This upcoming election, at least on the Republican side, has looked not so much like the road to a nomination but rather a circus event.  The two leading candidates for the Republican nomination, at this moment, are Donald Trump and Ben Carson.

While one can laugh at some/many/most/all of Donald Trump’s statements (he’s made mincemeat, IMHO, of “serious” candidates like Jeb! Bush), the fact is he’s a carnival barker and a reality TV star.  Sure he has a real estate empire and knows more than a thing or two about the business world, but what exactly does he offer as president?  Stripping away most of his very heated talk, his most “serious” proposal is to deport millions of illegal immigrants (humanely!) and build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico.  He’s made some vague statements regarding international trade and China, but they’re too vague to glean any action he intends to take.  Given his volcanic nature, I’d be really frightened to give him the keys to the kingdom and, especially, the “button.”

Likewise, Ben Carson really scares me as well.  While he is clearly a brilliant surgeon, he otherwise appears to be a man who lives in some kind of alternate reality.  I need not repeat some of his more odd pronouncements (like his idea of what the Pyramids are all about), but every time he does speak I seriously wonder what color the sky is in his world.   As the famous Mark Twain saying goes:

It’s better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than open it and remove all doubt.

The idea of someone so…detached…from the real world leading us in the real world is therefore beyond scary.

But those two individuals are nonetheless at the top of the polls for the Republican party, much to the chagrin of the “old guard” and now, some are wondering…

Time for GOP Panic?  Establishment Worried Carson or Trump Might Win

The above article, written by Phillip Rucker and Robert Costa for The Washington Post, notes that while there is still quite a bit of time before the general election (a little less than a year at this point), we’re rapidly running out of time regarding the presidential nominations.

In fact, we’re less than three months from the Iowa Caucuses which begin the nominating process and, to date, Trump and Carson not only have but also maintain a strong lead over all the other candidates.

According to the article, many donors are withholding their money and its understandable.  Why would you donate to a Jeb! Bush or a John Kasich, two candidates viewed as far more electable in a general election, when they so far haven’t come close to either Trump or Carson in the polls and therefore don’t appear to have a chance -at least so far- of getting the Republican nomination?

Many thought this nomination cycle would be like the last.  In the previous election, there were a bunch of really far-out candidates for the Republican nomination.  Each of them had their moment in the sun (and polls) only to melt under its harsh lights.  Eventually Mitt Romney, the “safe” candidate, was nominated while all the others were long gone.

Not so this time around.

I’ll be honest here: I’m liberal.  I like change and feel we should always be looking for ways to improve society rather than try to strip away people’s rights and/or return to some kind of non-existent “rosy” past.

You would think someone like me would therefore be gleefully taking in the circus that is the Republican party and relishing the fact that the “old guard” is dealing with the seeds they’ve sown (and make no mistake about it, the “old guard” is every bit as responsible for this mess as they are chagrined by its results).

But I’m not gleeful.

Why?  Because of this chilling line found in the article.  It is provided by an anonymous Republican strategist and puts all this nonsense into perspective (I’ve highlighted the most chilling part):

“We’re potentially careening down this road of nominating somebody who frankly isn’t fit to be president in terms of the basic ability and temperament to do the job,” this strategist said. “It’s not just that it could be somebody Hillary could destroy electorally, but what if Hillary hits a banana peel and this person becomes president?”

There’s another saying, attributed to Woody Allen, that bears repeating here:

90% of success is showing up.

A President Trump?  A President Carson?

Scary thoughts indeed.