With big rallies designed to both demonstrate and create enthusiasm while signing up new volunteers, candidate Kamala Harris has also been introducing herself to swing state voters through local media coverage. She's made several speeches on her approach to economic issues to business and labor audiences, and a speech at the southern border on immigration issues. These have been excellent events.
Now that early voting and mail voting is beginning, she's said to be honing in on describing the dangers of electing Chaos to a second (non-consecutive) term. He and his VP candidate are providing examples daily. Their baseless charges have upended lives in a small Ohio town, and are complicating relief efforts in areas hard hit by hurricane Helene. Relief to these people should be non-partisan, but in this election it provides a positive example of what the federal government can do for people--regardless of party--need this kind and scale of help. If Harris is not elected, Chaos will rule in these situations as well as everything else.
The polls continue to show prospects for very close results. How can this possibly be? One answer is that it isn't really going to be that close, and there's a sense of that, even among those darkly citing the polls. But assuming it is very close, it has to be because (in addition to those who vote out of racism, sexism and utter ignorance) a substantial number of people believe the country is worse off than it demonstrably is. They believe the lies. And Chaos and Vance are doing nothing but lying and lying and lying.
Why are they believed? Playing to prejudices is an ancient and still successful strategy, sometimes. But the answer to how they can boldly tell obvious lies, easily disproven lies, is that people are used to being boldly lied to, many times a day, by commercials. The same broadcasts that carry the lies of politicians, carry the absurd exaggerations and outright lies of commercials. This is even worse on the Internet, especially on You Tube.
The second element in commercials is relentless repetition, and Chaos quite consciously employs this technique, often upping the ante slightly to make the repetition "news" so it is again reported. News media fall for this every time.
The lies that Chaos tells support the notion that--as the poll question puts it--America is on the wrong track. The number of those who say it is continues to be high, and this is disquieting. Harris addresses this by positioning herself as a change candidate, a New Way Forward--and so a positive change. Chaos promises stark solutions that clearly invite chaos and disaster. And the problems he says he will solve mostly don't exist, at least not in the way he speaks about them.
I continue to believe that at bottom what Americans fear so much they can't talk about it is climate distortion. So far the Harris campaign is strategically avoiding this issue. It is imperative that she wins, so as a short term strategy I hope it works, and doesn't lock her into policies that make climate prospects worse. But this is likely to be the last election in which this strategy will be possible.
As if the prospects of Chaos being elected aren't terrifying enough, there is J.D. Vance. Chaos is looking like a soon to be spent force. Some in the psychiatric profession say that he is showing classic early signs of dementia. Can a President Vance be too far behind?
Voting ends in about a month, and Chaos is seeing his best chance in creating weeks and months of chaos beginning that day. So enjoy the enthusiasm and the hope of the Harris campaign, vote and encourage others to vote, and hope for the best.
