2024 Election Thoughts
It’s been a while since I’ve written anything here, as it’s been a busy year for me. But I did have to get something out before the election here in the U.S.
For any long-time readers of my work, you’ll know that I was vocally against the rise of Trump in 2016. Indeed, I even wrote the following:
There’s a reality to this which is unequivocal: his campaign has continued to be: overtly racist, overly protectionist, warmongering, and authoritarian. Vote for Clinton if you can, Johnson if you can’t. I don’t care how “Republican” you’ve been in the past, or how much you dislike Hillary. A vote for Trump will be a historically poor decision.
Fast forward to 2020, and I still couldn’t stomach voting for Trump. I wrote in Peter Thiel, partly knowing that here in Texas my vote was unlikely to sway the election anyway and I do believe there is a value to lodging a protest vote when the two parties present you with bad options.
All that to say: I am obviously no fan of the Orange Man. I believed, and largely still do, that he’s an extreme narcissist whose need for praise and lack of discipline leads to him being easily controlled and manipulated. And that’s far from the end of the flaws that I could list.
And yet… now we’ve seen what four years of leftist control leaves us with.
Governing… with a Side of Treason
The Biden/Harris administration (whose actually running the show I neither know nor care) has committed multiple acts that are nothing short of treasonous. These include, but are not limited to:
The attempted OSHA regulation attempting to mandate the (dangerous and ineffective) Covid vaccine (and many other Covid-related actions), which has resulted in hundreds of thousands of excess deaths.
The willful opening of the border and various other policies that have led to millions of illegal immigrants swarming into the country.
The continued pillaging of the American economy to fund foreign allies (and even enemies), bailouts of students with ill-advised debt, and so much more.
And aside from those things that rise to the level of needing to jail the people responsible, the Biden/Harris administration has displayed gross incompetence and a dash of malice across the board. The Afghanistan withdrawal, the inability to avert war in Ukraine and the Middle East, the runaway inflation, the increase in crime, partnering with Big Tech to censor the American people, the breeding of increased division amongst the American people, the lawfare conducted against political opponents, the disgraceful response to Hurricane Helene… the list goes on and on and on.
Whether Biden, Kamala, Generic Democrat, or an empty suit, the results will be the same. The Democratic party has become a collectivist monolith. Indeed, an incapacitated President is ideal for them as it provides cover for the machinations of bureaucracy to act without being held accountable.
The bottom line is this… over the past four years we’ve seen:
The world become a more dangerous place, much closer to the brink of global war than we were in 2020.
This country has become a much more dangerous place. Crime is up (as the latest FBI numbers prove, despite “fact checks”).
Your dollars are worth a lot less: about ~30% less than they were just four years ago.
We have ~8-10 million more illegal immigrants now in the country, soaking up over $150 Billion per year in resources for us to support.
What Can Happen Next?
I have no delusions that Trump will fix any of these things. If I’m being honest, the results from a second Trump administration are far too milquetoast for what I’d like to see done and what I believe needs done to save this country from the destructive forces the left has put into action.
But let’s consider the two most immediate threats: global war and continued mass migration.
On the global stage, there is zero doubt that Trump’s brash style and negotiating tactics keep the world a much safer place than whatever Democrats could offer.
While Democrat’s yelp talking points about the dangers of the Orange Man, the weak leadership of a dementia patient gave Putin the courage to go into Ukraine. And while Trump had left office with the Abraham Accords bringing peace to much of the Middle East, we now have all-out chaos. Whether this was purposely done to support the Military Industrial Complex or whether it was driven by complete incompetence is besides the point.
On mass migration, Democrats knowingly and willingly reversed Trump’s Executive Orders that helped limit (but never eliminate) illegal immigration, leading to the highest levels ever of illegal border crossings. Trump at least has demonstrated that he will stem the flow and, god forbid, enforce the borders and laws that are essential to any advanced society.
Now the big question to me is whether Trump will have the stomach to do what needs to be done with respect to mass deportations. Sadly, my guess is that he won’t. Democrats will fight these tooth-and-nail and bog down any attempts to do so.
“But He’ll Destroy Democracy”
This to me is about the dumbest claim that I’ve seen many Democrats (and even some former Republicans) fall for.
The idea that Trump will go and turn himself into some kind of dictator or destroy American democracy is nothing more than wishful projection of what Democrats wish they could do (and indeed, in some cases, are actually doing).
This belief largely centers around two areas: Trump’s questioning of the 2020 election and the rally on January 6th.
On the first: it is worth noting that questioning past elections is almost an American tradition at this point: Al Gore still thinks he won in 2000 and Hillary Clinton still thinks she won in 2016. Is it tacky and a “bad look”? Honestly, yes: for the two of them as well as Trump. But it’s a far cry from destroying democracy.
On January 6th: this is a longer myth to bust. But it’s worth considering the following facts:
Trump told everyone to be peaceful
Trump called for the National Guard to help protect the Capitol, but Nancy Pelosi rejected it
There were more than a hundred federal agents embedded in the crowd
Apply some critical thinking, and you’ll quickly see that this isn’t what the media portrayed it to be.
The incredible irony is that while making these claims with a straight face, Democrats have:
Overthrown a sitting President and installed a nominee that literally no one voted for.
They did this after rigging their own primary to clear any obstacles for Biden anyway.
Meanwhile, they’ve been weaponizing the legal system against their political opponents.
As a party they literally gave their own party members no choice in who to vote for in 2024. And they accuse the other guy of undermining democracy?
Please. Look in the mirror.
Power Games
As the Democratic Party disenfranchised their own party members throughout 2023 and 2024 to install their selected puppet of choice, it should come as no surprise that they are planning to do the same to the American people in the years to come.
The Democratic party has no respect for free speech, individual rights, or even American lives. Their only interest is power.
Their objectives are clear:
they are already importing millions of people.
they want to give them a pathway to citizenship.
therefore, they want to get them the right to vote.
they want to continue giving them handouts so that they stay dependent, and
they want to use that new voter base to stay in power.
once firmly entrenched, they want to use that power to quash free speech and dissent.
That isn’t a conspiracy: these are all things that they have either done, or said that they are going to do. When people tell you who they are, believe them.
A Conclusion
Simply put: this election is too important and the damage that four more years of Democrats could bring that it is a moral imperative to vote for the only other viable option.
You may not like the guy. Again, I really don’t. But realize where we are. There’s a reason that notable lifelong Democrats like Elon Musk, RFK Jr, Tulsi Gabbard, Bret Weinstein, and many others have become advocates for Donald Trump.
They are all on record (as am I) noting his flaws and pushing for other options.
But what the Democrats have done for four years has been poisonous for this country, and four more years of that poison will threaten the viability of the U.S. and put millions at risk from crime, war, and poverty.
I’m voting for the Orange Man, and you should too.