Bernie post mortem

Matt Taibbi gets it.

And sadly, although the existence of Trump-the-nominee SHOULD be the perfect opportunity for the Dems to shake things up, it also sets up a situation where even people dissatisfied with the status quo recognize the huge danger in a Trump administration, and so those who supported Sanders and tried to send a message of our disapproval with business as usual can't afford to give that message strongly enough to have it truly stick, and that means another President Clinton and a Democratic Party that learns no lesson, because to them, the outcome is all that matters.

Watch for Hillary to back off from the Bernie platform she seemed so intent on claiming as her own a month or two back.  She doesn't need it any more, and the fact that a huge number of Democrats, including a large number of younger voters expressed their wish for change gets lost in the shuffle.

This is why I beg of you all, stop effing lecturing me on how I have to get on the Hillary train.  I'm not stupid, I know what's at stake, and in the end, I'll do the only thing that makes any sense.  But for a while, I'm going to take a break.  I'll vote the way I have to, but I'm not going to stump for her, I'm not going to make calls for her or donate to her, and the more pissant assholes lecture me about getting on board, the longer I'm going to resist admitting to myself that I really don't have any other acceptable option.

Supreme Court

I kind of hope President Obama withdraws the nomination of Merrick Garland the day after the election, if Clinton wins.  Garland was a peace offering, a compromise candidate, and much better for the Republicans than they'd get from President Clinton.  He shouldn't be left on the table for the Republicans to grab if they lose the Presidential election.

I don't think their foot dragging should then be rewarded.  If they make the country wait an entire year with a hamstrung Supreme Court, then they should live with that decision.  Their intention is to wait and hope a Republican takes the White House.  If they continue to bank on Trump, the gamble should not be a zero cost gambit for them the result should be being forced to hold hearings on much less centrist jurists...

Hillary Defeats Bernie. Whoop-de-f***ing-doo.

I know who I'm voting for... but it's absolutely going to be holding my nose and voting.

First and foremost because I've been saying since the run-up to 2000 that dynastic, nepotistic Presidencies are a bad idea. Was bad when it was W, was bad when it was Jeb, is bad now that it's Hillary.

If the Republicans hadn't nominated a complete whack job, I might sit this one out. If they had actually nominated someone reasonable (which they haven't done since perhaps Bob Dole), I might even have voted that way.

As it is (warning, this is sort of Godwin's law, although hopefully you'll get my point), I keep coming back to the question someone asked me about Nazi Germany: How the hell did Hitler come to power? How did it happen? How many good people stood aside or ignored their personal concerns and supported the guy?

I'm not saying Trump is Hitler. I'm not saying I have any reason to believe he'd BE Hitler. I *AM* saying that we really don't know WHAT he'd do, and he's already shown a tendency to believe the rules don't apply to him and to believe that the President has way more dictatorial-level powers than it actually does... and in today's climate of inaction in the Congress, all it will take is someone with the force of personality to just do what he wants to do along with a Congress that couldn't cooperate long enough to tie their own shoes, and it doesn't really matter what the President is ALLOWED to do, it matters what he DOES.

So honestly, the only reason I'm willing to override my objection to the dynastic Presidency is because the alternative is SO terrible, and so potentially ruinous.

And by the way, can people PLEASE stop lecturing me on what I "have to do now"? I have very real concerns. Of course I'll do what's best for the country when it comes time to vote, but for right now, I just want to pretend it's OK for me to abstain from this one, because both major parties made TERRIBLE choices.