Politicians worthy of some love? Forget love, let's try survival.

I generally try to alternate politics and futurism with postings on science or scifi. But, well, these are fraught times and there will be no more science if oligarchy + know-nothing idiocrats triumph to restore 6000 years of lobotomizing feudalism, as Robert Heinlein so well warned.

And so, we'll have a 2nd political posting in a row. Starting first: might this be your most-influential political act? 

Sure, folks are stepping up to donate to the Harris campaign. Fine. Though there are more effective applications of small donor dollars. Or your time. For example, you might look around for a more local race that's very tight and where your $100 - or volunteer hours - could make a greater difference. Such smaller-but-vital races can be found even in states that are already deeply blue or thickly red. Here's a worthy one, for example.

Another small-donor opportunity that's very timely (and a reason to rush out this blog), has to do with the imminent choice of Kamala Harris's running mate. Right now Democratic Party mavens are measuring how many new, individual donors each of the VP front runners are bringing in. Thus you can influence her choice, simply by being a $5 New Donor for any of the top candidates.

Finally, two best things. (1) Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (remember the heroic sane Republican?) is helping run a campaign to recruit poll workers - folks who must remain scrupulously non-partisan, but who make a tremendous difference by ensuring an honest process and honest count. Please consider it and spread word to others. This is vital!

And what's #2? Well. The Union side in this latest, dangerous phase of the 250 year U.S. Civil War is badly lacking in one thing. Tactical imagination. Alas.

==  Can Vance... um... dance? == 

Ah, JD Vance is turning into an albatross around the neck of ol' Two Scoops. (See two fun songs linked below.) Polls show JDV with crushing negatives. So why did DT pick him? Trump said just days after: "The guy loves me! Nobody loves me more!" And yes, flattery is always the key to his heart. (It's how he 'fell in love' with murder-commie Kim Jong Un and with "ex" commissar Vlad Putin.) 

But no, that's not the core reason for choosing KDV (kan't dance vance). Nor is it the backing of Peter Thiel & pals. At the first order, this is about the one Trump trait that corners any MAGA: that Don's a terrible judge of character! 

Count the number of folks he called "great guys!!" who later "betrayed me!" In any single case, your MAGA can shrug off a treacherous 'establishmenter.' But when 40 of 44 high appointees refuse to endorse him and 30 of them have books denouncing him, then completely aside any policy or dogma, what's proved is that Donald Trump is an awesomely bad judge of character, worse than all other US presidents, combined.

Alas, no one uses that angle, or any other Polemical Judo. 

But okay then. Are there other pssibilities? Why else would he have chosen Vance?

Well, look at it from the Don's point of view. He needed a Veep who would be slavishly devoted and reliably dependent. (I mentioned the possibility of ensuring that with blackmail kompromat: "I'll make you veep after you do a photo shoot with a donkey. I'll keep the negatives safe.") And it must be strong enough kompromat to ensure JDV will drop out - on any excuse, should DT ever demand it. (As seems increasingly likely.)

Also, by DT's logic, having someone who is unappealing to the oligarchs (except Thiel & pals) is now a big plus. Especially since he knows that some oligarchs are having second thoughts about Donald Trump! Those educated enough to know what happened in 1933 Germany. Especially the Night of the Long Knives, when Hitler no longer needed the Prussian aristocrats. ("So, you still think you can control him?") 

Whatever their second thoughts, they won't be motivated to replace him with JDV. Vance's flaws may be features- in the eyes of Donny Two Scoops.


== But what about the extremum? ==

Of course none of that works in case of death. Nor would Vance even likely be the fallback GOP nominee, if Trump went away! At any time that Trump vanished from the scene, even a week before the election - (and I'm on record relentlessly begging the Secret Service to do well!) - I expect McConnell etc. would reconvene a virtual RNC, so the delegates might pick someone other than Vance. And if so, what then?

Oh, sure, Nikki Haley is the obvious Bushite choice. The angle she's been after all along and a tough cookie. Still, I'd add wager $ (give me odds) they'd coalesce upon Paul Ryan, long the prince-in-waiting of the Bush Wing of the Party. Likely with Manchin as VP pick for a 'unity ticket' during national mourning.

Okay, okay. So now we're in sci fi/Grisham thriller territory, sure. Still.... 

In fact, even post-election, if Trump vanished after the GOP ticket wins on paper, but before the electors actually vote, even then, the GOP electors would likely get orders from the Establishment to bypass Vance.

So, it's only when Trump exits after that, when Peter Thiel might get his dream puppet. And he would eventually, since DT's health will likely fade - even naturally - long before 2028. So... patience?

Okay, right. Again, am I writing semi-scifi thriller plots, rather than plausible political commentary? 

Sure. And my answer is that we live in such times. And we will, until we finally exit phase 8 of the US Civil War, ending the era begun by Gingrich and Hastert and Boehner that transformed the very notion of negotiated 'politics' into 'never negotiate and always demonize!' Achieving an end to calmly negotiated politics IS the primary goal that has been achieved by unholy alliance of fanatical parties. And yes, some elements of the farthest left have been complicit. See first comment by me, below.

Anyway, here are those Vance songs. enjoy. 

A nice recent Snark by some talented young musicians...

But this one is just too classic...

 

== Our heroes on the Realist Left ==

Not all ‘woke progressives’ are crazy, bent on betraying the blue coalition. There are pragmatist-leftist heroes!  In fact, Bernie, Liz, Stacey, Jaime, Hakeem and others seem to be spending half their time herding frippy sanctimony ‘cats’ back into the only coalition that can possibly save civilization. Reminding dopes of the wonderful miracle year – 2021-22 – when Pelosi and Biden got passed a whole raft of terrific legislation that – among other things – led to today’s supercharged revival of U.S. manufacturing, skyrocketing installation of sustainables, raising tens of millions out of poverty, and restoring our alliances, driving Vlad the im-putiner crazy. 

(Dare your flake-friends to name and describe those bills, before they rave about "They're all the same!") See just some of those bills here. And they created a floor from which a new Congress can do more. Bernie and Liz know that! Do you?

Favorite among those? Future president AOC. She may be to my left a bit, but we love her! And more so when she shredded Klan Mom Marjorie Taylor Greene.

== Final rant! WHY won't anyone make these things explicitly clear? ==

Across the US and a more often than not in Red States, Grand juries (mostly white retirees) have indicted -- and other juries convicted -- roughly 40 to 60 x as many high republicans as democrats. I do not exaggerate! And the paroxysms/excuses to explain this tie the Foxites in knots.

Either it is a perfect, alien-level conspiracy involving hundreds of thousands, even millions, of skilled and reciprocally competitive professionals... a conspiracy that has never leaked a scintilla of hard evidence, without even one defector who accepted lavish 'whistle blower rewards' offered by Fox, Kochs etc... 

...or else...

... or else today's GOP is a massive (and partly Kremlin-run) criminal gang. 

Look at the images above. Let's wager $$$ stakes over ANY of these monsters. But even worse than those devil-traitors Bannon and Flynn? OMG Manafort. DT's twice campaign manager and devoted Putin stooge and so much more. 

Oh, let's also bet on ratios of child predators?

Or wager over which party has better outcomes? Economically, or in regards fiscal prudence or any other metric of decent governance? Never once has one of the fanatic cowards stepped up with atty-escrowed $$$ wager stakes. For all their macho preenings, they are not men.

And alas, none of the good guys will ever use this never-miss method. Alack.