The Banana Republican: A Churl’s Last Stand

To concede or not to concede, that is the question.
Whether, ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows
of a stolen, outrageous electoral scam or, take proactive action against
Big media, Big tech, Big pharma, deep state, trying, by opposing them,
Finally to end their hegemony. Then sleep in the entitled White House
For the next four years, to enjoy pubic governance, heart aches,
And delicious thousand thrills that the flesh is heir to; 
‘Tis a consummation devotedly to be wished.
Rail, Rail against egregiously cast of hora votes and the jilmaat.
For who, except I, could attend to the whips and scorns of our times
Oppressor’s rights, my predecessor’s contumely- he thinks
A Nobel Prize (which I disdained) is everything- the pangs of unrequited love,
The insolence of office.Who would better bear the whips and scorns of these times,
The impudence of NATO, WTO, WHO, living on US subventions but abusing the US?
Show all of them the finger! Only I have the guts to do so.
I am the Greatest, better than Alexander in military matters, superior to Shakespeare,               
A more elevated thinker than Plato, by far the better speaker than Lincoln.
I am a stable genius. Why should I concede to a stolen election won by fraud?
Apologies “Hamlet”

Nothing made him so despicable, as his manner of not conceding.
Oliver Sacks published three case studies under the title, “The man who mistook his wife for a hat.” It was a best seller. Today, there is a live one, a man, despite his opponent gaining 80 million votes and a majority of over six million, mistook them to be a stay-order, to continue living in the White House. He is a messenger RNA (mRNA), one which creates anti-bodies with votes. For this God of smaller numbers, his election will end all elections.

Elections - the bed-rock - are the Gold Standard of a democracy, the November election being a stress-test for it. The US chief of election security- an appointment made by the incumbent- said “it was an extremely smooth election with a record turnout, conducted under exceptionally difficult circumstances. It was the most secure in American history, and was successfully carried out.” A twitter of Damocles fell immediately on him, terminating his services. The tocsin had been sounded: there was not going to be a peaceful transition, though his Secretary of State, a confidante of the incumbent, said there would indeed be one, but it would be to the incumbent’s second term. If that happens, Al Qaeda could claim victory. It had brought down a 2½ century lasting democracy-the oldest in the world- to its knees, in a David and Goliath battle. From 9/11 to 11/9, could be the triumphant tag line of Al Qaeda affiliates!

The incumbent had laid counter plans for his second term, if he could not re-win the White House, the direct way. He would question the validity of the election, sowing doubts on the reliability of the ballots, regularly claiming victory to anoint himself as the second term president, filing an avalanche of court cases, making allegations with no evidence. A prologue of his plans, unreeled four months prior to the election. He wanted the election to be postponed, failing to realize that it was a constitutional requirement. He then proclaimed that this election would be the most corrupt in US history, a steal and an embarrassment to the US. He wanted the challenger to withdraw and proclaim the incumbent as the new president. These claims were made before a single vote was cast. They were ignored. Right through his farcical election campaign he called the election a fraud. While the counting was on, based on early returns, he prematurely proclaimed himself the winner, and declared himself to be the next President. The counting went on. In the US, elections are a devolved subject conducted by the states. The US has provision for absentee postal voting, in which the postal system had to play a major role. He appointed one of the largest financial contributors to his campaign, as the head of the US Postal System. The final results were an overwhelming victory for the challenger. The incumbent then filed a number of court cases all of which were rejected by the judiciary. If a three million majority in the earlier election were insufficient, would six million prevail? If this step fails, the next would be to suborn legislators to change the election outcome. If they refuse to play ball, the politically appointed Supreme Court, with nine members, will be invited to ponder and decide on the democratic will of the eighty million who voted for the challenger. This will be a bonanza for the incumbent since two thirds of the court was appointed by his political party, a marvellous strategy for stealing the election. It was a surrealistic situation, the one accusing others of stealing is the one who is actually stealing, a variation of Catch-22, the stealer is the complainant of the steal.

 An initial indication that a country was going towards a Banana republic is when a committed minority group denies the validity of election which legitimized the serving government. The accusation of these putsches would be that the serving government was corrupt, offering no evidence. The situation was so dire- it will be claimed-that the serving government needed to be immediately overthrown. The government should be packed off, for the noble task of preserving democracy and making the country great again. Elections are then promised, two to three years hence, a pledge never redeemed. Rhetoric had replaced rational thought; unproven allegations with no evidence became the norm. 

The incumbent followed this play book. For a putsch to be successful, the full support of the armed forces is required. The disturbed armed services, concerned about how the dominoes were falling, made a pre-emptive declaration, “the armed forces take an oath to the Constitution, not a King or a Queen, tyrant or dictator.” Its import was very clear, no putsch. Thwarted, the next and last option for the incumbent would be to appeal to the Supreme Court. Justices read election returns. If they hold with the incumbent, it will be the Rule of Flaw. Therefore, that solace will not become available. The incumbent may have gone bananas and become a Banana Republican but the US will not be a banana republic.

Joe Biden will take oaths, as 46th President of US 

This is a tale of obsession, a demented search after an objective. Capt Ahab, in Moby Dick, undertook a similar venture, to capture a white whale which had caused his leg to be amputated. He achieved the task but the line that carried the harpoon got entangled with his neck and strangled him. The incumbent had a manic obsession to have a second term, which is normally available, but has to leave the White House in less than a dignified manner.