The phrase, “may you live in interesting times,” is sometimes said to have come from China, though there is no equivalent expression in the Chinese language. No matter where it comes from, someone obviously uttered this with sufficient conjuring power to make it come true in present-day politics.
It would seem we are careening our way to a November national election that will please next to no one. That is, the expected presidential candidates of the Republicans and the Democrats evoke sputtering shouts of dismay from within and without their parties.
The phrase, “may you live in interesting times,” is sometimes said to have come from China, though there is no equivalent expression in the Chinese language. No matter where it comes from, someone obviously uttered this with sufficient conjuring power to make it come true in present-day politics.
It would seem we are careening our way to a November national election that will please next to no one. That is, the expected presidential candidates of the Republicans and the Democrats evoke sputtering shouts of dismay from within and without their parties.
On one side of the aisle is Hillary Clinton, whose long years in the public spotlight had earned her an untold number of adversaries who would do about anything to keep her from the Oval Office. Plenty of opponents on the political right have made careers of bashing her ever since she and her husband made the move from Little Rock to Washington, D.C.
More troubling for the Clinton camp, I suspect, are Democrats who are absolutely opposed to her presidency. Some Bernie Sanders supporters are true believers who promise they will not cast votes for president if their man is not the candidate.
On the other side we have Donald Trump, the poster boy of bluster and narcissism, who has been only too happy to alienate large segments of the electorate, including women and Latinos. The Donald also makes a habit of issuing schoolyard insults to those who disagree with him, be they fellow contenders for the nomination, his presumptive opponent in the general election, or the mainstream press.
The Republican establishment has been resisting Trump all the way, repeatedly expecting his popularity with primary voters to dissipate like so much swamp gas in a summer breeze. Currently the GOP powers-that-be struggle to choke out the words outlining the need to unite behind a man they do not respect.
In the not so distant future, students of political history will pore over this election cycle in fascination. How is it, they may ask, that two candidates with so much going against them from inside and outside their own parties made it to the Big Dance in November?
Perhaps it is because so many in the electorate feel shortchanged by the current political system and are demanding change. Trump capitalizes on the fears of his base, promising to reclaim the country from those who ruined it. Sanders rocks the boat by articulating the anger and dismay of those who feel the system, one Clinton is well-connected to, is rigged against the little guy.
For Republicans, it might be what happens when for years your voters are fed, via organized talking points and a major news network, falsehoods that confirm your base’s biases. For Democrats, voters have likely soured on years of empty promises while you protected the interests of major financial interests over those of the citizenry.
What we’re left with, to use a newspaper-friendly expression, is a contest between the prettier of two less-than-fresh eggs. For plenty of us, the choice will come down to holding our noses and voting.
One thing is for sure: the next five months will be interesting times, and they will stink.
Pat Grimes, a former South Bay resident, writes from Ypsilanti, Mich. He can be reached at pgwriter@inbox.com
