THE MID-TERMS IN THE USA

The mid-terms next week are very important. They will give an indication of the sustainability of the Trump agenda. The outcome is still hard to predict because the campaigns do not follow the usual scenario of choice and concrete alternative.

The president has let loose a war machine against precedent and civility. As a result, this country is split in parts. Recent events and international discomfort continue to take the glamor out of America. The rampage in the Pittsburgh synagogue, the "bomb stuff" (quote from Trump) against prominent Democrats are a clear indication of an overall mental health crisis in this post-2016 United States. The advancing "caravan" in Mexico is like the chorus in a Sophocles play which carries the weight of everything that is unjust.  The immigration problem should be managed by way of a multilateral approach and legal, medical supportive measures. It needs an existential empathy rather than the repeat of Trump's preferred cage "solution" . 

The American order lies in agony. The administration's fracking boom is ruining the landscape. The battle against access to the ballot box is yet another takeover of the democratic process. The voters are psychologically tired and existentially disgusted. The danger is real that many might prefer to have nothing to do with this downfall, experienced by many as irreversible. The permanent attack against the media is slowly weakening the only pillar (almost) that withstands the onslaught.

Trump's base (the so-called frustrated white blue-collar males)  gets its daily witches brew from Fox News and the truth killer- in-chief. There are individual Democrats and former Republicans who are formidable, but an overall counter punch message is absent. Michael Avenatti (running in 2020 for the presidency?) said in non-ambiguous terms that only a slingshot might work against Trump.  A sledgehammer might be better...

It is to be hoped that this internal negative will not lead to miscalculation externally. In foreign affairs, Trump & Co. have nothing to brag about. Foes and allies are equally perplexed by this American nightmare which feels more like a spasm than a muscle. The parade of visiting favorite strong men and clowns in the White House goes on and the the Saudi "roadblock" will not deter Trump from continuing on his chosen path as long as it is paved with nefarious intentions.

If the Democrats take over the House, life for this administration will become difficult but Trump cannot be discounted. A win in the Senate would be close to miraculous but god is on holiday. If the president were able to keep a majority in both houses hell will break loose. He might change his cabinet anyway and get rid of the Mueller investigation. His primary instincts would bring up the "bouncer" in him, with all the unpleasant consequences here and there.

The Republican party should change its name. Was McCain the last Republican?  Even the reasonable ones--Senators Flake, Collins, Murkowski --bend and Romney, waiting in the corridor, is in hiding. The GOP is dead, long live the DOA (death on arrival), where the enablers come home to roost.