We have been waiting four long years for this day to arrive. Frankly, I am so nervous about the whole thing that I had trouble sleeping last night (as I knew I would). Good thing I have today and tomorrow off from work.
Today could very well be a historic day, for better or worse. I pray it won’t be for worse. But I just don’t see how this is going to end well. I don’t see Trump just giving up if he loses, which seems highly likely. The problem is our system just isn’t designed to cope with a bad actor like Trump. Believe it or not, the transfer of power is NOT something that is dictated by the Constitution and protected by the laws. For the most part, a peaceful transfer of power is just assumed. Because previously, virtually everyone elected President of the United States was willing to uphold the general standards and norms established by their predecessors.
And therein lies the problem.
Trump is far from normal. He doesn’t care about norms or precedent. If Trump decides we aren’t going to have a peaceful transfer of power, then we aren’t going to have one. He certainly has been egging on his followers to act out violently, especially if he loses. And he has apparently already decided that the best way for him to “win” is to just declare himself the winner sometime late today, most likely at a time when he sees himself as being ahead. Our system just isn’t designed to cope with that, especially if the courts or the Department of Justice are corrupted by political hackery. The only other alternative is impeachment of the President, but we already know that isn’t going to happen in a Mitch McConnell-controlled Senate.
I am waiting with very nervous anticipation to see what happens next today.
~Geoff
The Books are Taking Over... 