The Most Important Vote Ever

Blog#203-6/3/24

THE MOST IMPORTANT VOTE EVER
By Richard Davis

The November presidential election will be the most consequential election in the history of the American republic. We’ve heard that before, but this time it’s for real. If a convicted felon, who also happens to be a deranged egomaniac intent upon turning this country into a dictatorship, wins this election the United States will head into uncharted territory.

Those who support the orange maniac don’t see any problem with this new direction. It is clear to me and many others that those who follow Trump are the worst kind of cult followers. It still confounds me how the U.S. congress Republican majority still supports him. They have made it clear that all they care about is votes and they have decided that following him is their best bet for grabbing more power.

There were many times during the ascension of the Trump regime that I was sure that political leaders would throw him under the bus. He was saying things that were clearly lies and he was fomenting revolution in too many ways. Even the January 6 attempted coup was not enough to force politicians to cast him aside as being seditious and harmful to this country.

The judge in Trump’s recent trial will sentence him on July 11. He has the option of putting Trump in jail for up to 20 years. Talking heads are all over the place speculating on the sentence. Given the fact that Trump showed no remorse, was found to be in contempt of court 10 times during the trial and that he trashed the judge and the entire judicial system, it is my hope that he does have to spend some time in jail.

Of course, the master of appeal will try to tie this case up as long as he can by having his lawyers argue all kinds of reasons why the verdict should be overturned. The whole circus may play out past the November election. While I would very much like to see Trump serve jail time, that issue seems irrelevant to the election.

Trump will now join a list of at least 17 world leaders who have been convicted of crimes. Some have served jail time. Trump is not the first to be labeled a criminal by his country’s courts and he won’t be the last. The question for voters is, “What will it mean for the United States if we elect a convicted felon to be President?”

Trump’s followers won’t even give that question serious consideration because, while they might believe they are patriotic Americans, they are really doing everything they can to destroy our form of government and to undermine the rule of law. They, like Trump, have become deranged zealots who follow a leader who acts to promote hatred, racism and violence.

I want to believe that a majority of Americans will realize how important this election is and that they will turn out to vote in unprecedented numbers. That is the only hope we have of stopping this march to power that has too many frightening resemblances to the rise of Hitler and the Third Reich.

Our vote has never been more important in the 248 year history of a country that was created in part to cast off the oppression of a repressive leader. We need the biggest voter turnout ever to make sure that Trump never wants to think about running for office again and so he cannot claim election fraud when he loses by 30 million votes.