The 2022 American Midterm Elections

In less than one week, November 8th, voters in the United States who have not already mailed in their ballots will go to the polls and cast their vote for what may be the most consequential election in American history. Never since the Civil War has the electorate been so polarized, so angry, and so unwilling to compromise on the many critical issues facing this nation. Social media, instead of bringing people together, has incited hatred and violence. In the months leading up to this election, there have already been several acts of violence and threats of violence against election officials and their families. Armed members of far right-wing groups have intimidated voters at polling stations, ballot drop-off boxes, and even threatened election officials at their homes. These incidents continue to this day. 

Despite the fact that the vast majority of violent actions and threats have been perpetrated by supporters of Republican Party (GOP) candidates, the GOP refuses to acknowledge the threat to our electoral system posed by their supporters, and in fact, seems intent on ratcheting up the level of violent rhetoric that incites such actions. Right-wing media such as Fox News, News Max and One America News are assisting the GOP in inciting these new unprecedented levels of threats and violence against election officials and their families. Just to make something perfectly clear, NO supporters of Democratic candidates are alleging that the 2020 election was stolen, thus NO supporters of Democratic candidates have threatened or assaulted election staff or their families. This is solely a right-wing phenomenon. Any attempt by the GOP for using "whataboutisms" or "both sides" arguments for this issue is absurd.

For the sake of brevity and clarity, I will list what I believe to be the primary reasons why voting to place the Republican Party in charge of the U.S. House of Representatives and/or the U.S. Senate would be the beginning of the end of our Democratic Republic:

-       The majority of elected GOP officials publicly deny that Joseph Biden won the presidential election of 2020 and believe (or publicly state) that Donald Trump is still the President of the United States. 146 Republican members of Congress refused to certify the election of President Biden on January 6, 2021. That fact alone should rule out any chance that the GOP be allowed anywhere near the halls of power in this country.

-       At last count, the majority of GOP candidates for state offices that control elections were election deniers, believing in the Trump/MAGA/QAnon delusions about a rigged/stolen election in 2020. These same candidates have stated they will do all they can to ensure that Republicans never lose another election in their state.

-       GOP leaders have stated that one of their first acts in assuming office in January 2023 will be to disband the 1/06 committee that is investigating the insurrection and attempted coup on January 6, 2021.

-       Several of the GOP leaders and other GOP officials that want to disband the 1/06 committee are themselves, subjects of the criminal investigation into the January 6, 2021 insurrection and attempted coup.

-       GOP leaders have stated they will almost immediately initiate impeachment proceedings against Joe Biden, and possibly VP Kamala Harris and AG Merrick Garland. They did not specify what the charges would be.

-       Several GOP leaders have stated they do not support continuing long term support for Ukraine or NATO.

-       Several GOP candidates, as well as several current GOP officials, are public supporters of QAnon, the delusional conspiracy group that has stated, among other things: Democrats are running a pedophile ring out of the back room in a Washington D.C. pizza parlor (a QAnon believer went to that pizza parlor with an assault rifle and shot up a storage room. No children were found, only empty pizza boxes); Democrats drink children’s blood when they aren’t trafficking them on the international child slave market; JFK, Jr. is not dead and will make an appearance soon (several appearance dates have already come and gone); Trump won in a landslide in 2020 and will be reinstated as president soon (several reinstatement dates have already come and gone); Hillary Clinton is dead and what we see now is her clone. And much, much more.

-       Most environmental protections signed under Biden will be rescinded. The U.S. will withdraw from all climate change organizations.

-       Support for alternate energy sources will dwindle and support for fossil fuel companies will soar.

-       Offshore and national park drilling will resume with abandon.

-       The Supreme Court will overturn the Gay Marriage Act and all protections for sexual discrimination and orientation.

-       Christianity will soon be codified into law as the national religion of the United States.

-       The separation of church and state will be repealed.

-       The United States will withdraw from NATO

-       The United States will begin to withdraw from our treaty obligations to allies worldwide.

-       Billions more will be appropriated to continue building a wall along the Mexican border.

-       Tax breaks for the 1% will get even more generous.

-       Social Security, Medicare and unemployment benefits will all be under review for cuts.

-       Public health will be vastly underfunded. Several public hospitals will either try to consolidate or simply close.

-       Public education will see more major cuts. Several state university campuses will be forced to close.

-       Law enforcement will see major budget increases.

I will stop here, because the list of damaging actions the GOP will take once in office is much too long for an article like this. Some may say I am being too hysterical or over the top. I disagree. If anything, I believe I am being overly conservative in my estimates of the destruction the Republican Party will do to American democracy if placed in power as a result of next week’s elections. I still can’t quite get my head around the idea that so many adult Americans will probably vote for people who have already proven themselves not only unfit to hold any elected office, but have proven themselves to be traitors to American democracy and deserving of being criminally indicted, convicted, and given long prison sentences. These same voters will gladly elect people who will actually make their lives much more difficult. They will again, be voting against their own best interests just to "stick it to the libs."

I just don’t get it.

All I can do is what millions of other like-minded Americans are doing right now: hoping against hope that all the polls are wrong, and that through some last minute miracle, enough sane people will cast their votes for the boring, cowardly, but relatively stable Democrats. If not, then on November 9th we will all be looking at a very different, and very tragic America.