Imagine, if you will, it's 2012. Barack Obama is on the campaign trail for re-election. A female reporter asks him a question, and he responds by calling her "piggy," and telling her she's a horrible person and a joke of a journalist.
If you really believe that there is any chance that he would have been reelected, or have any relevance today, I would tell you that you're among the most intellectually dishonest people I know. You know that's bullshit. But today, it's standard operating procedure for Trump.
It's crazy to see Republican candidates talking about affordability and threats of "socialism," in light of the fact that their leader has openly been at war with the First Amendment and engaging in fascist tactics to quash disagreement and disloyalty. Those cats don't even understand what socialism is, whilst enjoying public schools, libraries, police and fire protection, etc. We've literally landed at, "Papers, please," as thugs in masks move about shooting citizens without accountability. Does that sound like anything you know from history?
The right always had certain undertones of "-isms," but at least they felt grounded, if not morally sound, in an intellectual argument. But ever since Trump came down his tacky-ass escalator, racism, misogyny and xenophobia has been blatant and uncoded.
It feels like we're on the verge of change. As inflation gets worse, pointless wars are waged, Americans may finally be realizing, this is not normal. It's a realization that should've happened when he was caught saying, "Grab them by the pussy," or he mocked disabled people. Honestly, it doesn't paint a great picture of American culture that it was ever OK.
The constant lying is the worst. The Florida governor's race has a new ad on the Dem side, where he flat out says, "My opponent is lying about me." I don't know if that sort of thing lands these days, but it's the most direct callout I've seen in years.
I am strangely not cynical, when the world has barely given me a reason not to be. The polls and prediction markets are really leaning toward a correction. We have to be better than this.
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