Stand by for a very precarious two and a half months

 

As I write these words, at about 4.30AM on Wednesday morning, it looks as if President Trump has won a second term in office.  He's won it pretty convincingly, too, with what looks to be better than a five million vote majority in the popular vote, as well as splitting the "blue wall" on which his opponent was depending for victory.  It's amusing that some of the very left-leaning mainstream media are still refusing to call some of the battleground states for him, despite the outstanding number of votes yet to be counted being insufficient to overcome his existing majority.  Despite their reluctance, of course, the result by now is inevitable.

So . . . what can we expect between now and Inauguration Day?  I predict the following:

1. Frenzied attempts by the Biden administration to implement as many of its progressive policies as possible by means of executive orders and hastily-compiled legislation, to make it as difficult as possible for Trump to undo them and/or implement his own policies.
2. Screams of outrage, anguish and rejection from the usual suspects, including a resurgence of Antifa, BLM and other such movements (or their replacements).  If they can make it appear that Trump will take office amid a wave of popular rejection of his election and policies, they'll do so - for their own sake, to make them feel better about themselves, and to demonstrate their contempt for and rejection of an electorate that didn't see things their way.  This may include attempts to assassinate President Trump and/or key members of his future administration.  (Elon Musk, I'm looking at you!)
3. Immediate moves by the "deep state" to shore up their control of the administration, to obfuscate, delay and water down every policy the incoming President tries to implement.  This will include slow-walking personnel appointments through bureaucratic logjams such as slow security clearances, refusal to hand over important documents (including many that will doubtless be "lost" or "mislaid"), and attempts to do what President Obama did and hide much of the evidence of his administration's malfeasance in his Presidential Library, where access to records can be restricted for decades.
4. An avalanche of last-minute migrant "arrivals", trying to get into America before President Trump slams the gate shut.  This may include increased violence on the borders as cartels try to maximize their income while there's still money to be made.

Meanwhile, President Trump will need to move very quickly, right out of the gate, to appoint his transition team and begin the laborious process of preparing to take the reins of power.  I can only hope and trust that he's learned his lessons from 2016, and will no longer appoint political patronage-seekers and RINO's, but will seek out those who will genuinely try to put the country and his policies ahead of themselves.  Sadly, there aren't that many of them to be found.

I hope Elon Musk is already selecting members of his government efficiency commission, or whatever it will be called.  Chopping 50% off the federal bureaucracy, including shutting down its more useless and empire-building departments and agencies, can do this country nothing but good.  (In particular, I hope he can assign all those who instigated, supported, funded, supplied and controlled the neocon wars of the previous administration to go and fight in what's left of them.  They're battlefield casualties we actually need!)

Sadly, we see yet again that we are a nation divided against itself.  We have two Americas, one pragmatic, one ideological;  one practical, one intellectual;  one with roots, one wafting wherever the prevailing wind(s) take it.  That's not going to change anytime soon, and it's going to make it very, very hard for us to come together to tackle the major issues threatening this nation.

"Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand."

That's us, my friends.  Unless we want to be "brought to desolation", we'd better find something or someone around which or whom we're prepared to reunite.  If we don't . . .

Peter