2024 Election

 

The election of 2024 will be unique. 

Thomas Matthew Crooks on July 13, 2024, in Butler County, PA, tried to assassinate Donald Trump, but ended up wounding two and killing one. He was bullied regularly in High School. He bought his rifle legally and was not under suspicion by law enforcement. Many questions about how he was given such a clear shot have arisen. Ryan Wesley Routh initiated another assassination attempt on Sunday, September 15, 2024 at a Trump property while he was golfing.

I have come across the Dignity Index, which seeks to promote respect for the opposition in the public square. I would encourage anyone to read it.

The GOP convention had many powerful moments. As vice-President, Trump has selected J. D. Vance, someone who will be loyal to him, but who, given his Marine background, his rise from rural Ohio, and his education, will bring youth and vitality to the ticket. 

The speech by Trump accepting the GOP nomination was calm. I highlight what I think were moments when Trump appealed for unity.

The discord and division in our society must be healed. As Americans, we are bound together by a single fate and a shared destiny. We rise together. Or we fall apart. I am running to be president for ALL of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America. 

Despite such a heinous attack, we unite this evening more determined than ever. Our resolve is unbroken, and our purpose is unchanged--to deliver a government that serves the American People.

Nothing will stop me in this mission. Because our vision is righteous and our cause is pure.

No matter what obstacle comes our way: we will not break. We will not bend. We will not back down. And I will never stop fighting for you, your family, and our magnificent country. 

Everything I have to give, with all of the energy and fight in my heart and soul, I pledge to our nation tonight.

This election should be about the issues facing our country and how to make America successful, safe, free, and great again. In an age when our politics too often divide us, now is the time to remember that we are all fellow citizens—we are one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. 

Just a few short days ago, my journey with you nearly ended. And yet here we are tonight, all gathered together, talking about the future, promise, and renewal of America. We live in a world of miracles. 

None of us knows God’s plan, or where life’s adventure will take us. But if the events of last Saturday make anything clear, it is that every single moment we have on earth is a gift from God. We have to make the most of every day for the people and country we love.

The attacker in Pennsylvania wanted to stop our movement—but the truth is, this movement has never been about me, it has always been about YOU. It has always been about the hardworking, patriotic citizens of America. 

Your expectations are not big enough. It is time to start expecting and demanding the best leadership in the world, leadership that is bold, dynamic, relentless, and fearless. 

We are Americans. Ambition is our heritage. Greatness is our birthright.  

But as long as our energies are spent fighting each other, our destiny will remain out of reach. We must instead take that energy and use it to realize our country’s true potential—and write our own thrilling chapter of the American Story. 

It is a story of love, sacrifice, success, and unmatched devotion. 

Just like our ancestors, we must now come together, rise above past differences and disagreements, and go forward united, as one people, and one nation, pledging allegiance to one great and beautiful American flag. 

Tonight, I ask for your partnership, for your support, and I am humbly asking for your vote. Every day, I will strive to honor the trust you have placed in me, and I will never let you down.

 

Trump delivered a speech at Turning Point USA. I advise watching the full speech, as he is sharpening his speech against Harris and refining the presentation of what he hopes to do with a second term. For me, he came across as calm and moderate. I did not think the Democrat Party could do that, but with Kamala Harris and her left-wing extreme agenda, Trump is the moderate in this race. I do not advise taking the Harris interpretation of the speech as anything other than wishful thinking on their part:

 

“Tonight, Donald Trump couldn’t pronounce words, insulted the faith of Jewish and Catholic Americans, lied about the election (again), lied about other stuff, bragged about repealing Roe, proposed cutting billions in education funding, announced he would appoint more extremist judges, revealed he planned to fill a second Trump term with more criminals like himself, attacked lawful voting, went on and on and on, and generally sounded like someone you wouldn’t want to sit near at a restaurant – let alone be President of the United States."

 

The lackluster performance of Joe Biden in the first debate and his continued feebleness led many Democrat political leaders to urge him to drop out of the race. It surprised me, but it worked. Kamala Harris is the nominee. The rapid unity of the Democrat Party behind her on the surface is surprising. The immediate influx of money is superficially surprising. However, it all appears orchestrated. After the debate, President Obama guided Biden off the stage. This began the efforts to get Biden to step down from being the nominee of the Party. It seems clear Pelosi, Obama, Schumer, and the Clintons run the Party and have guided this process. If we learn the truth, my suspicion is that Harris or another member of the Cabinet threatened Biden with invoking the 25^th amendment and shame him into stepping down from a nomination process in which he proved himself the favorite of Democrat voters. In that sense, it was a coup, but obviously, not in the sense of a threat of violence. My suspicion all along has been that the Biden presidency is the third term of Obama, and I think this process indicates that is true. As I understand it, Obama and the Clintons do not like each other, but they want the Democrat Party in power and they have a deep disgust of Donald Trump, especially since he is, in their words, a threat to democracy, coupled with viewing him as fascist with dictator plans. Harris brings much to the table. Her gender and ethnicity will form a sharp contrast with the GOP ticket that will be attractive to many. It will feed the narrative that Trump and the GOP are racist and misogynist. 

The shift in the media has been swift. It was not long ago that most of the media defended the competency of Biden and said the accusation to the contrary was right wing propaganda. The push was on to have Biden step away from being the Democrat nominee, even though he had won the primary. The reason had nothing to do with his health and everything to do with the fear that he would lose. The shift was also swift in recasting Harris from being an ineffective VP who had trouble with keeping staff to being a rock star. One cannot dismiss lightly the free campaign ads that many news outlets will offer. 

I cannot vote for Harris. We were told in 2020 that she had run one of the worst campaigns in modern presidential history—mechanical, off-putting, unpleasant, incompetent, and arrogant. Then we were told that she was one of the worst vice presidents in modern history—free of accomplishment, running a completely dysfunctional office with extraordinary rates of staff turnover.  The policy toward Israel is enough for me. Harris would not even greet Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of the only liberal democracy in the Middle East. Harris said antisemitic, pro-Hamas campus protesters showed “exactly what the human emotion should be.” In the past, she has openly protested with Islamic Republic propagandists from the National Iranian American Council. The lack of interest in getting to a balanced budget is another. The rise of Russia and China, I think taking advantage of the weakness of Biden-Harris on the world stage, is of concern. The influx of illegal entry into the country from the border with Mexico is of concern to me. She backed defund the police. In addition to nationalizing health care and education, Harris wants the government to control the manufacturing sector, the auto industry, food … and any industry that emits carbon. Harris was in favor of getting rid of the filibuster to overturn state voting laws, nationalizing abortion on demand until birth, and passing the Green New Deal—an authoritarian takeover of the economy written by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. She is a fan of obedience to authority, especially of Democrat-run government, at the expense of personal freedom in ways that are deeply un-American.

Sadly, both parties have given the American people a choice between two people, and many Americans do not like either one. I realize enthusiasts of both parties would disagree with this, but I might be right about this. As for me, feeling like I do not have a political party is something to which I will need to adjust, in that 2016, 2020, and 2024 are alike in that regard.

Given the outcome of the primaries, this writer feels like he does not have a political party of which to be a part. Regarding the 2024 election, because it has become so unique, I will be paying more attention than I intended. I have read the Democrat Party platform. The Dem platform had entire chapters with which I disagreed, climate change agenda being the big one. However, entire chapters seemed like an alternate universe to me. I just do not see the world scene or the military, for example, being in such wonderful shape as the document says. I certainly do not see the economy as being such great shape as the document suggests. More than that, I can only assume that this document stands as the Harris agenda, although most of it understandable refers to Biden. It rarely mentioned Biden (7 times in 24 pages), whereas Dems mentioned Trump 150 times in 91 pages, and refers to the MAGA crowd in a derogatory way regularly. The Dems in tone were polemical, broadsides against their opponents. Polemics can help people see the differences between two sides. The weakness of a polemic is that it exaggerates one’s own virtues and paints the opponent as if they have nothing to contribute to the country. Overall, I get that they really do not like Trump, but that is not a policy. I also get that they think a climate emergency requires immediate action, and I do not. I also get that they want abortions mandated as a right rather than differentiated democratically within the states, which I also disagree with. They think democracy is at risk when they are the ones who removed their own nominee through elites, replaced the voted upon nominee by the elite, and have colluded with social media to suppress free speech, as Zuckerberg has recently admitted. They really like the American Rescue Plan. They think they have done a great job on the border. They think they have done a great job with crime. It shows that when it comes to statistics, one can make them serve any agenda one wants.

In contrast, the GOP platform is nice, a 21—page statement of the values to which it is committed and the principles it will use to get there. 

I would encourage anyone to read the two platforms and decide which sounds like the direction you would like to see the country go.

I am not surprised by the difference, and I am not surprised by my reaction to them. 

I will read articles. I watched much of the GOP convention. I listened to the Trump speech at the convention twice. However, I have books I want to write and a retired life to enjoy. 

Both sides use the language of saving America from the other side, but I think America needs saving from both sides. The television show Fallout (2024) showed a dystopian future created by two opposing groups who believed the world needed to be saved from the other side. I want to calmly consider this election. 

Given these views, the candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. attracted me. I was considering voting for him, but he has shifted his support to Trump. The video of him doing this is worth watching. I cannot think of anything he said that I would disagree with. Yes, I would be happy to see him in a Trump administration. Tulsi Gabbard, another former Democrat, supports Trump. Elon Musk, another former Democrat, supports Trump. It reminds me that Ronald Reagan was a former Democrat. It may well be that some former members of the Democrat Party will set the country in a good direction. I add that in the primaries of the GOP my preferred candidates were Tim Scott and Nikki Haley, both of whom would have a better chance of winning this election than does Donald Trump.

Both parties have had the language of the other side as being a threat to democracy, although this phrasing is a theme of the Democrat Party. What I want to do here is show that if we are going to use that language, which I do not think either side should, one could make the accusation toward the Democrat Party.

Too many journalists think their job is to take Donald Trump down. They convince themselves it is not simply because they hate him, but it is for a noble cause. This hatred creates a powerful alliance between journalists, entertainment industry, academics, and the Democrat Party. An issue that unites the Democrat Party is its dislike of Donald Trump. They must save the country from Donald Trump, for he is a threat to democracy. the accusation of Fascism, and the accusation of insurrection on January 6. To be clear, I do fault Donald Trump in bringing election denial into the GOP. I understand that for some people this is disqualifying. Yet, it was not disqualifying for Al Gore or for Hillary Clinton to deny the validity of their election defeats. I would also argue that what the Democrat Party has done is a threat to democracy. Al Gore, although he finally conceded the election, united with his party in saying George W. Bush is the “selected” President. Hillary Clinton was behind the Russian Narrative that has now been shown to be the Russia Hoax, This act subverted the President Trump. Although Hillary Clinton conceded the election, she has many times expressed her regret in doing so. Further evidence of a threat to democracy is that it is easy to refer to the number of indictments against Trump, but given the context of the weaponizing of federal agencies against conservatives and especially against Trump, the political nature of the indictments needs exploration. These articles show that Obama, Biden, and Clinton have willingly used the FBI and CIA against their political opponents. These actions began under Obama and Biden with the IRS undermining politically conservative causes but became high powered politics with enlisting government agencies in the undermining of the legitimate successor to Obama, the legitimacy of which was challenged by Hillary Clinton and many in the Democrat Party. 

What I find striking here is that the same cabal that undermined the Trump presidency, impeached Trump, accused Trump of insurrection, and brought legal challenges to Trump, also engineered the departure of Joe Biden from this race. I also find it striking that the Party united around Kamala Harris, who received zero delegates in the 2020 primary. Money guided this unusual process. If Harris were not on the ticket, the money would have to be returned to the donors. As soon as Biden stepped down, money flowed to the Democrat Party.

I say all this to suggest that both sides can rightly be accused of exhibiting undemocratic behavior, the democrat leadership by undermining a duly elected president with a hoax and Trump by continuing to deny he lost the election. It is not easy to lose. The country is deeply and evenly divided. Close national elections will be reality for the foreseeable future. 

The unity of the Democrat Party is in sharp contrast to the political Right, which is not united about Trump. The never-Trump conservative and the always-Trump conservative do not part company so much on ideas as on the efficacy of having Trump being the messenger for them. However, the GOP convention showed that many conservatives will work with Trump. It may well be that many conservative politicians are seeing the political landscape changing, bringing the GOP out of the “country club Republican” territory and into the territory of laborers, the middle class, and racial diversity. 

In contrast, the alliance on the political right also thinks it must save the country from what it views as a progressive movement that hates the country in which it lives, exemplifying this hatred in the way it understands the founders of the country, the founding documents, and its interpretation of American history. It is also anti-Christian, doing all it can to weaken the morality of the country to advance its agenda. The weaponizing of government agencies mentioned above for political purposes when in power ought to be of concern to all Americans across the political spectrum. It is not. The reaction of opponents to Trump has contributed to the deepening loyalty of part of the political Right to him and deepened their anger toward the political Left.

The rise of Donald Trump contributes to the sense of the lack of normalcy in the discussion that takes place in the public square. I am not blaming Trump, although he contributes to this. I was there when the 1960s, when Lyndon Johnson presented Barry Goldwater as the man who would lead to nuclear war, and when Jimmy Carter did the same against Ronald Reagan. I was there when George W Bush was depicted as a fascist and when some portrayed Obama in a similar light. In the 2024 election, the responsibility lays with both the intensity of support Trump receives from the populist Right and the intensity of opposition he arouses from the progressive Left. Many will vote the way they always do, for either the most liberal or the most conservative candidate available and will not attach the level of feeling to their vote that others will. 

Democrat leaders want to talk about a return to normalcy after the presidency of Donald Trump. However, both coalitions have their angry segments that inhibit such a return. The dehumanizing of the opponent is part of the sense that we have departed from normalcy. There is no place in this study for the shibboleths of either side of the political spectrum. In this space, we will calmly consider the issues that divide the two parties, and even how there is some common ground.

If anyone wants a return normalcy, one will need to model it. My articles show that the Democrat Party does not want a return normalcy as it relates to the heightened rhetoric against Trump and the GOP. In contrast, the vulnerability they have to a lack of healthy patriotism and a healthy view of the American role in the world causes them to create a shiny object of fascism, insurgency, and sympathy for dictators that would, if true, be a danger to democracy. Portraying political opponents as extremists (while acting like an extremist), trying to persuade the electorate that Republicans are an existential threat to our democracy, is hardly returning to normalcy. It is not normalcy to have your political opponent removed from the ballot. 

None of this bodes well for a healthy political conversation at the presidential level during 2024. It is why some of on the political Right looked at Nikki Haley as a way toward a healthier political conversation in the public square.