted through the years. Fraud is not imaginary; suspecting fraud is not automatically tantamount to believing a conspiracy theory.

Secondly, despite the aforementioned historical record, we don't have a safe, rational elections process in general. We simply don't. For years, the left has blocked measures designed to ensure potential voters' eligibility for stated reasons that, on their face, are ridiculous (you need an ID to get cigarettes, booze, and government aid, so no, it is not an unreasonable or "racist" act of "voter suppression" to demand an ID at the ballot box). And this year, of course, we also had loosey-goosey mail-in ballots (again based on a contrived, dishonest rationale; if people can go grocery shopping with masks and social distancing, they can vote in person using the same protective measures), which introduced a whole new level of uncertainty as to the legality of some of the submitted votes. 

Third - and probably the most important, if we're being perfectly honest - we're now in the fourth year of an overt campaign to destroy Donald Trump, his appointees, his associates, and his voter base -- a campaign that's been based wholly on exaggeration/spin at best and confirmed lies at worst. This has built up a profound - and valid - resentment among Trump supporters and further eroded our already low faith in our institutions, our media, and our political opponents.

So yeah: even if the presidential election isn't actually in the process of being stolen, you will see no National-Review-style judgment from me regarding the protests, the legal challenges, etc. -- and certainly no unctuous hand-wringing over Trump's supposed disrespect for The Process. I'm sorry, Democrats, but Mandel is right: it's your turn. If you'd been intellectually honest enough to recognize that a vote for Trump in 2016 might've been based on something other than Ist and Ism and had responded accordingly - namely, with a willingness to listen instead of a delusional, feral rage - we'd probably be in a better place now as a country. Alas, your own choices are now having consequences. Suck it up, buttercups.

Anyhoo, now that I've got that out of the way -- let's move on to the reflective, "now what?" portion of this post. How shall we proceed in light of the events of this week? What should we do -- beyond agitating for greater transparency and security in our elections and perhaps praying a novena for the continued survival of this nation?

I've been thinking about this since the wee hours of Wednesday morning, and I've settled on the following: get ready to hold the Biden administration's feet to the damned fire. (Note to my regular, Trump-supporting readers: don't interpret this as a cuck-out. This is just me following my Eagle Scout father's example and preparing for the worst.) Because even if the American public does want President Biden for whatever reason, the down-ticket results make it crystal clear that that self-same public does not want the post-modern, neo-Marxist garbage that's going to try to hitch a ride on the dotard's coattails.

It is extraordinarily telling, for example, that in cobalt-blue California, Proposition 16 - which would've rescinded the 1996 statewide ban on race-based affirmative action in employment and school admissions - failed so decisively. A vote for Biden evidently doesn't translate into an endorsement of the leftist program for "racial justice" -- and we need to be aggressive in reminding Biden and his surrogates of that fact. Similarly, Trump's anti-socialism message did land with certain key constituencies even if the benefits may not have redounded upon Trump himself. So if a Biden White House starts toying with nude eels or other economically illiterate programs, we can hit these folks hard there too and be quite confident that the electorate will approve.

In any case, we can't let the left get away with crap like this: 
No. Nothing in Tuesday's election results gives anyone a "mandate" for "reconciliation commissions," political discrimination, attacks on free speech and free association, or any other radical BS even if we assume the counts are completely above board. (PS: This is exactly the kind of crap that makes Trump supporters distrust and despise you, Democrats. FFS, Trump is not Hitler and we don't need new Nuremberg trials. STOP.) (PPS: Where do I sign up for AOC's list? Being targeted by that tyrannical little brat seems like it'd be a badge of honor.) I don't think I'm nearly as pessimistic as Sarah Hoyt when it comes to our near future as a republic, but -- she's right to encourage a general spirit of disobedience. Voters, I think, want a check on Biden's power. We should provide it in spades.

Edited to add: Sorry: I have prednisone-induced insomnia and I'm angry.

Edited again to add someone else's work of absolute genius:

Monday morning edit adding a thread discussing my terms for "peace":

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