thomas leverett weblog

No man is an Iowan

Of course I'm bitterly disappointed in the results of the Iowa Caucus. How could Iowa Republicans choose a pedophile, rapist, draft dodger, fraud, liar, sore loser, and country-wrecker? Well, about half of them just did, and I'm sure they had their reasons. I take a little heart in the results, which I will explain.

First, the reasons they voted for him. I have always maintained that it's racial, plain and simple. He speaks code for "Make America White Again," and he's made it clear that he would deport, if not kill, the increasing number of refugees at our border. And let's face it, though Biden might change the way he deals with them (could Biden's shutting the door on them completely take the wind out of Trump's sails?), this would be difficult too. On the war front it's possible that 1) these Americans care less about Ukraine than they even care about democracy; in fact, they wouldn't mind switching sides, i.e. joining Putin and Kim Jong Un to take up arms against the west. It seems hard to believe but another aspect of it is that conservatives seem to be hardening around the concept of no-acceptance-of-gays-or-trans, and the Russia-Ukraine war is one place where that comes into play. So there may be two issues, both unspoken really, but major enough to make people vote for him just because he's signalled so plainly what side he's on.

On the hopeful side, I would say that half the Republicans is not "control," especially given the fact that the other half may not vote for him no matter what happens. I think the fraud, cheating, and rape trials have hurt him and it's stunningly clear that he's all that they accuse him of and a few things you don't hear about, like knowing that the girl was thirteen. I think he should be denied being on the ballot in Colorado and Maine and everywhere else, because the law is the law even if gearing up to give him what he deserves may ultimately be good for him. He seems to thrive on ridiculing the law but hey, the law is what we have to protect us, ordinary Americans, from Nazi rampages. And I think we are not far from that stage.

So time will tell if the other half of Republicans just drift over to Trump (I think not) or if it coalesces around one of the others who then can pick up steam and be a real contender. I'm waiting for the day when he rails about all the people who have wronged him (and who he vows to use his Presidency to get revenge on), and people no longer listen. It would be a huge relief.

posted by tom @ 6:29 AM