Dear Editor,
The first thing I wish to say about the November 3rd US elections is that I am not voting. As things stand currently, I do not plan to vote again anywhere.
My reason for not voting in the US presidential election has a lot to do with my very poor assessment of both the incumbent and the challenger. The former is from outer space, while the latter has problems with keeping his feet on the ground. To cut a real fine point on how I view these two candidates for the most powerful, most prestigious, office in the world, I think that both men are not of this world, since they have lost touched with it; one is certifiably delusional, while the other is dumbfounded.
The president is bent on bending any convention, any situation, any opportunity to maximize his sometimes nuanced, and most times not-so-subtle, race mongering and fear mongering. The man is very good at it, and make no bones of where he stands and what he expects from his people. He knows what sells and how to play the militias, the conservatives (mild, or middle of the road, or red meat, or rock-ribbed conservatives), as well as the extremists and nativists. Though the numbers are against the leader in 1600 Pennsylvania, he is still hard to beat. And, unless soundly beaten, I find it difficult to see him conceding willingly, early, or easily. I am thinking we should send Stabroek News, Kaieteur News, David Granger, and the crowd of democratic guardians in this country to show the Americans what electoral democracy is all about. I am not being facetious, I am serious, since we will be repaying the favours delivered here by our American allies. We know about post elections troubles and disputes.
As for the challenger fielded by the Democrats and poll frontrunner, the first thing I wish to say is that I have a low regard for polls. People polled have become savvy at saying what serves the moment. They usually mislead. The next thing is that the Democratic Party’s challenger is a wishy-washy, lukewarm, unimpressive, vacillating, infirm of vision, and unsteady of purpose candidate. There is more, but I stop as an expression of kindness. We have more spirited, more robust candidates of presidential lumber than he is. The difference is that ours can deceive and get away with it, whereas the American has no such luxury.
Editor, I can and do say this: the challenger has certainly luxuriated with time and circumstance and dodged all over the place on law and order for fear of angering the minority base, and a potentially huge voter turnout. So, he has fiddled on that burning issue (literally) and a price could be paid for such indecisiveness. Already, the Republican, never a man to retreat before the face of controversy or danger, has come out for those code words once favoured by men with names like Richard Nixon and George H. W. Bush. The former spoke warningly and ominously about ‘law and order’, while the latter invested wisely and below the belt in a fella called Willie Horton. Both were cases of: messages delivered, fears stirred, and damage done.
I believe that there will be heavy voter turnout, but mainly from Republicans. Most of those folks that were running uncontrolled on the streets are not going anywhere near a polling booth. That will hurt the Democrats. I see crime and police developments as key contributors to the outcome. Also, some of the Democrat’s visions and numbers do not make sense. Think taxes and deficits. In terms of immigration, he could be a boon for Guyanese, but that is a bone in the throat for red-blooded white bread American stock. The coloured invasion could make that stock a minority in a small handful of decades. The chaos of Rome is what is feared (and the long Dark Ages that ensued).
The last issue is closer to home. If the Democrat wins tomorrow (and is allowed to assume office), I believe that he will be soft on Venezuela. That is, less extreme and less hardline; even if only a matter of degrees that could be significant. I say so because it has the potential to leave Guyana in the lurch, as in hanging, exposed, and vulnerable. America has done this before. We will see what is done on Tuesday.
Yours faithfully,
GHK Lall
