What Iffing

I’m struggling with an addiction. It’s a habit of thought, and I have a feeling I’m not alone -- running election scenarios. A distraction, when I could be directing my mind toward more useful pursuits. I’m a binge-speculator.

Not very long ago, impeaching this President was considered a waste of time, no matter the moral compulsions of some liberals, because the Senate would never vote to remove him, and the 2020 election was too close. But how things can turn on a dime these days! Maybe the new questionis, will Donald Trump finish his first term?

OK, here I go. Let’s just say that the President is impeached and removed. Then what happens? He might say, civil war. But more likely, we would have President Pence, at least until Inauguration Day 2021.

What night that be like? My own feeling is that if Mr. Pence just kept a chair warm in the Oval Office until then, he might do less damage than the current occupant. And what might happen to Mr. Trump after removal? Pence could pardon him of likely federal criminal charges, but he’d still have to face the music in the state of New York.

How might the stock market respond to all this? Would it tank, or shoot up a thousand points? Place your bets!

It seems Pence would stand little chance of being elected to a full term. In fact, he might not even be nominated, and let’s just say what I’ll call a more credible Republican gets the nod.

Then the Democrats pick Elizabeth Warren. You might have thought the Republican Party as a brand was doomed – but if voters had to choose between a credible Republican and an edgy liberal, what would happen? Not as easy a call, but perhaps more interesting.

Now, let’s just go wild and say that somehow BOTH Trump and Pence were removed from office (cut me a little slack here, just throwing some spaghetti against the wall, OK?). Then there would be President Nancy Pelosi. You may say, well, “they” hated Hillary, but the prospect of a President Pelosi might also be too far a bridge for some.

You see what an addicting game all this is! Beats fantasy football. In the end, though, he only sensible thing we can do is make sure our seat belts are tight, as we will be flying through turbulence for quite a while.

I don’t know about you, but I’m almost looking forward to the day when the news starts to get a little boring again, the way it used to be.

Calling Out the Militia

Are we really going down this road again? Arming ourselves against a government takeover? Waiting for the black helicopters? Listening to Art Bell reruns?

Concern has been raised about a violent backlash against Democratic members of Congress who voted for the health care bill. I think some of it is a little overblown. So Sarah Palin has a map with crosshairs on it targeting districts of vulnerable Democrats in November contests. So what do you expect from Annie Oakley? And then some Congressman held up a picture of Nancy Pelosi in front of a crowd outside the Capitol and made slapping gestures. The CNN reporter was shocked. But what kind of behavior are we expecting? A certain amount of this, in my view, comes with the territory, and we have to consider the source.

That said, am I not concerned about the revival of the wacko faction? You betcha! One talk-show host -- nobody I ever heard of until this week -- wants angry people to throw things through the district office windows of offending members of Congress. And some have obliged. A number of representatives report that they have received death threats. Because of health care? I guess it takes a little more to get my rile meter that high.

I heard the director of the Southern Poverty Law Center interviewed on NPR's "Fresh Air" today. This organization studies hate groups. He said that several factors have combined to enrage to violent levels the unhinged, or barely hinged. The election of a black President. Illegal immigration. The bailouts. Gay rights and the removal of God from our school system. And now, Obamacare.

So yeah, those who speak to audiences do have a responsibility to watch what they say these days. The population of those with perspective and a sense of humor is shrinking faster than the Antarctic ice shelves.

Catching Flies With #%$&@!

Thanks, Nancy. You just turned my 401 (k) into a 201(z).

It’s hard enough swallowing cod liver oil by the teaspoon. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insisted that the Republicans swallow their dose by the bucket, or the 55-gallon drum. Her unnecessarily partisan speech when the bailout bill was brought to the floor may have driven away the necessary Republican votes to get it passed. And with the number of Democrats opposed to the bill, she needed all the help she threw away.

Congressman Barney Frank observed that Republicans shouldn’t have let their hurt feelings destroy the process of saving the country’s financial markets. But why hurt their feelings in the first place?

It will be very interesting to see whom the voters hold this all against. Suffice it to say that if there were a choice for “none of the above,” at least in House election contests, that chamber would turn into one big mausoleum in January.

As I’ve said before, if we were just screwing ourselves, we could let everything collapse in a heap and have only ourselves to blame. But there’s a real danger of our taking the world with us.

At what point does this turn into a real emergency – and what powers would that give the Executive Branch? Do we have to wait for people to take to the streets? This territory isn’t just uncharted – it’s getting to be downright frightening.

So please, Ms. Pelosi, go kiss a few GOP behinds if you have to, in order to get a bailout bill passed. And for those whose behinds get kissed, well, please remember to smile and say thank you – and get back to work.

There, now I’ve said it.