The disparity between the reviews of professional political types and the public were striking last night. Many of the so-called “pros” cited that “both did what they needed to do”, “Pence made his points, looked calm and reasonable”, “Kamala made faces, but hit her marks”, “it doesn’t matter, VP debates never matter”, and more both-siderism. The public, represented by individuals polled by the network, on the other hand reflected both the current state of the race where Joe-Kamala lead Orangutan-Flyhead by 9.6 points in the 538 polling average and the public’s understanding of what they are actually seeing and hearing.
The seeing and hearing part last night included Kamala’s clear commitment to the American people and American democracy, her compassion and passion, her decency and her earnestness in expressing America’s betrayal by the Trumpublicans. It also included Flyhead lying, lying, lying, stroking the Orangutan’s ego, deflecting from reality to fantasy and clear betrayal. Americans heard and saw those things last night, surely through the lens of their predispositions, but also through brains that recognize the lies and recoil from them.
The old joke goes, how do you know when he’s lying — when his lips move, and when Republicans speak now that is surely the case. The difference now is that there are fewer rubes. Increasing numbers of people are tired of being played as marks. Joe and Kamala’s numbers are going up, while the Orangutan-Flyhead numbers stay pretty steady — people’s minds are getting made up, that while they may have taken a flyer on the Fly Party in 2016, they got mad and revolted to a degree in 2018, and are ready to really revolt this year.
The question will be whether some dirty tricks, no — wrong words, too subtle — some treasonous acts subvert the outcome that is so clearly building on the disgust reasonable Americans in between the parties have developed for Trumpublicans. This is a pivotal moment, obviously, and what we saw last night wasn’t a “return to normalcy for debates”, it was a continuity of depravity by a Trump flunky just like every presentation before the public in the last 4-5 years.
The difference, more people have caught on and are not mistaking the sickness for a new normal. Hope springs. Keep hope alive and prepare for a fight in every “swing” state’s vote counting, tabulating, reporting and conclusions as it will all be contested and possibly subverted by the American proto-fascists.
A majority of the American public has caught on and isn’t going to sit still for either the con or the coup.