This is a big one. We say that about every election, but this really is a big one: it’s about the soul of our country, and what we want this country to be. Nothing less.

Trump has proven to be worse than we ever imagined, even in our worst nightmares. He is what we feared all along: an ignoramus, a con-man, a fraud, a racist, a sexist, a troublemaker, a Russian stooge, and a liar of gargantuan proportions. But even I never dreamed he’d be such a white supremacist and enemy of democracy.

(Of course, residents of New York City who gave Trump only 19% of their vote knew him for what he was. Anyone who gets only 19% of his HOMETOWN vote … well, he’s shown that you can fool half the people some of the time.)

Today Americans will be asked: now that we all know exactly who and what Trump is, is this the kind of man we want running things? Along with his friends, enablers, sycophants, and alibiers.

Trump has called this midterm election a referendum on his presidency. He said, “Pretend that I’m on the ballot.” (It’s certainly not about GOP plans to cut Social Security and Medicare.) The fact that it’s even close – that he already had millions and millions of supporters; about one-third of the country -- makes my heart sick.

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been making calls for SwingLeft candidates, so best of luck to –

Paul Davis (KS-2)

Amy McGrath (KY-6)

Xochitl Torres Small (NM- 2)

Harley Rouda (CA-48)

Dr. Kim Schrier (WA-8)

Jason Crow (CO-6)

Alyse Galvin (Alaska)

I might have forgotten someone.

I want to thank SwingLeft for making it easy to help. I somewhat regret not leaving my desk and just phone-banking from home and not putting in more hours. I like getting out, canvassing and talking to different people at my local Democratic headquarters (the Pasadena UDH.) I did canvass once in the Antelope Valley for Katie Hill (CA-25), but the 105 temperatures beat me down.

But I’m also currently doing a “final” polish on WHEN I GOT OUT before copy-editing and I’m completely obsessed with that, too, so I stayed at my desk and did what I could.

The TG won’t let me watch the TV tonight. Instead, we’ve made a practice of going out to dinner on Election Day Nights to ease our suffering. What happens, happens.

My beautiful micro-life should be fine. Hey, I’m a novelist with a pub date! (Not to mention my wife, family, grandson, etc., etc.) But can I live happily in a diseased country? In some ways, I already do.

And even if the Dems do well tonight, there are ugly days ahead. Trump will not go quietly or peacefully. (And as I’ve said a million times, it’s not just Trump: the GOP is a black hole of bad ideas. They are AGAINST clean air and water … a free press … reproductive rights … economic equality … access to health care … college loan relief …. food and drug safety … sanctioning Putin … protecting future elections … common sense gun laws … combatting global warming …)

But if Trump and Trumpism isn’t roundly repudiated today, it’s going to be another nail into the heart of the American Dream and any sense of self-esteem that we have left as a country.

The fact that Donald Trump was ever our president is a permanent stain on our history. No matter what happens, we shall never ever live him down.

Ray Charles sings “America the Beautiful”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRUjr8EVgBg

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