The Whole Brand's Gone Mad

It's not just that the Wisconsin Republicans went out of their way to make people vote Tuesday. That was bad enough.

It's not just that they made people vote during a pandemic. It's not just that House Speaker Robin Vos tried to make it look like things would be okay by dressing up in protective gear that nobody else had. It's not just that fanciful, magical thinking.

It's that not a single Republican (at least, that I know of) stood up and said, Wait a minute. This is crazy. People's very lives are at stake and we're going to say that's okay? Even Republicans have to vote. Even they will be at risk. Can't this wait a little bit?

Not a single Republican, anywhere, said anything like that. Not a single Republican stood up for comment sense and good health. In fact, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy thinks Democrats should be ashamed of themselves for believing that Republicans forced everyone to vote on time just to suppress the vote itself.

45 even said so the other day: That Republicans wouldn't win an election if everyone voted. He's probably being exaggerative there, too, but not by much.

And true to form, he's making up stuff about absentee ballots--mainly, that voting that way is ridiculous since all kinds of cheating take place. Never mind that he voted absentee in Florida in the 2018 elections.

They are utterly ruthless. No hypocrisy bothers them. They will stop at nothing to get what they want.

Do people understand now? Do they understand that Republicans--all of them--will stop at absolutely nothing to give themselves the best possible chances at winning?

That the state supreme court ruled to assist the Republicans was pretty much a foregone conclusion. After all, you can't expect the majority of the court, which seeks to sustain itself, to give the other side maximum chances to reduce that majority. What do you think they are, considerate of others? How stupid.

The number of volunteers, especially in Milwaukee and Green Bay, fell precipitously, as one might expect. The number of polling places in Milwaukee fell by more than 95 percent, from 180 to 5. People were waiting in line at 8 p.m., when the polling places closed. Sometimes they waited for two hours, six feet apart, to vote.

Can we please remember this in November, when a losing 45 will pull out all the stops to call the election bogus or unfair or illegal? Because that's what he'll do. No doubt.

And when he does it, the Republican-led Supreme Court, the one which forced Wisconsin citizens to vote on Tuesday and count the ballots that had come in then and no later, will be searching for a way to keep 45 in power. Its majority opinion, ridiculously contrived by none other than Brett Kavanaugh, fooled no one: "This court has repeatedly emphasized that lower federal courts should ordinarily not alter the election rules on the eve of an election."

Ordinarily. What the hell is "ordinary" about this circumstance? The ruling is a knee-jerk, thoughtless disregard for Americans who simply want to vote without fear of dying. Now, not only did they have to go through that, but undoubtedly my state will see a spike in coronavirus cases because of it. To pretend that, regardless of efforts, the incidence of coronavirus won't spread because of the forced gathering of people is absurd.

But then, the last two Supreme Court justices were selected by 45 and a knee-jerk, Republican Senate, so that solidified a 5-4 decision. Not even John Roberts, he who saved Obamacare by calling it a tax, could see his way through to make an exception this time.

History will not judge that decision well. It will rank right up there with Dred Scott and Bush v. Gore. Meanwhile, we will have to live--and die--with the results. Republicans are simply ruthless. They will stop at nothing. Come November, it will be good to know.

Be well. Be careful. With luck, I'll see you down the road.


Mister Mark