This is our Civil War. Really. Red states and blue states are as polarized and mutually un-comprehending as the North and South in the Civil War. Happily, our war is virtual for now, fought with verbal bullets, not actual ones, to seize more FB "Likes" (or the equivalent) not actual territory.
But Trump's "quip" that his opponent should be locked up is typical of his aggression. Notice that Lincoln didn't do that to Jefferson Davis after the war, although he could easily have had him hung for treason. (As Jefferson tried to do with Burr for much less.) That shows where we are. Given the fury, it is amazing that this hasn't led to actual violence yet, only to fighting words on talk shows and the internet and anxiety dreams for everyone.
The battle lines have been drawn—they are vivid on the electoral map. And when this miserable election is over, it will take a long time to recover. The Civil War is still being fought 150 years later! The widening cracks in the once-united front on the Republican side won't make the healing go any faster, but rather slow it, as the two sides have just opened another front on their war—turning their guns on each other and on Hillary.
Sadly, that won't make it any easier for Dems to govern, as the Trumps and NeverTrumps will always be united in their blinding hatred of Hillary and everything she stands for, meaning four more years of gridlock, or eight if she's lucky. Unless, of course, the Republican party totally craters and they lose all three branches of government because of their craven enabling of DJT, which would prove that there really is a God, and He is a Democrat.
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October 13, 2016
