Helene and the Georgia Vote

“…Well the wind is blowin' harder now, 50 knots or there about. There's white caps on the ocean and I am watchin’ for water spouts…”  Tryin’ to Reason With the Hurricane Season…Jimmy Buffett… In spite of Hurricane Helene, three days without power, and four days of cleaning up downed trees, quite by accident, I got a close look at the engine room of MAGA, not the loud attention grabbers, but the true believers. In spite of being one of the world’s foremost cynics, I’ll admit, I got schooled. The occasion wasn’t political in nature, it was a memorial service for a guy married to a family member, but it didn’t take long for politics to surface. I knew within a few minutes that I was the most liberal person in the room, and I’m nobody’s idea of a classic liberal. The guy who’d died was a conservative Christian, so it stood to reason that many in attendance would share similar beliefs, political views and lifestyles. I expected a little political chatter because the election is next month, but I was surprised at how quickly the presidential race came up with no prodding or questions. Since I wasn’t acquainted with most of the people, I spent my time listening intently rather than talking, and I learned a great deal. These are not a bunch of wack jobs living on a mountain top in Idaho, wearing a tin foil hat to protect their thoughts from the government, and writing doomsday manifestos. These are law abiding, tax paying, working class Americans, good citizens, good neighbors and church goers. While they voice concerns about the deep state, federal law enforcement, federal regulatory agencies, and the honesty of the vote count in presidential elections, they are strong supporters of local law enforcement. Their belief in Donald Trump is rock solid, and they see him as the last chance to save what they believe is a failing country. They see the country in serious trouble morally, economically and culturally. They believe Trump lost the last election due to wholescale fraud. They treat Trump’s lies, felony conviction and January 6th with a shrug of the shoulders, he’s their guy and they’ll stick with him. The one issue that I heard the most was immigration, and the threat the southern border and illegal immigrants pose. If abortion is the republicans' “third rail”, immigration belongs to the democrats. Nothing else, including the economy was close, it’s all about illegal immigrants. The economy only came into the conversation in terms of prices at the grocery store and the gas pumps. There was no interest in foreign policy, they believed that no money should have gone to Ukraine, it should have stayed at home to help Americans. They get their news from Fox and consider other networks questionable. They view Kamala Harris with disdain-- mixed race female, from California, too much into DEI, and as VP, culpable in Biden’s mistakes. They are pure and simply mesmerized by Trump. There is nothing that can happen in the next 30 days that will change the minds of the people I listened to last weekend. A democratic political operative would have had a cold chill run down his spine if he’d been in that room. This election is on a razor’s edge, too close to call, and will be decided by 6 swing states, and one of them is Georgia, where this conversation took place…