The Strange Trip to DC

“…Sometimes the light’s all shining on me, other times I can barely see. Lately it’s occurred to me, what a long strange trip it’s been…” Truckin’…The Grateful Dead… Less than 100 days from a presidential election, am I the only one that thinks there doesn’t seem to be the intensity, or level of news coverage as in prior elections? Case in point, the lead story on both TV and internet this week has been Grace Slick of Jefferson Starship turning 84 and Hurricane Debby soaking Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. So, after we’ve broken out the rain gear and put fresh batteries in everything, how about the election? It seems both candidates are coasting. Excluding the culture warriors on the left and right, the swing voters in the middle seem a little bored and indifferent. One possible explanation is a large swath of the electorate don’t like either candidate, what they see is SSDD (same shit different day). A Republican Party run by storefront preachers, self-appointed moralists, and witch hunters who are always pissed at anybody different than them. The guy who runs the Republican Party is a clown with a big mouth, a convicted felon that kind of reminds you of a guy you punched out in high school for insulting your girlfriend. That same group of middle voters, who are nor the least bit enthused, see a Democratic Party that spends money like the proverbial drunken sailor, has pushed inflation to the point that hamburger, gasoline and medicine are a luxury, and left the backdoor to the country (the southern border) wide open, all in the name of DEI and progressive ideals. The lady who now runs the Democratic Party is a ghost, far more palatable than the other guy, but still a ghost. She’s been Vice President for four years, but by choice, or her boss’s decision, always seemed to be back in the shadows. She was chosen to be the Democratic Presidential Candidate by democratic power brokers and Hollywood stars, without the normal primary campaign because her boss got old, frail, forgetful, and was one jump away from the glue factory. In California, prior to being Vice President, she had titles, and her name on the door, but was never a “game changer”. The run-up to November will continue to look, as Winston Churchill said about Russia, “…a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma…” Harris acting like she’s walking on broken glass and Trump is bouncing off the walls. So far, Harris has run a cautious campaign, obviously working to avoid verbal gaffs, and not giving many specifics about what a Harris White House would look like. Several media sources say she’s getting guidance from former Obama advisors who helped him get elected, twice. Trump on the other hand is making a few appearances in front of solidly MAGA groups and continuing to ignore the swing voters. There’s been nothing new in his messaging; it’s been a shrill rehashing of a stolen election, glorifying the Jan 6th rioters, and a litany of threats against anybody who crossed him. I’m a little surprised that neither candidate, nor party, has paid more attention to the consequences of the “down ballot” races. President Harris with a Republican House and Senate can kiss most of her progressive agenda goodbye, and President Trump with a Democratic House and Senate can plan on being impeached before the Christmas presents get opened. And the swing voters, they know what they’re going to do, but they’re not talking. A friend of mine recently said he couldn’t vote for either of them and planned to leave the presidential space blank and skip to the down ballot races where there were candidates he wanted to support. I admit, his idea has a certain flair, but personally, I know I’d have this feeling that George Washington was standing behind me, looking over my shoulder, and shaking his head in disappointment...