“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way” – (Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities).  You may be wondering why I associate a novel about the French Revolution with our current state of political affairs, but bear with me, unfortunately it does make sense.  For Republicans, 2016 began as the spring of hope and the season of light.  After 8 long years under the oppressive yoke of Il Duce Obama, we were looking forward to a new chance to set the country back on the right track.  We would be wise this time, we’d nominate a real conservative; we had everything before us.  Enter Donald Trump, and suddenly it was the age of foolishness, the epoch of incredulity, and all was darkness and despair; and not just for conservatives.  If anything, the establishment Republicans (who were looking forward to President Jeb Bush) took it even harder than we did.  Now, faced with the choice of either Trump or Hillary Clinton, few are anticipating a direct trip to Heaven, most being convinced that we are all headed the other way.  The fact is that we can’t simply blame Trump, or, as much as this pains me, Hillary Clinton either.  We are not in the place where we find ourselves because of what has happened this year.  It has been a long time coming.  It’s cultural.  Our current state of affairs is the result of a cultural deterioration which began long before 2016.  Trump and Hillary are just symptoms of our national sickness.  Long ago, we taught civics, hell, we even taught history.  Now, we don’t bother teaching kids how to be good citizens.  Even the word “citizen” itself is a pejorative; we mustn’t judge, you see.  History is now a minor part of “social studies” (gag me).  The only “history” we teach is that Columbus was a criminal, all Europeans are oppressors, slavery still exists in America, and don’t even get me started on the Indians.  Economics is a part of “social studies,” so bad-mouthing capitalism is part of the curriculum.  We used to value success, and look up to successful people (see George C. Scott’s opening speech in Patton).  Now, although we don’t quote Balzac, or even know his name, we assume that “behind every great fortune is a great crime.”  For that first great supply-sider, Calvin Coolidge, “the business of America [wa]s business.”  Now, we scorn business entities, which are labelled “Big (fill in the blank).”  Generations of deterioration have taken a toll on us.  The Greatest Generation won World War Two.  No sacrifice was too great for them.  They knew the value of a dollar; they feared and avoided debt.  Baby Boomers were more comfortable with debt, but they never doubted that a growing economy would permit them to repay it.  Boomers still had a respect for self-reliance, “Ask not what your country can do for you …”  Even members of Generation X grasped the concept that there is no such thing as a free lunch.  Not any more.  Members of the Me Generation are burdened by crippling debt, but they aren’t worried because they don’t feel any responsibility to pay it back; instead, they feel the Bern.  The government will provide.  It’s all part of the logical disconnect from which we suffer.  In the 19th Century, government service was a high calling, “public service is a public trust.”  We no longer trust the government, nor should we.  Government doesn’t draw the best and the brightest.  It is peopled instead by the trickiest, the slickest, and the crookedest.  Neither JFK nor LBJ would recognize the Congress today.  They know what their country can do for them, but they perceive no duty to do anything for their country.  We’re almost $20 trillion in debt.  They’re not concerned.  Neither Trump nor Hillary ever mention it.  Hillary says we need more spending.  We’ve adopted what I call Animal House economics, “Have a beer, it don’t cost nothin’.”   Simply put, our government does not tell us the truth, and we don’t expect it to do so.  It’s as though we’ve had a national root canal.  The national nerve has been killed.  The Congressional approval rating is close to nil.  3 out of 4 people say the country’s not going in the right direction.  People always say things like, “I don’t think social security will be there for me.”  Hence the disconnect.    Politicians lie, the government doesn’t work, the future is bleak, and yet, too many of us expect the government to scratch our every itch.  That’s what Hillary is selling, and far too many people are buying it.  On the Republican side, it explains Trump’s appeal.  He doesn’t jump through the hoops of political correctness.  Government experience is a disqualification.  Trump promises to tear the whole place down, and lots of people want to see it all torn down.  Revolution is in the air in both political Parties.  Will Marie Antoinette Clinton prevail?  Or will it be Robespierre Trump? (Both were beheaded, by the way).  Will the peasants eat cake, or Trump steak?  Only time will tell, but one thing’s sure; it’s not the best of times.

The period between the end of the political conventions and the official start of the presidential campaigns after Labor Day sometimes is referred to as “the silly season.”  With the contest over early for the Republican presidential nomination, we seem to have entered a Spring-time political silly season, as we are being treated to endless columns and articles listing potential running mates for Donald Trump.  Most of these offerings consist of listings of the usual suspects, running the gamut from the logical to the ridiculous.  It’s really gotten pretty tiresome.  So here’s one more.  The last listing I saw was broken down into categories of “Yes, I’d accept;” “I might accept;” and “No way.”  Politicians claim all the time that they have no interest in being Vice-President, a position that Vice-President John Nance Garner once declared was “not worth a warm bucket of piss.”  But when the chips are down, very few are able to resist.  Even the truly reluctant, such as Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson, succumbed to the argument that they must serve to ensure Party unity.  Those two eventually inherited the top job.  This year another dynamic is in play.  Because Trump is an outsider (meaning far outside the Republican Establishment), potential running mates have the added concern of not wanting to anger the Party powers that be, for fear that a connection to Trump will doom future chances for advancement.  This is not an idle fear.  Trump often is criticized for failing to hire some of the more accomplished political operatives to work on his campaign.  One of the reasons that he hasn’t done so is that the Republican Establishment (those people who keep telling us they don’t exist) has issued very real warnings to potential Trump staffers to the effect that “if you go to work for Trump, you’ll never work in this town again.”  That’s caused what is known in the legal community as “a chilling effect” on potential Trump hires.  The problem is that nobody, and in this I include the Establishment people (who rarely are right) and the pollsters (who usually are right), has any real idea how Trump will fare in November.  The pundits laughed Trump off last June, and wrote him off all Winter, but come the Spring, and Trump has had the last laugh.  Should Trump win, his Vice-President will have the inside track to the White House, should he lose big, the running mate will only be remembered for the insulting Saturday Night Live skits.  It’s a problem.  History suggests that Trump can’t pull this off, but again, this year seems to be the exception to the rule.  Nobody knows.

Let’s start with the “Hell no” list – Most of the names make sense, Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Scott Walker – too much trash talk during the primaries, and in some cases real hatred, to pick any of these.  New Mexico Governor Susanna Martinez said through a spokesperson, “the governor has said over the years that she’s not interested in serving as Vice-President.”  I don’t think she’s been asked.  She’s not a bad choice, a Hispanic female.  John Kasich claims he’s not interested.  Frankly, I don’t think he would take much convincing.  He’s got the combination of Washington and executive experience that would be useful.

Let’s go to the “Yes” list:                                                                                    Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich – not a good idea.   He’s divisive, and we already have Trump for that; and he’s older than Trump.  Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama.  Good man, but I’d rather have a conservative in the Senate, there are so few left.  Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin – possibly.  Rick Perry of Texas – a fine communicator with unimpeachable conservative credentials.  Former Arizona Governor Jan Brewer – I like her, but I don’t think that a Tag Team of candidates who will be bashed over immigration is a good idea.

Now the “Maybes:”  Senators Joni Ernst (Iowa) and Tom Cotton (Arkansas) – both first term Senators, not experienced enough.  Sarah Palin – Once was more than enough for me, “you betcha.”  Chris Christie – Not only no, but hell no, for several good reasons.  If you want an attack dog to do the dirty work while the nominee stays above the fray (think Spiro Agnew, minus the bribes), he fits that bill.  However, Trump is never above the fray.  And, once again, history intrudes on this scenario.  It has been 100 years since a presidential candidate has been elected without winning his own State.  That was Woodrow Wilson in 1916.  (I don’t count Richard Nixon in this.  In 1968, he lived in New York because he worked there, but he had never run for office anywhere else but California).  Since 1916, the record is pretty bleak.  Al Gore would have been President had he carried Tennessee in 2000.  Most recently, Mitt Romney showed us what happens to Northeastern Republicans.  Maybe Trump is different, I don’t know, but I do know he’s not going to carry New York, so he’s bucking a 100 year old trend.  It makes no sense to pick a running mate who’s also not going to help him carry New Jersey.

So, the F on F consensus is, in this order:  Susanna Martinez; John Kasich; Rick Perry; Mary Fallin; and Jeff Sessions.

As an attorney, I am familiar with the concept of a legal fiction.  That’s where facts are assumed or created by a court in order to impose some legal rule.  However, every four years we are treated a familiar litany of election year fictions courtesy of the Democrat Party.  They create supposed problems that don’t exist, and they tell us only they can solve them.  The Democrat playbook is a continual search for victims, real or imagined, who can be saved from the clutches of those heartless Republicans only by electing another Democrat.  You could say the the entirety of the Democrat presidential year playbook is a work of fiction.  It certainly is detached from reality.  In fact, Democrats live in an alternative universe where all logic has ceased to exist. Democrats piously warn of the termination of social programs should a Republican be elected, while ignoring the fact that no social program has been cut, much less done away with, in the last 5 Republican administrations.   The top issue cited by voters in every poll is the lousy economy.  The Obama Recovery always was a fraud.  92 million people are out of the workforce, and a new recession is predicted.  The Democrat solution?  Increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour.  Now, you may recall, when George Bush was President, the Dems said that “hamburger flipper” jobs were not real jobs.  Under Obama, they are the only jobs, so they’re very real.  Now, of course, a $15 minimum wage forces employers to fire workers and replace them with machines.  This is already happening in States that adopted the plan, but don’t burden Democrats with the facts, they want to impose it nationwide.  We face an ever increasing risk of Islamic terrorism, but Democrats say any restriction on Muslim entry to the U.S. is racist.  In fact, any attempt to impose any type of border controls also is racist.  Violent crime rates are escalating in our cities.  The Democrat solution?  Blame racist cops.  What, the cops are black too?  That’s irrelevant, black lives matter.  But that doesn’t make sense.  Aha, racist.  Huh?  If you’re getting the impression that the Democrat world view is, for want of a better term, warped (I almost said perverted), then you ain’t seen nothing yet.  The latest election year fiction is the ongoing dispute in North Carolina and elsewhere over a crucial civil rights issue which has caused narrow-minded Republicans to display their discriminatory nature  – what bathroom should I use.  It all has to do with rest room accommodations for so-called transgender individuals.  Their anatomy identifies them as one gender, but they identify with the other.  These are the T’s in the LGBT fraternity, or is it sorority?  That’s the problem, they’re not sure.  We are led to believe that as much as 0.3% of the population are transgender individuals, so we can safely assume that the number is much smaller.  These individuals, regardless of anatomy, regardless of attire, and regardless of appearance, want to be able to use the public restroom set aside for the gender with which they identify at the given time.  Needless to say, this position is disfavored by many of those afflicted by logic, common sense, or a sense of propriety, as the prospect of having one’s daughter or wife enter a ladies room only to find what appears to be a 6’5″ man trimming his beard is disturbing, to say the least.  North Carolina passed a law which requires individuals to use the bathroom which corresponds to their birth gender.  Sounds reasonable, but not so fast.  The federal government wants to require public facilities to allow transgender people to use whatever restroom they may choose.  The Feds say, you better comply, or bad things will happen, which is an effective tactic perfected by organized crime.  In the case of North Carolina, the Feds will deny the State University $1.4 billion in educational aid, and will threaten $800 million in federal school loan guarantees. (And you were wondering why it was so important for the Feds to take over all college loan programs).  North Carolina sued the Feds, and the Feds sued the State.  Attorney General Lynch, no less, this week compared the N.C. bathroom law to Jim Crow laws in the old South.  Those were the laws, passed by Democrats, that prevented black people from voting, patronizing restaurants, and using public facilities.  These laws led to lynchings, beatings, mass jailings, and a general denial of basic human rights and dignity for an entire race.  During that time, the African-American physician who invented blood plasma, died in the South after a traffic accident because he wasn’t allowed to be treated at the whites-only hospital.  Attorney General Lynch equates the N.C. bathroom law to that.  She should know better.  She says we must accord dignity and respect to transgender people.  No argument here, but why must it come at the expense of the dignity and respect of the remaining 99.7% of the population?  She says these transgender people have already suffered.  Of that I have no doubt, but why must the rest of us suffer?  Of course, the Democrats have embraced the bathroom issue as the latest assault on civil rights.  They will use it for electoral purposes.  You either toe the line or you’re a homophobe.  Attention Democrats and all other warped individuals – this issue is not about politics, it’s about plumbing.  General Lynch, don’t insult our intelligence and the memory of true civil rights pioneers.  You’re right about one thing, using a bathroom is one of the most private functions.  Transgender identifying people should keep it private.  It’s not an act of political courage.  You’re not breaking down barriers.  You’re not the new freedom riders or Rosa Parks.  You just need to take a leak.  Take it and move along.  The rest of us value our dignity too.

No, I haven’t lost my mind.  I heard what Ted Cruz said about Donald Trump on Tuesday, just before he bowed out of the race.  I know that Ted Cruz didn’t intend his remarks to be an endorsement of Trump; far from it.  However, when you think about it, what Ted Cruz said about Trump simply highlights the fact that Donald Trump is tailor made for the times in which we live.  Again, no, I have not lost my mind.  I didn’t like Trump before Cruz ended his campaign, and I still don’t like him now.  Indeed, in these posts, I had adopted the style of Cato the Elder, ending every offering with “Donald Trump must not be the nominee of our Party.”  Well, that ship has sailed.  For good or ill, Trump is it, and I have stated that I will vote for him because the alternative is even worse.

Now, what about what Cruz said about Trump?  Let’s review.  Cruz said of Trump, that he is a narcissist at a level that this country has not seen; he’s a pathological liar, who doesn’t know the difference between the truth and lies; he’s utterly amoral; he’s a serial philanderer; and he will betray his supporters.  How could that possibly be an endorsement?  Just look around at America in 2016.  Trump is a narcissist at a level that the country has never seen?  Well, Il Duce Obama certainly fits that description, but Trump gives even him a run for his money.  When Trump speaks to any subject, the discussion begins and ends with his favorite subject:  himself.  Trump praising Cruz after Cruz suspends his campaign; 1) “I don’t know if he likes me or he doesn’t like me;” 2) “he’s a great competitor;” and 3) “I’ve had times when things weren’t going great.”  The point is that we live in a world that is obsessed with love of self.  Tom Wolfe coined the term, “the Me Generation” way back in the 1970’s.  The internet, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., has only made things worse.  And don’t blame the young people.  All their lives, they are told they are special; the center of attention.  No matter how they do, they get a trophy.  We used to tell kids, “if you work hard, you can be anything you want to be.”  Now, they’re told, they are owed a living whether they work or not.  Most of the electorate is content to follow the Kardashians on Twitter for hours, but would never bother to pick up a newspaper, or read a book.  Trump’s good with that crowd.  What did he say?  “I love the uneducated.”  And they love him.

Trump is a serial philanderer, and utterly amoral?  That’s no problem for the “Me Generation.”  They’ve grown up worshiping celebrities, and obsessed by fame.  Remember the Biography Channel?  Every celebrity biography was exactly the same.  The early days, the fame, the good times; and then tragedy struck.  Adultery, divorce, drug addiction, bankruptcy, rehab, and a new beginning.  Trump fits right in with the celebrity crowd.  He is one.  He’s amoral?  Today that’s a plus.  Morality is out of fashion; so judgmental.  We’re not allowed to judge.  You want to marry another man, two men, your sister, a goat?  Great!  What, you’re trans-gendering, and this week you feel like a woman?  How special!  Who are we to judge.

Trump is a pathological liar, who can’t tell the truth from a lie?  What are you, a purist?  On one level, when you’re on both sides of every issue, which one is the lie?  And he’s the perfect opponent for Hillary.  She lied to make her husband President.  She lied to keep her husband President.  She lies about Benghazi.  She lies about her emails.  She lies about her private server.  Need I go on?  I actually heard a Hillary pollster on TV admit that she’s lying about her positions to wild-eyed leftist Democrat primary voters, but then will change positions for the general election.  He was proud of it.  It’s just good politics, he said.  And when she gets caught, Hillary says, “every other politician did the same thing.”  Sound familiar?  Of course, Trump says he’s not a politician.  Trust me, children, anybody who can convince a majority of the voters that Ted Cruz, the most decent and honest man in Washington is a liar, is a politician.  Trump says he’s a different kind of Republican, though.  He’s right.  He’s a Democrat.

Trump will betray his supporters?  Not exactly high praise, but also not at all surprising.  Why should voters expect anything else?  The Democrats betrayed the minorities they swore to represent.  They’ve fared worse under Obama than in previous years.  And the Republicans?  Don’t get me started.  Constant betrayals by the Republican leadership is what created Trump.  He’s the outsider, right?  But riddle me this:  When you’re the President, how can you be an outsider?  Il Duce Obama notwithstanding, the President is not a dictator.  At the end of the day, he (or God forbid, she) has to work with the Congress, those people who promise you anything and deliver nothing.  Trump can’t change that.

So to repeat, Ted Cruz’s criticisms actually were an endorsement of Donald Trump.  And here we stand, facing our presidential Hobson’s Choice.  We can vote either for Bart Simpson (Ay Caramba) or Nurse Ratched (Medication Time).  Thomas Jefferson said, “The government you elect is the government you deserve.”  I’ve always thought H.L. Mencken said it better, “People deserve the government they get; and they deserve to get it good and hard.”  It looks like we’re going to get it good in 2016.  God help us.

Well, it’s not over yet, but it is beginning to look more and more like voters in November will be called upon to choose either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton as our next President.  If it comes to pass, this will be an exceedingly unpalatable choice to make.  Peggy Noonan summed it up succinctly as a choice between a crazy man and a criminal.  Not a pretty picture.  As for Hillary, it seems even wild-eyed Bernie Sanders now knows that it’s all over for him.  He’s not quitting yet, but he’s done, leaving about 1/3 of Bernie voters vowing that they won’t vote for Hillary – or so they say right now.  Hillary, meanwhile, hasn’t gotten any more popular.  Neither have the primary campaigns made her a more polished candidate.  Slick Willie, she is not.  Hillary, of course, is still under the cloud of a criminal investigation – or so we are led to believe.  We don’t hear much about it anymore.  Indeed, there is every reason to believe that the fix is in for Hillary, as the FBI Director announced that he’s in no hurry to complete the investigation any time soon.  That makes sense, let’s see, what’s a good deadline to wrap things up, how about January 21, 2025?  So Hillary is good to go.  She wants to raise your taxes.  She’s more concerned with climate change than with terrorism.  She already made the Middle East more dangerous when she had the chance.  She’s not concerned that the military is shrinking.  She’d rather prosecute cops than criminals.  As far as she’s concerned, everything is going great in America, and it will only be better once we punish more hardworking successful people.  In a nutshell, she’s a typical New York liberal.

And then there’s Mr. Trump.  He is fresh off of big wins in northeastern state primaries.  Trump cleaned up in the big blue states that he has absolutely no chance of winning in November.  Why does Trump do so well in northeastern states?  Let’s travel back to the very first Republican debate.  Q:  Mr. Cruz, what do you mean when you say Donald Trump has New York values?  Of course, this was turned into an insult to first responders on 911.  It never was that.  What New York values meant was simply that northeastern Republicans are far more liberal than Republicans from other parts of the country.  Trump does well among these liberals because he is a New York liberal.  Trump has much more in common with Hillary than with the rank and file Republican voter.  And that’s where we stand.  If nothing changes, in November we will be forced to choose between a northeastern Democrat liberal and a northeastern Republican liberal.  That’s not a problem if you’re a Democrat.  Voting for liberals is what you like to do.  For those of us who are Republicans?  No need to look back farther than four years ago.  Romney, a northeastern liberal Republican, couldn’t get it done.  And keep in mind, there was no doubt that Romney actually was a Republican.  He was the choice of the Party establishment, but even with all the Party activists behind him, he failed.  Fast forward to 2016.  Whether Donald Trump is even a Republican is questionable. Trump has almost no ground game in the various states, and he doesn’t seem to think local organizations are necessary.  And the people who control the local organizations – call them Party activists, loyalists, establishment, or whatever – are opposed to Trump and will not lift a finger to help him.  That does not bode well for the general election.  I am something of a barometer.  I went to the fourth grade wearing a Goldwater button.  There is nothing I like to do better than vote for Republicans.  But when I’m not excited to go out and vote for a Republican candidate, that candidate is in serious trouble.  I am not excited by Trump.  Repulsed, yes.  Appalled, sure.  Bewildered, certainly.  Will I vote for him if need be?  Yes, I would have no choice, as the prospect of President Hillary is even more repulsive and appalling than President Trump.  As Republicans, there is nothing we can do about northeastern liberal Democrat candidate Clinton.  But in the ten remaining primary states voting from next Tuesday to June 7, there is an antidote to northeastern liberal Republican candidate Trump.  We can and we must support the only conservative Republican candidate still in this race – Ted Cruz.  A choice between Trump or Clinton is no more than a hollow echo.  You can have either a northeastern liberal with a checkered past, or, well that’s about it.  Faced with that choice, many voters who held their noses and voted for Romney will just stay at home on election day.  We deserve a better choice.  We still have time to stop Trump and nominate a conservative.  Donald Trump must not be the nominee of our Party.