The Trump Turnpike

America.

Hey. Hey. We need to talk.

How. Did. We. Get. Here?

You know what HERE I'm talking about.

FAM.

I've never been really big on fear tactics.  I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm a product of the 9/11 generation.  Maybe it's because like so many, I heard the USA chants.  I watched several of my friends sign up happily for military service, subscribing to the "We need to protect our shores" at an early age.  Maybe it's because at that same age, when things didn't start lining up, I became a questioning mind and an open mouth.  I don't know WHY fear tactics don't scare me anymore, but this election, no lie.  The tactics got me, fam.  They got me.  I'm so ready to put on a Hillary pin, hashtag my tweets with #ImWithHer, and run to the nearest poll that I don't know what to do.  Which is tragic, because I don't trust her as far as I see anything, and those who know me know I'm blind as a damn bat in broad daylight.

But how did we get here?  The Republicans have always had a pretty craptastic candidates (although I'll be the first to admit - John Huntsman is my guy. Like. I love him. LOVE HIM) And Democrats have never been far behind,  but how did the Republicans go so far into the bigot closet that they are finding white sheets from the 1920s?  How did they let it get this bad? How did we make this left off of  Freedom Freeway and onto Trump Turnpike.

It wasn't the media. It wasn't the establishment.  It's simply because Donald Trump's 2016 campaign is VERY reminiscent of Barack Obama's 2008 campaign.

Hear me out though. 

When President Obama began his campaign, the country was in a state of unrest. (sound familiar?)  The people were hungry for change (I know that sounds familiar.)  The economy was fluctuating. (We getting warmer.) Protests of all kinds were springing up, with groups begging for acknowledgment and order in a time of restlessness (LISTEN)  The people were searching for someone who wasn't quite establishment, but had a little knowledge of....something....anything (Fam. You should be uncomfortable by now)  And then....out of the shadows came a community organizer turned politician who had this way with the people (Uh oh.) And could make thousands of people nod their heads by uttering one simple phrase (Yes. We. Can. Make. These. Comparisons.) And now, 8 years later, here we are again - staring at the television as a candidate has catapulted into Rock Star status and has become almost bigger than the election itself.

Trump Turnpike is a cluster fuck of traffic - news stories about this business deal or that scandal.  Articles about his health and his obsession with fast food.. Think pieces about how racist he is.  Detailed filled articles about how he is a bankrupt slumlord who is nothing but a TV personality looking for new advertisers.  What it is, this road seems to be going nowhere FAST.

And I, for one, can't wait to get off.