Sept. 16, 2020. The national polls across the country have tightened slightly since last week, as expected. They will likely contiue to get closer as Nov. 3rd approaches. Who knows what the Russians, Iran, and China have up their sleeves, or how far and with what effect the Repubs will turn up the volume on their propaganda machines with their huge cash advantage?

Florida is a key state. The winner of Florida will likely find new avenues open toward the White House. Biden currently holds a very slight lead there, but he has the promise from Mike Bloomberg to toss $100 million into the multi-media advertising game in Florida. At last count Mike was worth about $51 billion, so $100 million is pocket change to him.

A new variable that is not in the polling data mix is the effect of the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and the fight already underway to see who gets to nominate her replacement. It is a critical seat. If Trump nominates another right-winger, and the Senate approves him/her, the court will be dominated 6 to 3 by them for a very long time to come. That could spell disaster for the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Social Security for America’s seniors—to say nothing of Roe v Wade, higher taxes on the poor, or new rulings against immigrants and minorities everywhere. Even if Trump loses the election, he could still resign after colluding with Pence to pardon him from all wrong-doing, while he rides off into the sunset laughing his oversized butt cheeks from Mar-a-Lago to Moscow.

But Biden could counter assuming he has majorities in both houses. They could vote for and raise the Supreme Court membership to 13, nominate 4 Democrats to the bench, and hold a 9 to 8 majority after confirming them.

Stay tuned. The swamp waters in Washington are rising, and they’re getting smellier by the minute.