The time for denial is over.
Donald Trump now is a serious contender for the Republican nomination; he's been number one in the polls over the last several weeks, and after the GOP debate, his numbers surged.
Cenk Ugyur of the online news platform, The Young Turks, has stopped censoring The Donald's face; the censorship policy was previously applied to those deemed "insincere," and whose antics were merely for attention, such as Ann Coulter. Last week, even Ugyur was forced to face a grim reality; Donald Trump ain't going nowhere. He isn't a joke anymore, and he is no longer running just for publicity by waving to paid audience members via escalator (although the publicity certainly isn't hurting him).
This isn't actually news, if you think about it. Bill Maher of "Real Time with Bill Maher" has been dismissing the naysayers for a while now, stating on his most recent show, "(Trump) never apologizes – he’s never wrong, no matter what crazy thing he says. He’s the white Kanye ... for a party whose base adores belligerence, this is the guy.”
When I first realized Trump was for real a few weeks ago, and not a fading fad of the polls like Herman Cain, I got some popcorn and prepared for months of absolute hilarity. I watched the GOP debate like it was my favorite Comedy Central show. Life was great, because the outcome was clear: the Republicans as we know them (controlled by Teabaggers) were doomed.
One of two things was about to happen. Either Trump would win the nomination and lose the General Election, or he would run as an Independent, steal the racist vote, and practically hand the White House to a Democrat on a silver platter.
No amount of dirty money could save the Right. Walker and Bush could only look on in horror; their millions meant nothing. Even Fox News had lost control of the Frankenstein they created. Trump was in control of that train and he was bound to wreck it.
My only hope was that while the Republicans self destructed, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who is running for the Democratic nomination, would win over Hillary Clinton, whose record is dubious and progressiveness questionable. Bernie wasn't the frontrunner, but his support was swelling and so was my hope; he recently overtook Clinton in the New Hampshire polls. His naysayers could look to the other side of the aisle (or just remember Barack Obama's success in 2008) and realize; Clinton was by no means guaranteed to win the nomination.
For once, the establishment on both sides seemed to be flailing.
However, that thought suddenly brought an unprecedented fear. What if - no, wait for it - what if Trump could actually win not just the nomination, but the Presidency? Suddenly, I had realized a situation in which that seemingly ridiculous outcome could be possible.
Some are equating Sanders to Trump. Why, you might ask, when Trump is a racist, misogynist, admittedly corrupt and self centered egomaniac, while Bernie is a self proclaimed socialist and #BlackLivesMatter supporter who flies coach? The answer to that question is multi faceted, but part of it is a complete lack of support (or anathema, really) for these candidates by moderates and swing voters. While the population yawns at the thought of another Bush or Clinton, the general, moderate opinion on Trump and Sanders seems to be, dear god, I'll vote in a hailstorm just to keep that fellow OUT of office.
The supporters, on the other hand, are either so impassioned (or one side, foaming at the mouth) that they will race to the voting booth. Both would bring a high voter turnout.
It's clear what would happen in a Sanders vs. Bush/Walker election. The establishment would win as moderates either stayed home or voted Republican, and we would watch as a corporate-bought politician took over - again. That's why many progressives who support Bernie in theory would hesitate to actually vote for him in the primaries. Clinton, an establishment choice, is a safer bet in the General election (though I would remind them that Clinton isn't exactly clean of corporate money herself).
What we have is an insane sort of mirror between the right and left. Both have supposed established frontrunners (Bush, Clinton) who are quickly being eclipsed by supposed extremist underdogs (in Trump's case, underdog status has already been shed - just give Bernie a couple more months and Clinton may also be eating his dust).
We have a case where, on the one hand, if Bernie ran against the establishment he'd lose, and on the other, if Trump ran against the establishment he'd lose. Which means, the only way Bernie could feasibly win at this point is if he went against someone without establishment or moderate support - like Trump. And similarly, the only way we could see a United States of a Trump is if Bernie was his opponent.
So should progressives hope for Trump vs Sanders? One outcome of such an election is a push for free public education, an end to for-profit prisons, an attack on corporate politician buying, and a focus on ending police brutality. The other outcome is a nation run by an egomaniacal buffoon who would make America the laughingstock of the world.
It's the highest stakes game of Chicken ever.
Since the writing of this article, it should be noted that according to RealClearPolitics, Trump would lose to Sanders by 11 points in a general election. Perhaps there is hope for humanity after all.
#feelthebern
