As a card-carrying member of the #NeverTrump and #NeverHillary camps, I feel my perspective isn’t tainted by a desire to toe any party line. Others in the same boat as myself – and there are plenty of us – are out in the wilderness this election cycle, fending off attacks from both sides. We’re horrible, because our non-support of either candidate is helping the other magically win. Still unsure how that all works.
Election day is a little more than a week away. Some are relieved this cycle is almost complete. Others are apprehensive as to what is ahead. I would say that whatever the outcome, we’re in for some negative changes once inauguration day has passed. Regardless, this long journey that began in mid-2015 has certainly taken America on an uncomfortable ride.
One aspect of this cycle I fail to be moved by has been the “October surprises”. These constitute new details, revelations, documents, recordings, etc., intended to sway the outcome of an upcoming election. Sometimes the revelations are scandalous and could severely hurt a candidate’s cause. Other times they aren’t very damaging at all, and a candidate can weather the storm.
This cycle, both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have dealt with/are dealing with their own October surprises. But really, are we shocked by these surprises? No. They’re not surprising at all.
The most recent one concerns Hillary Clinton. On Friday, FBI Director James Comey announced that they would be re-opening the investigation into emails relating to her personal server. On top of that, the emails were on a device that Huma Abedin shared with husband, the aptly-named Anthony Weiner. Talk about drama. Might it impact the election enough to keep her from winning? Perhaps. Most likely, though, it would impact other aspects of power within Washington. Jeff Zeleny revealed these worries as reported by CNN:
“Democrats are still pretty confident of her outcome on Election Day, but they’re increasingly worried what comes after that,” Zeleny said. “The effect of this FBI new development is that it is going to make, if she wins, it much more difficult for her to govern in this town. So she had started some outreach to Republicans. She was trying to sort of smooth the way here. This has blown up all of that here and undermines her first 100 days if she wins.”
It’s difficult to smooth over lifelong corruption, frequent lying, and a generally horrible demeanor. That the investigation is reopened is not surprising to those of us who believe it should never have been closed in the first place. Furthermore, the idea of a friendship and outreach to Republicans, whether those in D.C. or not, was a pipe dream anyway. Frankly, nothing about Hillary Clinton as a person is shocking to us. Yes, the regular American does not engage in that kind of corruption, but for Hillary, it’s business as usual. Unsurprising.
The October surprise thrust upon Donald Trump was similarly unsurprising. We haven’t known Trump as a politician in elected office, but we’ve certainly been aware of him as a celebrity and media personality for years. His womanizing raises eyebrows, but only out of continued disgust, not out of surprise. Release of audio/video from his 2005 interview with Billy Bush only confirmed what we’ve known all along: he’s a sleazeball who views his own power as a vehicle to take advantage of women, whether they consent to it or not. The same goes for the allegations from those who say they’ve been abused by him. Are each of these allegations true? I don’t know. However, would it shock you if they were? If somehow they would happen to be false, would your opinion of Donald Trump change? Mine certainly wouldn’t. He’s proven himself to be a scoundrel.
Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have baggage that is the same variety of what has been revealed this October. You know how you can’t make something that is wet any wetter? Well, the same goes for these two. Both of them are unreliable, immersed in scandal, and generally nasty people.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member