“Other Means”
Mark grunted as he sat down on the bed.
Sam, already in bed, looked up from his phone. “I hadn’t realized I married an old man.”
Mark sighed. “I’m just sick and tired of this election.”
“If only that kid a couple months ago had better aim.”
“No!” Quieter, Mark said, “No. Assassinations should play no part in a healthy democracy.” After a moment he added, “Besides, an assassinated Trump only benefits the Republicans.”
Sam quirked an eyebrow at that.
Mark waved his hand a few times before explaining, “Trump is like Hitler.”
“Tell me something new.”
“No …. What I mean, is Hitler was a mediocre tactician at best. Yes, when everything was going his way, he was a wunderkind. But as soon as things stopped going his way, he just lost it. I remember reading one time that, especially as the war went on, the Allies hoped he wouldn’t be assassinated because he made so many bad decisions that hurt the German military, he probably shortened the war. Hitler needed to have the final say on everything, but he was clueless and delusional and bad news was always a personal threat by imaginary enemies. If he had been assassinated, there was the chance that whoever replaced him would be competent. The Allies would still have won, it would have just taken longer and cost more.
“So an assassinated Trump, besides being this MAGA martyr, would open the chance for some competent person to take over the Republican Party. The longer Trump remains the Republican Fuhrer, the deeper into the shit they’ll sink. If we are lucky, he will be the death of the Republican Party.”
“Do you really think we’ll be that lucky?” Sam asked.
Mark got into bed and covered up. “Despite all the warnings,” he eventually said, “from the Left, and Center, and whatever Moderate Republicans are left, the MAGA Republicans took a rope, made a noose, and stuck their head in it. I guess all we can do now is wait to see if they actually step off.”
“Should I be worried?” Sam asked. “All of this seems … harsh coming from the gentle geezer I married.” He then smiled and rubbed Mark’s shoulder.
“They talk about a new Civil War, and it is said that war is politics by other means, so maybe it is time to get harsh.” After a moment he added, “Well, legally and ethically harsh.”
Sam looked like he was going to say something, but went back to his phone.
Go back to the main Monthly Story page, or the main page of my website.
If you’re curious, the quote is “War is the continuation of politics by other means,” by Karl Von Clausewitz.
For each story I publish, I like to give the backstory, or anything interesting that happened while writing it. You can see what I wrote for this story on my Published Works page.
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If you liked this story, you might want to check out Political Pies, my collection of forty stories of a political nature.