America is heading towards the mid-terms with the Republicans hoping to take both Houses, and almost certainly attempt to impeach Biden in revenge for Trump’s double impeachment. They also plan to stage investigations into Merrick Garland, Anthony Fauci, Hunter Biden’s laptop and the whereabouts of Loch Ness Monster.
I put a couple of quid on the Democrats holding both Houses, not because I was particularly hopeful, but because I thought the odds the bookies were offering were much higher than they should be -the Senate in particular has very few marginal Democrats seats up for grabs, and lots of marginal Republican ones in the 30 seats being contested
Since I placed that bet 3 things have happened that have made my bet look a lot better. The repeal of Roe vs Wade has galvanised the Democrat base and won over lots of swing voters despite Biden’s dismal poll ratings. The raid on Mar A Lago has kept Trump and his legal troubles on the front page, over shadowing the Republicans messaging on the economy.
But just as important but less well noted are the candidates the Republicans have picked. Former football star Herschel Walker in Georgia is a car crash of a candidate, and daytime TV star Dr Oz in Pennsylvania is nearly as crazy. His decision to make the price of crudités a major campaign issue looks like a terrible misjudgement.
The US right’s long march into a fantasy world shows now signs of stopping, nor does it’s continual fascination with weird Trump Art. The psychedelic world of Trump fans and their mix of authoritarianism and hallucinations is a new and disturbing art form. There is no way back for the Republicans now – while only a minority believe Trumps claims of electoral fraud, a much larger group believe that any Democrat run administration is illegitimate, and the only valid outcome of a US election is a white authoritarian right wing man.
But the most bizarre development in the world of crazy Trump are is MAGA fiction – romance novels featuring MAGA themes, in which loveless liberal women are swept off their feet by virile MAGA men. Ironic given that Trump himself is so fat he hasn’t seen his feet since the 1990s.
