Worst-Case Scenario
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| "Jesus, Florida. I never knew you..." |
Starting with the most discouraging outcome, voters in Florida ended the political career of Marco Rubio, the Republican party's most optimistic and popular figure, by handing asshat Donald Trump a massive victory.
Rubio's term in the Senate will be up in less than a year, and he chose not to run for re-election to it. He stands almost no chance of being elected governor should he even try pursuing that office. And since the chance of a Republican win in the general election (and a possible subsequent role Rubio role in a GOP administration) is now vanishingly small, his career in national politics looks to be near its end.
The GOP has done a lot of things this cycle to earn it's nickname as The Stupid Party, and I suspect it isn't done yet. But throwing away an appealing figure like Rubio is unfathomable, especially under these circumstances. I don't see the party recovering from this particular cycle of self-destructive choices.
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| "Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!" |
The other conservative in the race, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, suffered a dreadful night. He picked up some delegates in North Carolina even while losing that primary to Trump, but lost considerable ground thanks to losses in Illinois and Missouri, and of course Trump's WTA win in Florida.
The upcoming primaries and caucuses will mostly be in states where conservatism is least popular even among nominal Republicans (California, New York, Pennsylvania), so Cruz's only hope is for a contested convention, even though such an convention would be unlikely to elevate the runner-up in the delegate hunt.
Ohio, as expected, gave its own governor John Kasich the victory, which further dims Cruz's prospects. Kasich hates the GOP and conservatives almost as much as Democrats do, and the conventional wisdom is that it is now only a matter of time before he throws his support (and delegates) to Trump in exchange for the vice-presidential spot on the GOP ticket.
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| "Everything you have ever believed in will be utterly destroyed." |
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| "So, any plans for what to do after your conniption is over?" |
Back to scouting hiding places...
265 Candles
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| Portrait of James Madison, by John Vanderlyn |
Madison went on to play a crucial role in the American founding, including the drafting of both the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. He would also serve as the 4th President of the United States.
Given the threats posed to his architecture, particularly the Bill of Rights (which will be further eroded
no matter who wins the November election), it is worth remembering a great American who would have spoken out vigorously against such heinous depredations.
I Know the Feeling
This famous cartoon by Pulitzer Prize-winner Bill Mauldin first appeared in 1963, following the assassination of John F. Kennedy. I imagine Abe would be just as distressed at what is happening to the party he helped to found.
Until Next Time...
As noted in this space previously, there are days when the only music that suits my mood is some flavor of heavy metal. Today is one of those days.Iron Maiden has been a fixture on the metal scene for more than 40 years. During that time they've sold more than 90 million records worldwide. As is usually the case with metal bands, IM did this without the benefit of any Billboard Hot 100 charting singles.
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| Original 1984 45 rpm single |
Today I'm in the mood for the band's apocalyptic "2 Minutes to Midnight," from their 1984 Powerslave album.
One of my favorite things about my hero Joe Bonamassa's shows is that they always begin promptly at the time printed on the tickets. For several years, Joe played "2 Minutes to Midnight" through the PA system just before his shows began. When you heard that song begin, you knew you had six minutes to get to your seat!
Today's send-off is the song's original music video from 1984. The usual 1980s music video disclaimers apply. Enjoy...
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