Are you ready for it? No, not the cooler weather that should be upon us before too long. That will be a welcome relief from a rather warm summer across the nation. I’m actually thinking about something that will put even more hot air into the atmosphere than a Hollywood would-be-environmentalist’s private jet. Just in case you hadn’t noticed, the latest political season is about to begin in earnest.

Up until now, even in hotly contested races, the rhetoric and back-stabbing has been minimal. Tradition holds that the real battles don’t begin until Labor Day. Of course, that’s not a hard and fast rule as evidenced by several shots being fired across numerous bows in states (such as Georgia) with up-for-grabs senate and governor seats. But the salvos that have been launched thus far will pale in comparison to what comes next.

Aspersions will be cast and countered. Entire social media lives will be parsed and parodied. I really think it would be best to call a moratorium on any postings that any candidate made before he/she reached the age of, say, 25. That’s supposedly when the rational brain of we mere humans is fully formed. Everything documented before that tends to fall into the category of, “Hey, that sounds fun. Sure, I’ll try it. Take my picture.” Perhaps a person should be cut some slack during that time.

One of the most entertaining aspects of any political campaign is hearing a candidate’s own words used against him/her. It’s always interesting to watch a politician squirm, even though most who seek or hold public office are really very good at wiggling out of tight places. I believe the thinking has always been that the electorate tends to have a short memory, and that no one is really paying much attention to candidates until much closer to November when ballots are cast. So, office-seekers feel as if they can pretty much say and do anything because only a modicum of the masses is paying attention.

During this upcoming election cycle, Republicans are going to have to tremulously tread the Trump line. An affirmative nod from #45 will guarantee them some basis of support (and may well bring in a little cash for the coffers), but such an endorsement could turn off other potential voters. Not a whole lot of people run lukewarm when it comes to The Donald. And it can be difficult, if not impossible, to convince people that while you may not personally like the man, you do think many of his policies are spot on.

Democrats, on the other hand, may well have to creatively distance themselves from President Biden and his 39% approval rating. If 61% of your constituents would rather have somebody else in the White House, calling yourself “Biden’s Buddy” may presage a dearth of support. While there has been quite a folderal around the recently-passed Inflation Reduction Act, a great deal of parsing of phrases might well be necessary if candidates want to hang their hats on a very large spending bill.

Those of a certain age will remember back to the early 70s when George McGovern was the Democratic presidential nominee. George was considered pretty far to the left (little did anyone know – he’d probably be a moderate now), and countless candidates in his party adopted the “McGovern? Yeah, the name rings a bell, but I’m not really all that familiar with him” mantra when it came to hitting the campaign trails. The nominee couldn’t even win his own home state of South Dakota. A couple of years later, after the implosion of the House of Nixon, absolutely zero Republican candidates wanted to be anywhere near the total-fall-from-grace Tricky Dick.

In this election cycle, perhaps more than others, be ready to hear old axioms such as, “My words were taken out of context,” and “That’s just a right/left wing conspiracy against me.” One thing is for certain. When you hear a candidate say, “Let me be quite clear about this,” it means watch out. The bovine-derived generic fertilizer is about to get very deep, very fast.

Meanwhile, enjoy the next week or so. Given the amount of cash having been raised by candidates thus far, my guess would be that virtually every TV show you watch, pop-up ad you see, radio program you listen to, maybe even your favorite podcast from September through early November will all be sponsored by someone seeking your vote. You might want to grab a good read at the library and skip watching and listening for the duration. Better hurry, though. Once everybody realizes what’s happening, there may not be many books on the shelves.

©MMXXII. William J. Lewis, III – Freelance Writer