"72 Revisited

Through the entirety of this year's presidential campaign I have had an extremely strong feeling of deja vu. I knew that I had lived through a strong campaign of bullshit before. And it finally hit me. The very first presidential campaign I ever remember being aware of. It was 1972. The Space Shuttle Program was in it's infancy. Mariner 9 sent the 1st pictures from Mars. Nixon had made a historic visit to China.A coal sludge spill had killed 125 people in Buffalo Creek, West Virginia. And the ERA goes to the states for approval. The last American astronaut left his footprints on the moon, and Richard Milhouse Nixon scared the living shit out of 12 year old me with his outlandish, over the top claims about McGovern. He had me convinced that if McGovern won the very next step would be for Russia to come rolling down our main streets. I was convinced McGovern was an anti-American, Communist, Russia loving gremlin that would no doubt destroy our country. All thanks to Nixon's vile rhetoric and outright lies.

Now, 48 years later, I feel the same level of disgust in my gut that I came to feel by the end of the '72 election. Every time I hear Trump call someone by an ugly nickname as if he's doubling down on being the 5th grade bully that he's been his entire life. Whenever I hear Trump lie I hear Nixon telling me anyone but those that followed him hated our country. Every time I hear Trump spouting some far-flung conspiracy theory I hear Nixon's rhetoric spilling forth.

It comes down to the fact that Trump, like Nixon, is running a campaign of fear and distrust. Neither are running on their records. Although Nixon could have, he was a lawyer, a Navy verteran, a representative, a senator, a supportive vice president, and his 1st term was relatively successful. Trump can run on none of that. He is a successful business man in his mind only. His tax returns show just how much money he has lost during his career and how little he has paid in taxes. He has gone bankrupt something like 5 times, once with a casino, A casino, A place that you almost literally have a license to print money. He bullies anyone who disagrees with him and now matter who is putting something negative forth as truth about him they are flat liars. The dozens of administration staffers who have left the administration, either on their own or at DJT's behest, and yell to anyone that will listen that he is unfit for the office and a serious danger to the basic tenets of our constitutional republic are, all said to be disgruntled. And, as far as being a self made man, I guess that's true if you don't count the almost 500 million he got from Daddy. And most of all, this negative, hate filled campaign is taking right back to '72 and all of it's injustices, bigotry, misogynies, and hate.

And it scares the hell out of me how many of our fellow Americans are falling for this shit?

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