The Devil You Know

Last night I had a dream, which I only recall pieces of, and there was a villain in it. For some reason the phrase "the devil you know" kept repeating in my head, enough that I remembered it when I woke up. I did recently read a book with that phrase in it, too, because the protagonist chose to stay with a blackmailing, disloyal literary agent rather than try to find someone new. She had lost a lot of clients recently due to her manipulative schemes falling apart, so the narrator now had power to force her to sign a new contract that would make her behave better to him. He also had said that some of her aggressive behavior did actually help get him better book sales, so he'd rather stay with the devil he knew.

But anyway, I was thinking of this phrase in relation to Trump, wondering if that accounts for all the sycophant Republicans who remain loyal to him despite him stabbing them in the back, such as Ted Cruz or Jeff Sessions. It's crazy that they cling to his chaos, instead of impeaching him and getting Mike Pence instead, so they could continue their Republican agenda, appoint conservative justices, etc., yet not be a laughing stock to the world. I don't understand that loyalty, especially lately to reopen America at the risk of their own health. But he's used rhetoric like the pandemic is a war, and that people have to be willing to be casualties out of patriotism. It's crazy, but I remember how Bush used the Iraq War and "stay the course" slogans to convince the country give him a 2nd term, instead of voting him out. Was that also "the devil you know" reasoning? I don't know, I just know that the current "devil" is killing us to save the economy, and he's so erratic there's no telling what he'll do next. It's an outrage that he gets constant coronavirus tests on demand for his whole entourage, but he won't distribute tests to everyone else or wear a mask to set an example.

Fuck, we got to vote for Biden, and get the Senate. Justin Amash talks about a third party run, which is not helpful. Someday there may be a viable third party in the US, but now is not the time, when the country itself is in danger, and the rule of law is flouted constantly. We need to right the ship, change the course... God, I need a vacation. (I've been continuing to work in an essential industry all through this pandemic.) I do have a vacation already scheduled, fortunately. I can't really travel anywhere, but I don't care as long as I can rest, then come back fresh to the fight ahead.