I spent most of the week wondering which was better - or at least which would result in the least evil: President Trump or President Cruz. So first of all you know that even for me to be thinking this way, we are in a very bad place.
Surprisingly the answer is Trump. He is a fascist, bearing resemblance to Mussolini. Hopefully he is just Berlusconi, a fascist contained. I do believe even now in the constitution. I believe it is robust enough, even if there is a still a vacancy on the court, to prevent most of his malign policies. The exception would be the Wall, which he is now very committed to as ridiculous as it is. But I think he is egotistical enough to be subject to manipulation by flattery at least enough to serve the big corporate interests and avoid a war with Mexico.
Cruz however is not manipulable. He is not a team player. Everyone who has worked with him hates him. He is entirely and unapologetically self-seeking, dishonest and obsessively ideological. He also believes he is on a mission from God. He does not believe in the same constitution that most of us were even taught about. He does not believe for example that the constitution protects the separation of church and state. Given his direct connection to God's will, this is extremely dangerous for non-Christians like me.
But after Christie declared for Trump yesterday, presumably in a bid for VP, I think it is clear finally this is it. Trump will win the nomination. The craziness is over let the new craziness begin. Its so crazy that I find myself agreeing with Lindsay Graham!
I liked Christie. Before Bridge-gate. I liked when he hugged Obama because he got him disaster money after Hurricane Sandy. I liked him because he seemed authentic, practical and moderate. Conservatives are at their best when they are pragmatic. But Bridge-gate showed him to be a bully...or his staff at least. Do you know what that is? Basically his staff wanted to coerce the Mayor of Fort Lee into supporting him as Governor and closed down the toll plazas on the George Washington Bridge. No-one could get in or out of New York becasue Christie was having a toddler tantrum. Sorry I mean his staff were. He didn't know anything about it.
This endorsement for Trump is pure pragmatism, but without value. Trump is not a conservative. He is a a radical fascist. When he says he will make America great again there is no version of America before that matches his vision of 'white' greatness to which to return the clock.
After tonight's performance in South Carolina, the Democrat ticket also seems to be in 'game over'. We always new it was a problem for Sanders to win the black vote, which is older, activist and loyal to the Clinton machine. They both worked incredibly hard the last month to convince us that they were the successor to Obama, but in the end the Democratic voters of SC went with the successor to the Clinton presidency.
I know - we should wait for Super Tuesday. In just a couple of days 13 states will vote and it will be clear who is going to be nominated. The rest of us will vote later but it probably won't matter. (I have to be registered by May 23 in order to vote in the June Primary. My citizenship interview is on March 22.)
But its going to be Clinton vs Trump.
So just a few questions left:
1. Will Bloomberg stand as an independent, splitting the vote three ways and allowing Trump to win with 34%?
2. Will the monied interests favour the safety of Clinton over Trumps unpredictability?
3. Will Republicans of any hue (Rubio, Cruz and Bush) detest Clinton so much, and believe so greatly in the evidence of the emails as proof of her corruption, that they will vote for Trump over Clinton?
4. Who will be the VP's?
5. Will the Sanders supporters rally around Clinton to protect against Trump?
What I have to do now is smother my Sanders excitement and try to muster some support for Clinton (I liked her in 2008!!!) But it is a challenge. Maybe that's why we need this lull between Super Tuesday and the Convention, so that you have time to forget Bernie and get excited about Hillary. Its a challenge. But the alternative is unthinkable: Trump or Cruz.
But I don't think Bernie will go quietly. He will make some noise about Super-delegates and big corporate funding in the Democrat party. Do you know what this is? - I suspect you are going to hear all about it now for about 4 months!
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