It was a great day to walk, so I strode to the closest voting place I could find--maybe 15 minutes on foot. It's a secret ballot, of course, but that secret's up to you.
To heck with that. I voted for Democrats down the line--for governor, for U.S. Senate, for the House of Representatives (so obscured has that race been that I didn't even know who Gwen Moore's opponent was--not that it mattered much), for Attorney General of the state, for Secretary of State (suddenly a crucial race), for state treasurer, and for state legislators in both houses. There is no longer any consideration of Republicans necessary or, in my mind, possible.
That is because they have largely given themselves to the hysteria, panic and mindless nodding that following ex- and his minions have caused. Election denial is bad enough. That doesn't quite get to the bottom of the now vast difference between the two parties, one that will not have enough time to heal, ever.
The Republicans are profiles in cowardice. Nobody stands up to ex- anymore. But that's because most of those who vote Republican have drowned themselves in collusion and delusion. They go along to get along, but only with each other. No logic and certainly no facts will deter them.
They have even eschewed democracy. Election denial, based on foolish, paranoid notions of conniving that have never been proven, only alleged, stipulates that a democratic decision based on honest voting is no longer possible, except if Republicans win. That is not only stupid and crazy, it is evil. It opens the door to fascism.
It is an ambush while we watch. It is Ron Johnson trying to deliver a motion to qualify phony electors right to the desk of the Vice-President as he prepares to count the actual, bona fide Electoral College votes on January 6, 2021, which will make Joe Biden president. It is Tim Michels saying that something went wrong with the ballot count in Wisconsin while being unable, even unwilling, to go to the trouble of proving it.
It is Michael Gableman--remember him? He will return if Michels is elected, you can count on it--trying to get the legislature to do something the law says it cannot do, which is to de-certify the election without presenting a shred of evidence as to why it should do so.
It is a compilation of lies that now have piled far too deep for anyone, much less Democrats, to take them apart. The way to win in Wisconsin is now, apparently, to lie and keep lying to outrun those who find the real facts. The lying side has more money, far more money, and can keep throwing it at us in the form of lying ads because of Citizens United and its insistence that anyone can fund anything without being detected.
Has anyone asked Tim Michels if he wants his daughter, to whose aid he came when she was a child--as if he's unique among parents, and note how late in the campaign they brought that forward--to have her right to choose revoked? But maybe he'll have plenty of money to handle that out of state, as opposed to many who do not and cannot. And what of the accusations that women in his business have been sexually harassed, with clear connections to neglect by his office? What steps would he take if his own daughter was victimized as such?
In any event, Michels is a hoodlum who worships at the feet of ex-, a gutless, phony tough guy, a carpetbagger with nothing but bags full of money. He says he doesn't care who he offends, but that only means Democrats. He will call ex- first if he needs advice. We will have a state with a shadow government, run by ex-.
Not to mention Ron Johnson, who already does worship this menace. Anyone who sought to get into the mix of disrupting the 2020 election enough to perhaps topple it lacks the guts to stand on his own. He wants to wipe out Social Security, too, because business owners like him want to stay and be as greedy as possible, even though they already have far enough money to handle anything, including any other elections that are contested. Of course he objects to hiring more agents for the IRS; that department was drained by ex- because they were assigned the tasks of getting the rich to pay what they deserve to pay. Of course he makes it sound like a threat to the average middle-class taxpayer. It is anything but that. It is assurance that the system gets closer to working the way it's supposed to.
This is beyond the continuous embarrassment that Johnson has caused this state. His bizarre pronouncements about Wisconsin business, his disgusting admonition for people who don't like the state's abortion ban to "just leave," echo Michels' insistence that offending people doesn't matter. He has managed to operate under the state's radar for 12 long, ridiculous years. I voted to get rid of him. I pray hard the state does, too. Not a minute too soon, either.
These are two campaigns that blend into each other, utilizing racist rhetoric to create a kind of mentality that Democrats do not share. Johnson's attack upon Mandela Barnes, the Democratic candidate running against him, that the perpetrator of the awful Christmas parade attack last year would have been released because Barnes wants to get rid of cash bail, isn't likely. But again, Barnes isn't hitting back. He's just accusing Johnson of lies, but is providing no solid facts against them. Johnson has erased a six-point deficit, and the race is too close to call now. Without solid facts, fear tends to take over. And Republican rhetoric is designed to stoke up fears and anger. I'm afraid Barnes has blown this golden opportunity.
Johnson is a mean and disgusting liar. He represents only himself. But he knows that in campaigns, winning is the point and truth takes the back seat. I strongly hope enough citizens of this state can still tell the difference.
One week to go. We will see just how crazy this state has gone. That the main races are close says something unto itself. But maybe some sanity will be left.
Be well. Be careful. With some luck, I'll see you down the road.
Mister Mark
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