Fear and Loathing in Cleveland
During his presidency, Abraham Lincoln received over 10,000 death threats. As he campaigned for reelection in 1864, the danger from a group of Baltimore residents seeking to fulfill that initiative forced Lincoln to travel covertly through that town on his way back to Washington. Unscrupulous journalists claimed that he wore a disguise, with no mention of the danger.
Despite pro-slavery sentiments that caused the Civil War and his eventual assassination, there is scant evidence that Lincoln’s electoral opponents publicly called for his murder. There were surely private declarations of such intent, but a quick search of the Web (admittedly not the most reliable form of research) shows that no elected official went on record with such an explicit demand. I’m talking specifically about opposition candidates, not the general public. It took 150 years for our society, and I use the term loosely, to descend to that level of madness.
In the rank atmosphere of what passes for a national convention, Trump “adviser” Al Baldasaro said that Hillary Clinton should be “put in the firing line” for mishandling classified emails. This poor excuse for an elected official (he is a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives) stood in front of the Republican candidate for president and called for the execution of his presumptive Democratic opponent. This happened in the United States, not some third-rate military dictatorship, though that is what we will be if Trump succeeds.
The Secret Service is investigating the incident, but that is not enough. When a former Marine (22 years of service) who allegedly represents veterans’ interests incites violence against a former Secretary of State, the true nature of GOP domestic terrorism becomes apparent. The act becomes all the more heinous when silently witnessed by a pathological egomaniac masquerading as a presidential candidate. This is not America, but a defective replica where white men in power feel free to spew whatever hatred comes to mind, while using police and paramilitary bigots to strong-arm minorities and women. And this is definitely not the honorable action demonstrated by the countless Marines and other veterans this deranged criminal claims to represent.
Hunter S. Thompson said, “I believe the Republicans have never thought that democracy was anything but a tribal myth.” If he were alive today, he would say without hesitation that Baldasaro’s behavior is totally unacceptable, an abject violation of law as well as decency that must not go unpunished. The circus of hate and contempt for the public good we have seen in Cleveland has permanently damaged the Republican party, but that is small beer compared to the damage it has done to the American soul.
The party of Lincoln? Hardly. More like the party of Charles Manson.
We must defeat these bastards. Our country is at stake.
