THE DRUMBEAT GETS LOUDER:  No question about it, anyone following the news can feel the rising excitement in the Republican Party as the election gets closer.  The polls are moving their way.  States and races are in play that had been considered automatically Democratic.  In Washington State, where left-wing violence is a respected part of the culture, ancient Dem Senator Patty Murray is feeling major heat from Republican Tiffany Smiley.  (I do wish some of our candidates would get more serious names.)  At the start of this campaign, Murray was considered invincible.

In Oregon, there's a good chance that a Republican will be elected governor.  I didn't know that Republicans were allowed on the ballot.  It is reported that much of the population is already scheduling visits with political psychiatrists to try to adjust to a Republican on the TV screen.

Here in desperate New York, Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin, all but written off by the talking heads at the start of his campaign, is running neck-and-neck for the governorship against incumbent Cuomo disciple Kathy Hochul, who announced this week that talk about crime is ridiculous, and part of a right-wing conspiracy to scare voters.  Not smart in a state where people are afraid to take the subway. 

And in Michigan, Her Weirdness herself, Dem Governor Gretchen Whitmer, got up this morning to learn she's neck-and-neck with challenger Tudor Dixon, who few ever heard of just months ago. 

Reports tell us that the Democratic Party is spending millions in states and Congressional districts where they've never had to spend much before.  Send 'em a buck if you feel generous.

Now, because we're responsible adults and model parents, we must caution that none of these races are sure things for our side, but the numbers do not lie.  Republicans are fast changing the race in almost every poll.  Can they be stopped?

Maybe.

I do have some nightmares in reserve.  The first is that, with all the words about a Republican surge, we might fall just short in some key races.

The second is that our voters will become so confident that they'll neglect to vote.   You probably have noticed that Republican candidates, in almost all appearances, are calling for maximum turnout.  The election depends on it.

The third nightmare is that there will be a last-minute report of an "investigation" by a major news organization, like The New York Times, that will smear our side when there isn't enough time to answer.  That's been done before.

And the fourth is the worst nightmare of all – that we may win many close races on election night, only to have the results overturned by absentee or mail ballots.  Indeed, someone identified only as a member of the Stacey Abrams campaign was quoted as saying that he hoped all those pieces of paper out there will serve to wipe out a Republican election-day victory.  That is serious stuff.  Paper is easily manipulated.  But of course I'd never suspect...

November 1, 2022