Bad things arising

Even though a Republican governor has come out in favor of Doug Jones, as has the National Review, I predict that Moore will win by six-to-eight points.

Yes, I know that the polls are all over the place. Yes, I've read Nate Silver. Silver doesn't believe that election rigging is real; I know that it is. A tweet from Greg Palast:

BREAKING: We just got a call from attorneys John Brakey and Chris Sautter from #Alabama. The State Supreme Court, without a hearing, but on the pure "ex-parte" (i.e. private) complaint of the State, "stayed" — that is, OVERTURNED THIS MORNING’S RULING TO PRESERVE ALL BALLOTS!

That's it. That's the only story that matters. The rest is noise.

The Alt Rightists possess both the intention and the means to commit fraud, and anyone who needs further proof is a dolt. Even if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the state ruling -- which probably won't happen -- ballot preservation matters only if there is a recount, and recounts happen only in close races. To avoid calls for a recount, the election-riggers must make the very idea of a recount seem absurd.

That's why I forecast a fairly wide victory margin. A double-digit spread might be suspicious; five points might be too low. Naturally, the liberal sites will overflow with day-after "think" pieces blaming anything and everything other than election fraud.

By tomorrow night, we'll know if this forecast is accurate. I don't want to be right. If I end up with egg on my face, it'll be the most delicious omelette in culinary history.

Elsewhere: Rachel Maddow's show last night gave us a grim picture of the Mueller probe's future. Mueller's firing is now almost certain; Republican media is engaged in an all-out effort to destroy the investigation, and liberals are doing very little to counter the propaganda blitz. Alan Dershowitz and Newt Gingrich are now giving cover for the assault on Mueller; the Fox News attacks are relentless.

If Republican propagandists could make Americans hate football, they can make make Americans hate Mueller. The polls will soon turn against him.

There is no infrastructure in place to defend the probe. Progressive web sites have repeated the fool's mantra "Trump wouldn't dare," even though everyone knows that a cornered rat's gonna do what a cornered rat's gonna do. Liberals continue to hallucinate that Republicans in Congress will soon turn against Trump, even though no evidence backs the delusion that the right will abandon the president the moment the tax bill passes.

"Me Too" is just another word for blackmail. We now live under Putin Rules: Anyone who criticizes Dear Leader will have his sexual indiscretions (real or invented) blasted all over the internet and teevee. If the Alt Right schemers can take down Al Franken, they can take down anyone.

When (not if) Mueller is fired, any Republican who favors reinstatement will suddenly find himself pummeled by sexual abuse allegations. Communications are tapped; indiscretions are logged.

Any Republican who incurs the wrath of Dear Leader will have to deal with former girlfriends and female colleagues who will suddenly offer hair-raising stories of rape, abuse and insensitive remarks. It won't matter if these stories reflect truth or fiction or a cunning admixture. Democrats will automatically believe any accusations against a Republican (most Dems fail to understand that we need a certain number of Republicans if we want to check Trump's power), while Republicans will think whatever Fox News tells them to think. There are plenty of women who will play their assigned roles, either because they are desperate for cash or because they are vulnerable to the fate that befell Susan McDougal. Even those politicians who have managed to avoid all actual honeytraps are vulnerable to false "He grabbed my butt" allegations.

Most Americans oppose Trump. When Mueller is fired, will that majority rise up in fury and outrage, as they did when Trump took the oath? I think not. "Trump fatigue" has left us too drained to take action.

We are also paralyzed because we fear becoming the enemy. We will lose the position of moral superiority if we allow ourselves to mirror the inchoate rage that fuels the Pals of Pepe. They may engage in primitive, tribal chants of "Lock her up!" -- but we may not answer in kind. The right may show emotion; we are not permitted. No matter the provocation, we must remain unnaturally calm, even though calm people never won a revolution.

Yes, I know that there are plans for peaceful protests of Mueller's (nearly certain) firing. I support such protests, and will take part. But even peaceful protests may devolve into violence, thanks to the agents provocateurs. One shudders to think of what Antifa and the ever-dimwitted young Bernie-lovers might do.

Any acts of violence, anywhere in the country, will be used to justify brutal tactics of repression.

Protests against the firing of Mueller could provide Trump with the "Reichstag" excuse he needs to take full dictatorial control. In recent speeches, Trump has clearly signaled that he wants to reform our system of justice to rid it of alleged 'deep state' corruption. You know what that means.

Democracy itself is imperiled, yet Democrats still behave as though they are guests at a brie-and-chablis party.

Ryan Lizza is the latest to fall victim to the right's "weaponized feminism" movement. Lizza is the person who outed Randy Credico (an allegedly liberal comedian) as Roger Stone's backchannel to Wikileaks. Lizza also wrote this incredible and essential series on Roger Stone.

Need I say more? If you can't see what's going on, you're a fool.

The Lizza outrage provoked one Twitter user to opine that our new standard -- accusation equals proof -- calls to mind the Salem witch hunt. Another comment noted that the supposed "witches" at Salem received a trial, a grace granted to neither Franken nor Lizza. My response? If you've ever read about the "visionary girls" who provided evidence at those trials, you'll know the absurdity of the proposition that all females tell the truth.

The Salem story is the classic American tale, and every generation seems doomed to repeat it. We're living in Groundhog Day, starring Goody Proctor.