Maybe The Fly Is All That Makes Sense

 

Fly on Pence. I watched most of the debate on MSNBC, but a bti on ABC, too. I think this was ripped off from ABC.

I feel some sympathy for Mike Pence.

In the middle of a nationally televised debate, a fly landed on his head and became the enduring symbol of the 2020 vice presidential debate. It’s odd how asides become “the thing” in media—a candidate’s ride in a tank, a yowl to an Iowa crowd, one remark about a bucket of deplorables.

But sometimes the asides resonate because they are consistent with some larger reality. That’s reading too much into the fly, which didn’t mean a thing despite all the memes about what flies are attracted too and what that means about Mike Pence. Because, honestly, it doesn’t mean anything except that’s where a mindless fly happened to land.

I wrote a reaction to the presidential debate, which was another level of shit show all its own. And the fire-hose of crazy that is our deranged, drug-addled Dear Leader has made the VP debate last night seem like a month ago. Perhaps this was the last debate of 2020, because if someone else controls the megaphone, our loudmouthed lout of a leader can’t lower himself to participate.

Such is 2020, but I’ll carry on and comment a bit on the Kamala show, even though it probably doesn’t mean a thing.

Vice Presidential Debates: The Xander of politics. Everyone loves them but they don’t mean that much.

I’m betting that if you liked Donald, you liked Mike Pence even more. I don’t’ know for sure, because if you like Donald, the twisted avenues of logic in your addled brain aren’t routes I can follow.

The man Pence succeeded in not being a totally deranged moron, which in Trumpland makes him a genius. Like he’s been to “read the book” school, although in Penceland I’m sure it’s “read the Book school” because there’s only one.

But if you like Donald at this point, it’s probably that “read the book school” in your past didn’t make enough of an impression. OK—I’m sure some good people like Trump for various reasons I can’t possibly imagine, and I’ll try not to be too insulting or snarky because it does nothing for discourse. Honestly, thought. We’re way past the time when it makes any sense. He unmasks while he is infectious, rage tweets on steroids and is clearly making a mess of himself.

So, back to the Kamala Harris Show. The debate. Remember that? She didn’t always answer the question (will they pack the court or not?)—but she was “there” and responsive compared to the male animatronic that was Mike Pence. She had a few slips of the tongue—clearly misspoke some numbers, for instance. But she was smart, insightful.

Kamala Harris watched Mike Pence mansplain. I'm afraid I've been guilty of this sometimes, but men, we do not want to make a woman make that look. And no, it was not disrespectful--Pence was a time hog, a chorono-bully. Totally manly. In all the wrong ways. Clearly I was watching MSNBC early in the debate.

And female. Not just a woman, but a woman who is used to misogynist men who mansplain too much. Which was Pence, fly or no fly.

I don’t know how often the host had to try to reign Pence it, but the boring talking robot had some prerecorded messages to dump on the audience and was not to be deterred by any silly rules.

Kamala had a bit more impact in shutting him up. Kamala—it was no contest. In substance, she was closer to fact land, even if she did sometimes spin. Pence, as a Trump spokesperson must be, spun like a tornado. Kamala was a derecho, straight on and relentless.

Senate image. My chosen dinner guest.

So, the winner? There was no contest, really. Sen. Chuck Grassley tweeted that Pence won the debate because people would want to invite him for dinner, which makes me wonder how boring dinners are at Chuck's house because I thought the conversation would be far more interesting with Kamala as the guest.

Trump and his campaign have violently imploded. Which doesn’t mean for sure that he will lose the election—never forget 2016 and the disaster that was caused by the Electoral College, that 18^th century twist on democracy that is still with us—but Trump has taken some self-inflicted hits and keeps plowing right back into that iceberg. He’s a titanic mess.

Trump is a man infected with coronavirus who didn’t learn anything from the experience. An N of one who is convinced his experience enlarges to everyone.

He didn’t die (yet) and is convinced that a disease that robbed America of 210,000 souls and counting, and more than a million globally, is not a big deal. Time to ride around in a closed limo with your guards to waive at your mindless minions so that you can stoke your evil ego—abusing guards who have sworn to take a bullet for you but who should not have to needlessly face a bat virus. Mock your opponents for wearing life-saving masks. Tell us all that we've already entered the light when we can plainly see the darkness.

It's beyond serious, America. Democracy and lives are at stake. Vote as if your whole future depended on it because, in this pivotal year, we need leaders who don't ignore science or global warming or pandemics--we need to be so over blowhards whose only skill is to make a bunch of pointless public noise.

The neutral image that would be the main one in normal times. But 2020 is not normal times. Start of the debate, they look different ways and see very different worlds--but most of us live in the one that Kamala sees.

Hmm. the debate? Kamala won, fly or no fly. I sure hope Biden does, too. In a giant blue wave. Make ’em squeal and send Joni Ernst back home, too.

Yet, a blue wave will not instantly fix things. I said Kamala was a derecho, and she was in the debate, but in governing, Trump is the relentless, destructive storm who won’t stop blowing. It will take years to recover from his damage. His shit will be around for quite a while.

It's too much for one fly to handle.