I don’t follow US Politics; especially compared to when I didn’t live here. Back when I was younger, I loved following the back and forth, the special elections, the factional disputes.
Now, I see it as a TV show that I can easily tune out of, and happily do so.
Even while keeping it at arms length, there have been a few stories that broke through. It seems like both parties are having their own candidate struggles.
For the republican, age does weary them, and the years condemn. Lindsey Graham, senator and one time presidential hopeful, died last week at 71. His senate boss, Mitch McConnell, has been off the senate floor for weeks due to “illness”. Some people say he’s dead, he’s not, but he’s not doing much. It’s a universal dislike regardless of one’s politics; whether Biden or McConnell, most Americans are rightly fed up with geriatrics well past their best clinging to power.
For the Democrats, they have hit some craggy (oyster) shoals. Glen Platner, senate candidate for Maine, is a “colourful” character. He has a Nazi tattoo. He seems to be quite a fan of sending sexually explicit messages to multiple women while married. He’s been violent towards many people. He doesn’t have a real job; while he claims to be an oyster fisherman, he’s so bad at it that the bulk of his income is government benefits. Oh, and he’s been accused of sexual assault multiple times. Great.
Mr Platner is not a great candidate, but the people who pushed him to run in the first place are total morons. One commentator I follow called him “Hunter Biden with a beard”, and expressly warned voters to avoid voting for the “bad boy” candidates. Smart.
All this is happening during the trial of Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer, where professional nutjob Candace Owens is alleging that Mr Kirk was murdered by Mossad and his wife, or perhaps wasn’t even murdered at all, and the images we all saw were holograms, also created by Mossad and his wife. Delightful.
Oh, and the Iran ceasefire now means bombing Iran. Dandy.
We live in interesting times.