What Happens Now? by Andy Borowitz

From Andy Borowitz at The Borowitz Report printed as is except for the removal of that name:

Maybe you’ve been asking yourself:

1. “How could Donald Trump have won 51 percent of the popular vote?”

2. “How hard is it to immigrate to New Zealand?”

3. “What the actual fuck?”

Fair questions. Let’s try a thought experiment. Could Tuesday’s election results have been any worse?

Well, what if, instead of 51%, the Republican nominee had won 59%? Or 61%? And what if he had won 49 states?

Those aren’t hypotheticals. Those were the results of the 1972 and 1984 landslides that reelected Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.

With thumping victories like those, what could possibly go wrong for the winners?

If history’s any guide, some nasty surprises await ______ _____.

In 1972, the Democratic presidential nominee, George McGovern, won just 37.5 percent of the vote, carrying only Massachusetts and the District of Columbia for a total of 17 Electoral College votes. He didn’t even win his home state, South Dakota.

In 1984, Democrat Walter Mondale did carry his native Minnesota, but that was as good as it got for him. In the Electoral College, he fared even worse than McGovern, with a whopping 13 votes.

In the aftermath of these thrashings, the Democratic Party lay in smoldering ruins, and Republicans looked like indestructible conquerors.

Now, some might argue that those GOP victories, though statistically more resounding than _____’s, weren’t nearly as alarming, because he’s a criminal and wannabe autocrat.

But _____’s heinousness shouldn’t make us nostalgic for Nixon and Reagan. They were also criminals—albeit unindicted ones. And they were up to all manner of autocratic shit—until they got caught.

The Watergate scandal was only one small part of the sprawling criminal enterprise that Nixon directed from the Oval Office in order to subvert democracy. For his part, Reagan’s contribution to the annals of presidential crime, Iran-Contra, broke myriad laws and violated Constitutional norms.

The hubris engendered by both men’s landslides propelled them to reckless behavior in their second terms—behavior that came back to haunt them. Nixon was forced to resign the presidency; Reagan was lucky to escape impeachment.

Of course, _____ would be justified in believing that no matter how reckless he becomes, he’ll never pay a price. He’s already been impeached—twice—only to be acquitted by his Republican toadies in the Senate. And now that the right-wing supermajority of the Supreme Court has adorned him with an immunity idol, he’ll likely feel free to commit crimes that Nixon and Reagan could only dream of. Who’ll stop him from using his vast power to persecute his voluminous list of enemies?

Well, the enemy most likely to thwart _____ in his second term might be one who isn’t on his list: himself. The seeds of _____’s downfall may reside in two promises he made to win this election: the mass deportation of immigrants and the elimination of inflation.

_____’s concept of a plan to deport 20 million immigrants is as destined for success as were two of his other brainchildren, _____ University and _____ Steaks. The US doesn’t have anything approaching the law-enforcement capacity to realize this xenophobic fever dream.

And as for _____’s war on inflation, the skyrocketing prices caused by his proposed tariffs will make Americans nostalgic for pandemic-era price-gouging on Charmin.

It's possible that _____’s 24/7 disinformation machine, led by Batman villains Rupert Murdoch, Tucker Carlson, and Elon Musk, will prevent his MAGA followers from ever discovering that 20 million immigrants didn’t go anywhere. And it’s possible that if inflation spikes, he’ll find a scapegoat for that. (Nancy Pelosi? Dr. Fauci? Taylor Swift?)

And, yes, it’s possible that _____ will somehow accomplish his goal of becoming America’s Kim Jong Un, and our democracy will go belly-up like the _____ Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City.

But I wouldn’t bet on it. I tend to agree with the British politician Enoch Powell (1912-1998), who observed that all political careers end in failure. I doubt that _____, with his signature blend of inattention, impulsiveness, and incompetence, will avoid that fate.

And when the ketchup hits the fan, the MAGA movement may suddenly appear far more fragmented and fractious than it does this week. You can already see the cracks. Two towering ignoramuses like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert should be BFFs, but they despise each other—the only policy of theirs I agree with.

If things really go south, expect MAGA Republicans to devour each other as hungrily as the worm who feasted on RFK Jr.’s brain—and that, my friends, will be worth binge-watching. I’m stocking up on popcorn now before _____flation makes it unaffordable.

One parting thought. Post-election, the mainstream media’s hyperbolic reassessment of _____—apparently, he’s now a political genius in a league with Talleyrand and Metternich—has been nauseating. It’s also insanely short-sighted. Again, a look at the not-so-distant past is instructive.

In 1984, after Reagan romped to victory with 59 percent of the popular vote and 525 electoral votes, Reaganism was universally declared an unstoppable juggernaut. But only two years later, in the 1986 midterms, Democrats proved the pundits wrong: they regained control of both the House and Senate for the first time since 1980. Those majorities enabled them to slam the brakes on Ronnie’s right-wing agenda, block the Supreme Court nomination of Robert Bork, and investigate Iran-Contra.

The lesson of the 1986 midterms is clear: the game’s far from over and there’s everything to play for. If we want to stem the tide of autocracy and kleptocracy, restore women’s rights and protect the most vulnerable, we don’t have the luxury of despair. The work starts now.

Meme Dump

The Funny Papers

Rice Araujo, Bill Bramhall, Drew Sheneman, Dale Cummings, Bill Bramhall [again],Darrin Bell, Ed Wexler, Chris Britt, Deb Milbrath, Steve Benson, Michael de Adder, Steve Benson [again]

Random Musings

So, the Senate Republicans, lead by Mitch McTurtle, are saying they won’t  even allow a committee hearing on President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee no matter who that nominee might be because Obama is a Black man and he’s got no business telling racist Republicans what to do.

Okay, maybe that last part is what I said but I believe it to be true. But the Republicans don’t even care who the nominee is, even if it might be Nevada’s Republican Governor Brian Sandoval.

So, MoveOn has found a slew of Republicans who disagree with McTurtles and The Asshats — such as Senators Mark Kirk and Susan Collins and former Republican Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor — oh, and one more: the Messiah of the GOP, that Saint of All Republicans, Ronald Reagan:

Snap.

So, former failed — twice — GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney, who has endorsed Marco Rubio’s bid, is now speculating that Donald Trump might be deliberately concealing information about his net worth, his donation habits and his taxes.

Pot.Kettle.Black. It was just eight years ago that Romney tried to hide his wealth and minute tax bill from America and now he’s trying to use it against [t]Rump.

Why not simply say Donald [t]Rump is a bully and a moron and a loser? Keep the message simple.

I’m of two minds about this court order that Apple  must create a way to break into the San Bernardino terrorist’s iPhone.

First off, I don’t believe for one minute that Apple doesn’t already know how to do this, and

Secondly, how stupid does our government look that they can’t do it?

I mean, I bet there’s an eight-year-old in China right now who can do it …

Over there to Kentucky, the state Senate has approved a bill that creates different marriage license forms for gay and straight couples, with one Republican senator saying a form that does not include the words "bride" and "groom" is disrespectful to traditional families.

Yup, because Billy Bob and his cousin Betty Sue cannot sign a paper with the words “bride” and “groom” on ;’em, means they’re being discriminated against.

STFU Kentucky.

Bates Motel starts back again next week in all its creepy, incestuous, murdering ways … and promises much more of the same. In case you were wondering …

Oh and not too far behind is Showtime's Penny Dreadful, which is anything but ...

Carlos, wandering through the living room while I am glued to CNN: What are they talking about?

Bob: Huh? What? I don’t know?

Carlos: You don’t know? You’re staring at the TV like you wanna crawl inside …

Bob: Huh?

On CNN, pundit Van Jones. ‘Nuff said; and I still don’t know what they were talking about.

Future failed presidential candidate, Republican John Kasich says he rejects anti-LGBT discrimination by Christian-owned businesses though churches that discriminate are just fine with him:

“I think frankly, our churches should not be forced to do anything that’s not consistent with them. But if you’re a cupcake maker and somebody wants a cupcake, make them a cupcake. Let’s not have a big lawsuit or argument over all this stuff. Move on. The next thing, you know, they might be saying if you’re divorced you shouldn’t get a cupcake.”

But … before y’all get your rainbow flags out and think about marching behind Kasich, remembver5 he’s the Ohio governor who just last week cut funding to Planned Parenthood.

Yeah, he’s an asshat, too.

The Funny Papers