2016 is no longer an election where the choice is between two candidates or two parties or even differing sets of policy proposals.
It has become a national referendum on America itself, as a nation and as a constitutional democratic-republic, as a country governed by the rule of law. This election has become about protecting our constitutional system of government.
Elect Clinton and the Democrats, and the nation continues.
Elect Trump, and it ends on November 9th. This is not hyperbole.
Trump has no respect for our elections. No respect for our laws. No respect for any legal or constitutional limits on his power. He's already shown himself to be a liar and a scoundrel whose attitude towards any form of law-breaking -- whether it be breaking contracts or running his charity foundation legally or scamming people with his phony 'university' or, as has been confirmed by Trump himself, sexually assaulting women for decades -- betrays an attitude of "stop me if you can" regarding the law. Not a man who follows the law because it's right and moral and ethical.
He believes he's "smart" for getting away with rampant law-breaking.
Trump has promised to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity, including torture and the execution of innocents. He wants to use nuclear weapons. He wants to overturn all of America's alliances around the world and turn them into a protection and extortion racket. He wants to outlaw one particular religion in America. He wants to round up and deport 11 million people, and has even said he'd consider deporting American citizens, too. He has vowed to imprison his political opponents, starting with Hillary Clinton, but now also including her attorneys and others. He wants to silence all dissent against him, whether it's news or media outlets, or even comics trying for a laugh.
Under a Trump regime -- for it would be a regime and not a presidency -- this website right here, DailyKos, would be shut down. Sure, it'd probably come after Trump shut down CNN and MSNBC and the New York Times and the Washington Post and HuffPo...but it would happen before long. I'd give it no more than 6-12 months max. The highest profile outlets would definitely be first though.
He would attempt to 'fire' federal judges with lifetime appointments based on what he claims is ethnic bias against him, when really they're just doing their jobs. He believes he can purge the U.S. military of all senior officers he doesn't like. He has said the problem with America's current system of policing wouldn't be fixed by having better officers, but simply more of the ones we already have -- lots more.
He has encouraged America's international opponents to attack us, and to fuck with our elections.
Trump has vowed not to respect the results of our election if he does not win, even as his running mate and campaign surrogates try to gaslight us all into believing he isn't saying that at all. I'll give Mike Pence this much: I've never seen a more smooth bald-faced liar than him. "He never said that!" Mike scolds, sounding both aggrieved and terribly disappointed in us all for remembering what Trump literally said.
Trump is a breathtakingly ignorant man who has no idea how ignorant he is. He is unfit and mentally unstable. He has no impulse control at all, and no control over his emotions.
I could go on and on and on, but it should be obvious to anyone who loves America and our democratic-republican system of government that this really is a national referendum on whether the nation continues to exist. Or if we're done with the whole democracy thing and are about to elect a man whose name will become synonymous with Adolph Hitler...only more insane.
Let's also not forget who is responsible for the rise of Trump: The Republican party and a supine ratings-hungry national media. The latter could almost be forgiven because ratings is the only way the national media stays alive...but only 'almost', for at any time they could have realized the danger and stopped treating Trump as a serious and qualified candidate for the office of President. Stopped the "both siderism." And stopped giving Trump the equivalent of billions of dollars in free air-time.
But really, the bulk of the blame lies at the doorstep of the Republican party, like a flaming jumbo-sized bag full of dog-shit. They spent the last generation de-legitimizing two Democratic Presidents, and indeed even our system of government. In Florida, in 2000, they demanded recounts be stopped, rather than arguing for the need to ensure every valid and legal vote was counted properly and quickly. They bought into Swift-Boating and Birtherism.
The Republican National Committee and GOP leadership did not have to let Trump run for President as a Republican, but they did. They did not have to certify him as a candidate, but they did. Party rules are not the same as state or national laws -- and they can be set aside or even broken, for the good of the country, but they did not do this. They did not have to vote him in as their party's nominee, but they did. They did not have to endorse him, but all of the GOP senior leadership did, and none have repudiated him, even now, after they've seen who and what he is.
But I meant what I said: This is no longer an election about policy. No longer an election between progressivism and conservatism. No longer about Dem versus GOP.
It's America itself versus Trump.
Choose wisely, and vote like the country and your life depend on it. Because they do.