Election Day 2022: The Mid-Terms? Or The Penultimate Chapter?

 I'm worried. Really worried. The pundits are suggesting that the GOP will retake control of Congress, and that scares the sh*t out of me. The extremists that have taken control of the Grand Old Party and made it the Party of Fear and Hatred have an extremist agenda, one they've made no effort to conceal. So yeah, I'm worried. This could very well be the last election that even approaches what passes for a free and fair process in the US.

It's not like we don't have problems with the existing process, already tattered by gerrymandering, voter suppression and the like. The Republican assault on voting rights has been constant and multi-focused. And the Democrats haven't been nearly vocal or united enough to do anything to even slow them down. After packing the judiciary with conservative judges, the Rs have largely narrowed the path to redress. Which, for them, makes sense. As I said - it's not like they've been subtle about it. They've spent decades plotting a way to reduce the power of the average voter. It's been such a long process, I think most people have now accepted those past actions as 'normal' and 'logical' rather than the insidious poisoning of the entire political and governing process. 

We'll see the results - maybe - in this election. If the GOP manages to rebound and regrasp the legislative branch, they'll have what they need to control the judicial: the power to appoint. McConnell will dance in private and show his constipated smugness in public. Again. McCarthy... well, he's never been the brightest bulb in the pack, but he's eager to manipulate and bully on behalf of his own interests. We'll face another round of deeply flawed elections after the GOP rams through 'improvements' as they purge voter roles. In 2024, we'll be stuck again with Trump and his cronies, despite the mountains of evidence of corruption and sedition. And dear God, the fear-mongering and hateful conspiracy-loving weirdos will once again be waving their guns and bullying everyone. And millions will fade into the background - again - and come to accept this as 'normal'. 

The world is, according to the New York Times, worrying about democracy in the United States. I am too. Not just about democracy in this troubled country - but about the very survival of the country. We've allowed the entire place - politics, economy, culture, people - to be poisoned. We've done that, and allowed outsiders to do it too. 

Gods willing, we might just survive. Maybe.