Hillary Clinton Will Win Easily...Unless

Here's the deal:

Republicans have elevated stealing elections to an art form.

They gerrymander every conceivable district to either dilute or concentrate Democratic voters.

The result is that more people vote for Democrats and yet more Republicans are elected. This gerrymandering may not matter as much in the vote for President, but it sure helps keep the Congress full of mouth breathing simpletons.

And it means Republicans control many state legislatures, where...

They remove people, usually Democratic voters, from the voting rolls, at whim.

They stop early voting and curtail the voter registration period.

They under staff polling places in minority areas.

They send armed white thugs to "enforce the sanctity of the vote."

Also, in addition to their Russian hacker buddies, the GOP apparently has a whole cadre of Trump lovin' FBI agents doing every thing they can to tilt the election towards their boy.

Last, but not least, there are all those paperless voting machines that can be hacked and that leave no paper trail. Ask John Kerry about Ohio in 2004.

Republicans love democracy...but only on their terms.

The Flim Flam Men

"The Republican platform and policies are so obviously correct and right for America that they can only win elections by cheating and/or lying."

Huh? What? Those things shouldn't be in the same sentence, should they?

Well, logically they shouldn't...But as a practical matter they have to be.

There can be no other explanation for what we observe every day, all around us.

As soon as the Republicans gain control of a state's legislature, they immediately start trying to suppress as many voters who lean towards the Democrats as possible.

Whether by gerrymandering, complicating the registration process, shortening the voting period, or simply by not having enough polling stations in minority districts, they do everything they can to insure that Democrats will have a hard time voting.

And if a few of their own constituents also suffer, well, all the better for their cover story.

The Republican Party is afraid of open, fair elections.

The Republican Party fears that it cannot win an open, fair election.

Therefore, they will lie and cheat and steal to win.

And since they have no interest in governing, it really doesn't matter if their candidates are incompetent fools.

All that matters is winning.

A Closer Look At The Republican Contenders

Trump? Cruz? Kasich?

No sane person would want any of these clowns anywhere near the Oval office.

Not the tiny fisted, carny barker megalomaniac, not the hyper religious, gun worshiping, snake oil salesman, and no, not even the one who seems almost reasonable compared to the other two, but down deep is just another reactionary hack.

And yet, there are millions of Americans of voting age who are seriously considering voting for them.

So, we are forced to confront the fact that many millions of Americans are simply out of their minds.

They know nothing of history. They have no concept of truth and fiction. They live in a fact free zone.

Their big issues are abortions, guns, religion, and immigration.

Oh, yeah, and an all encompassing fear and hatred of "the other".

They are dead certain that the brown people are getting away with something.

And if only "we" could stop them, everything would be fine and we could go back to our idyllic Mayberry past.

They truly madly deeply believe this shit!

And here's the kicker: Republican controlled states across this great land of ours have spent the last decade figuring out new and better ways to rig elections. Whether by simple gerrymandering or outright voter suppression they have made it harder and harder for Democrats to vote.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL ARIZONA UNIT

Rick Renzi, former US Congressman from Arizona's "whatever" district, (my benighted home state has been gerrymandered almost beyond recognition and certainly well beyond any form of common sense, so it's really hard to keep track of which district is which. For instance, Renzi's district included parts of northern Arizona and stretched down to the Straits of Magellan as well), has been found guilty by a federal jury on 17 out of 32 counts, including racketeering, conspiracy and extortion. The Triple Crown of political corruption, as it were.

Seems like he used his elected position to force certain land swaps that generated money so that one of the participants could pay back Renzi a very large sum. Which is, after all, why we have a Congress in the first place.

Naturally Renzi, who is apparently one of those "law and order" Republicans who don't believe that the "law" part of that formulation should apply to them personally, will appeal. To quote one of his defense team, "We are pleased that the jury acquitted Mr. Renzi on 15 counts. We are disappointed by every guilty verdict. We will continue to fight these charges..."

Well, at least as long as the money holds out...

Renzi's new defense should include the time tested "what's the use of having a place at the table if you can't enjoy the buffet?"

He might also want to simply throw himself on the mercy of the court. See, Renzi has 12 children.

That's right, 12. As in a dozen.

So the brother needs every single buck he can get his hands on. Legally or illegally.

Based on the number of little Renzi's running around, his team might also want to explore an insanity defense.