Yes, Republicans do. Suppose the Democrats had nominated a competent candidate—not necessarily a “dream” candidate à la Barack Obama—but one who, you know, hadn’t lied her 69-year-old ass off about pretty much everything under the sun while operating a multi-million-dollar shakedown racket cum non-profit cum political machine. Just suppose. Then the Democrats wouldn’t be beating Trump. They’d be crushing him, on their way to an easy Senate majority, an easy Supreme Court majority, and possibly even one in the House.
And, yes, Democrats do as well. Suppose the Republicans had nominated someone sane—a Romney II, so to speak. Nothing fancy, nothing special, just someone capable of not getting in a pissing contest with the parents of a young Muslim man who died defending his country, the United States of America. Imagine that. And then imagine Republicans on their way to control of the presidency and both houses of Congress and a Supreme Court majority.
Well, there’s a reason why both these dreams are only dreams. There was no way in Hell that the Republican Party was going to nominate anyone sensible. “Sensible” was the last thing Republican voters wanted. The only candidate to give Trump a run for his money was Ted Cruz, whom the Establishment hated even more than they hated Trump.
The Democrats were/are in a little better shape than the Republicans, but not much. If Hillary hadn’t been so Clintonian about her State Department emails, she’d be cruising to victory all on her own, despite all the manifest shabbiness of the Clinton Foundation, part humanitarian powerhouse and part political racket—rather like the Clinton themselves—or, rather, the Clintons personified. But the Democrats had to take Hillary, because the Democratic Party has no bench. Thanks to the wipeouts in 2010 and 2014, the party is fresh out of rising stars.
Most depressing is that all the “passion” in this election has been directed in the wrong directions—the worst directions, as far as Trump is concerned, but the “progressive left” as energized by Bernie Sanders has been equally retrograde, though less bigoted. Both parties are relying on the incompetence of the other party to save it from destruction. One hopes we’ll be lucky for the next four years, because we’re going to need it.
