It has been hard to make any comments about anything over the last few weeks.
I wanted to write about the continued spread of SARS-CoV-2, the recognition of Israel by the United Arab Emirates, the fires in Washington and California, and everything else that has been going in the world.
My problem has been my inability to watch the Donald Trump Show despite my conviction that what happens in the next American election will have far-reaching consequences for many of the issues and challenges the country and the world are facing.
The Donald show includes the Republican National Convention, the constant barrage of lies and half-truths coming from the White House, the so-called debate last week, and the overwhelming hypocrisy of the Republican establishment as they rush to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg with Amy Coney Barret.
The last issue is not about Judge Barret’s qualifications or her political and religious views but is about being consistent with what these same people said four years ago when they refused to let Barak Obama’s pick even come up for a vote with the argument that an election was only 9 months away!
Now the show has moved to a critical stage as Donald finds himself in the hospital with the virus he said was not a big deal. His wife and a number of his aides are also infected as it seems no one would wear a mask in the President’s presence!
Given the state of play, my suggestion to the Republican party would be for Trump to withdraw from the race due to his illness and thus save him from losing. They could run Mike Pense in his place and be really honest, delay the vote on Judge Barret until after the election. Pence will mobilize the Christian right and do so without them having to hold their nose when thinking about Trump’s sexual conduct. If elected he would be totally within his right to nominate Judge Barret and begin to unwind the legality of abortion in the United States.
If the Republicans were to do such a thing, then the best play for the Democrats would be for Biden to also withdraw in favor of Kamala Harris. Harris is younger, more vibrant than Joe, and would clearly signal that the Democrats are for inclusion, fairness, and the rule of law.
My understanding is that there are a number of sharp disagreement across the United States about many things. Donald Trump and his team have used these disagreements to further polarize the country and pit different groups against one another.
Joe Biden is the Democratic nominee precisely because he rises above many of these issues and appeals to those ideas and ideals that bring Americans together, rather than driving them further apart.
In my view, both Kamala Harris and Mike Pence are honest people who would also try to bring people together although they come from very different places. A debate between them could potentially be about ideas, values, and policies and help the American people decide what kind of country they want to strive for rather than being mired in the muck of Trumps’ reality TV show.