The morning after ... and I still respect you

To all those who gave it their best as candidates for various offices in the primaries remember this, you are still respected the morning after your defeat. It is always best to try at something which could lead to failure than to just sit on the couch and complain. Of course, those who want to stay off the ridge-line will continue to complain, often anonymously, while hiding in the weeds.

After all, Donald Trump was never supposed to win the presidency and when he did it gave hope to everyone from every demographic to at least try this uniquely American experiment known as democracy.

Bravo to one and all from the marijuana grower to the lady with the purple hair to the millionaire to the mild mannered school teacher.
Liberals, extreme liberals, conservatives and "regular" Democrats and Republicans all came out in force and perhaps set a record for citizen participation as far as candidates are concerned.

Twenty-nine folks contested for United States Senator, 28 of them were not named Maria Cantwell.

The overall turnout wasn't the story last week, but the variety of candidates was. There was even a Jew-hating Muslim in the batch who drew about 6,000 votes statewide, oy vey! Ironically, he called himself a Democrat, even though the Democratic Party nationwide usually embraces Israel and its causes.

This extreme left wing anomaly could be one more sign of the apocalypse. In this case, I am grateful Maria Cantwell will probably keep her seat.

One candidate thought he'd make the top two in the primary required to move on to the November general election, but finished last.

A small group of candidates never answered my interview questions posed before the primaries because they were certain to move on and, I guess, didn't want to waste their time appealing to rural, conservative voters like exist in Chelan, Douglas, Okanogan and Grant counties.

Many candidates wore the mantle of "independent" on their sleeves because they didn't want to be labeled as pro or anti Trump. Others because they were afraid of trying to win as a Democrat in a heavily Republican part of the state.

They all deserve our respect for taking part in Democracy and not trying to violently tear it down as in many Third World countries where tyrants rule as the common man is made to slave.

The "strongman" mentality attracts many adherents, even in this age, because it is associated with leading the country by force of will and the will of force. Charismatic leadership draws millions to it as if it were a giant flash mob, moths to a candle, while legislative procedures are cumbersome and sometimes painfully predictable in its red tape inefficiencies.

Needless to say the latter is boring, but legally and culturally acceptable while the former foments revolutionary antics that sometimes last for centuries (like the United States).

We were born in a violent revolution as were the Russians. Trump and Putin, Americans and Russians actually do have a lot in common, but I still like to cast my vote and make believe it will be counted properly and that the guns will remain holstered, at least for another year.
In that vein, we have nothing in common with modern Russia.

They need another revolution and I'd like our CIA to start one on their citizens' behalf. It would be payback for screwing around in the sanctity of our election process we should all hold sacred.