Well, it is very obvious the last thing the 5th District Republicans need to worry about is 5th District Democrats stuffing the ballot boxes with fraudulent votes. Only 24,000 Democrats in the whole district even bothered to vote in the primary. On the other hand, more than 60,000 5th District Republicans came out to vote for two candidates, either of which would rip the Constitution into little pieces if Trump told them to do it. And you wonder how democracies turn into dictatorships. When citizens are too lazy, arrogant, or ignorant to vote for good people thugs take over the government. And then it’s too late.

The election also demonstrates that Gloria Witt, winner of the Democratic primary, will have to be the hardest working person in the district before Nov. 5. She must spend every waking minute begging, pleading, and cajoling her constituency to register and get to the polls. While the 5th District has never elected a woman or a member of a racial minority as representative, independent voters will now have a clear choice between a well-spoken community organizer and a do-nothing obstructionist. With Witt, the district has the chance to clear both barriers in one magnificent leap. Is the 5th District up to that task? Can she generate the energy and excitement necessary to get that job done?

On another subject, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center is now predicting Central Virginia’s drought is likely to persist through September. Some plants are already showing water stress so I tremble when I think what three months of little rain will do to our crops and forests.

Finally, Trump is further normalized in his debate with Biden. When an insurrectionist and avowed dictator is considered a normal candidate for president, we are gambling away the republic.