The upcoming election and foolishness abounding

George Lakoff has often pointed out that small-l liberalism is mired in 18th century thinking that really just doesn't work in 21st century politics. (His analysis is much deeper and broader than that, but that's part of it). Anyway, I guess this applies to me squarely. Because I simply cannot understand how this election, both in my own state and in the nation, can possibly be even somewhat close. We have one party which is consistently seeking to overthrow the small-d democratic order, lies openly in its campaigns and ads about just about everything, and has no agenda at all other than reduce taxes for the rich and pander to the mean spirited hatefulness of the ultra right. I submit that although colored by my political ideology, these simple statements are essentially facts. The other party, while hardly a paragon of consistency, and marked by horribly inconsistent messaging, is basically trying to act rationally; to accept facts; to deal with the realities of climate change, global economic problems, etc. etc. So you would think just about everyone with, as folks used to say, "a whit of sense," would reject the Republicans en masse and vote for Democrats. But that is not what is happening. It is close everywhere, but that will translate into losses for Democrats. Some places. It is still possible, of course, that Democrats will win a significant margin in many states and retain the House and build a margin in the Senate (since two of our members are completely unreliable as Democrats). Possible, but most of the pundit class seems to think unlikely at this point. And I just cannot grasp how this could be so. Except that I realize I am taking a false premise as a given, that being that most people are rational actors and vote in their own self-interest. Clearly 2016 proved that was not the case, if it needed proving. But I am a slow learner. I still shake my head. And hope for the best. 

 

"If you want the present to be different from the past, study the past."
― Spinoza