I’ve always thought of my mother as sort of a bellwether for whats going in the GOP mindset.
Raised by a hardcore Republican father, she has always stuck to the party — despite my better efforts.
And that means she voted for Bush, twice, McCain and Romney in the most recent elections.
Going all the way back, she told me recently she had never voted for a Democrat for President. That is, until 2016.
For whom does the bellwether toll? She tolls for thee, Donald Trump.
Tonight she spoke unabashedly about voting for Hillary, going even further by saying she thought Trump might be the ‘anti-Christ.’
Whoa, what did you say 73 year old lady?
A true catholic all her life, this is not your neighborhood kook. Her extreme view was startling, she had never hurled an accusation or belief such as that at anyone, even a Dem! This is your sweet as pie, Sunday dinner making grandma.
And yet, she made it almost plausible to an atheist like myself by calming explaining that it had nothing to do with the ‘devil.’
She was referring to the ‘truthiness’ of what it might mean for someone to be “anti-Jesus.” He (or she) would likely be a wealthy narcissist with no empathy or interest in no one or anything outside his own mind.
Which does not mean the person is “evil” per se, simply that their behavior, beliefs, principles and impact would be the polar opposite of Christ’s kind, meek, inclusive, sacrificing spirit. And in that sense, she made a point.
Fact is, Trump has proven time and again that he is the “opposite”. He would not knock down stores in the Temple market, he would buy them out to build his own superstore and sell trinkets with HIS name on it. Wash the feet of a prostitute? Help the sick and poor? Preach peace and love and forgiveness?
The more I consider, the more it sticks, despite the normal visuals and connotations the label brings. There are no tin-foil hats here, mom is using all the foil to make a meatloaf. MA! The MEATLOAF!
So not only will my mother not vote for Trump, she has come to believe that he is the Anti-Christ. Yeah, it’s that bad for them.
For a lifelong and devoted Republican, it is quite the flip-flop, so good even Trump can perhaps appreciate it.
To say I was floored by her harsh turnabout is an understatement, I had no idea someone could turn the hardcore elephant I had always known into a donkey.
And the fact that it was Donald Trump who performed this magic trick makes me guffaw like Rush Limbaugh laughing at Ann Coulter.
Simply put, my trusty bellwether is telling me the GOP is in BIG trouble.