If you don't love it, it would drive you crazy - and it certainly does.
Several states have either tried, and failed, or succeeded so far, to remove Trump from their ballots.
The best example recently was in Maine. Where an unelected official pushed this through, then had the temerity to explain their reasoning.
That reasoning is best described as a version of "I had to destroy democracy to save democracy." It's a classic trope and one which is often crafted in literal and legal fashions to make them sound smarter, better, and more caring for all. As if we want them to do this.
The person who did this claims, in a manner I have yet to really completely wrap my head around, that doing this was a method of getting "better leaders" and avoiding "election sabotage." Now how making Trump's candidacy and the right of people to vote for him isn't election sabotage must require some elaborate rhetoric, and certainly she tried very hard to explain it. Naturally, it's all nonsense and she's basically, in the most respectful fashion I can dredge, an idiot with few redeeming qualities to hold the office currently held.
Yes, I know they 'care' and they think they are 'smarter' and they 'mean well'. These people have to save voters from themselves - it's the inherent rationale of their role and office - isn't it?
I do not support, nor do I even like, Trump. I'm not likely to vote for him. I do believe in the process, however, and it's become increasingly clear to me that however much I have turned against the Republican Party (which I left 20 years ago), the Democrats have become much worse over that period. They have reached their own point of intolerance and irredeemability. So taking these steps doesn't help anything at all.
Democracy is a massively flawed structure, to paraphrase Churchill it may be the worst system, except for all the others. It's my view that too many people have shifted into a binary, linear, mindset which means if you don't support their view, then you're just wrong and must be eliminated in some way. So naturally, what happened in some of these states is the modern political version of Cancel Culture. Of course, this must be capable of yielding "better leaders" - except that it won't. In fact, it's probably going to make leadership many times worse. I'd argue it's a form of fascism. All done quite 'legally', so that means it certainly can't be fascism. But it is.
I have had friends ask me who I think is going to win in 2024. I always reply the same. "I do not know. I do not care. I do not think we have any good choices. But I do think whoever wins, some will love that person and some will decide they have to hate that person and it's not going to get much better. Particularly if we keep trying to prevent them from running."
What's just as galling is reading media trying to somehow, using amazing feats of journalistic legerdemain, make the Democrats seem acceptable and tolerable. I have only one thing to say. One of my old tennis partners became mayor of my town. The Democrats spent a fortune get this person elected - money from outside town flowed in and was successful. Not once, but twice. This person is what I'd describe as a typical Democrat. I felt she was nice when we played tennis. I no longer will play with her. She has become intolerable. As has her council, which includes another person I play tennis with. I used to like him until he became a Democrat politician. I have played with him, because he tries hard, so I try to be civil. He and the mayor have, quite literally, ignored comments from citizens in town. The usual hand-waving and rationales have taken place. Our previous budget surplus, after about 6 years, is now gone. Our town storefronts became empty (hopefully reviving soon), but they have "planned out the future of the town" - and rammed their views through. Ultimately, it led to the loss of 4 of the 5 Democrat council seats of the 9 which were held. The councilmember I play with said "we are having meetings now on how to deal with our single vote majority so we can continue to push the agenda forward."
This is a perfect example of why I have come to despise politicians, and Democrats in particular. I simply responded to him "Did it ever occur to you that you lost those seats because the citizens DO NOT WANT the agenda?" He looked at me as if I had 3 heads and said "People need to get things they don't always understand. I think you know this." I replied "You recently asked me why I don't like politicians. But you gave me that answer and still don't understand?"
Unfortunately, what's been happening here in my town is pretty much in line with what's happening elsewhere. At least here, people are waking up and letting the votes count for something. Hopfully, events like Maine will be short-lived, reversed and we will get "better leaders" somehow - just not the way they want to do it. I remain an optimist and hope for the best. I hope 2024 will yield us positive outcomes despite the insanity we've been seeing and experiencing. I remain a true believer in the strength of the spirit from which the US was created.
