Skip to main content
Donate to the 95 years appeal
Fear, loathing and vodka shots
US Democrats are bracing for election night and the real possibility of a second Trump presidency, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
Cartoon: Steve

THIS coming Tuesday evening, Democratic US voters will face a choice: whether to settle in front of their televisions with a large mug of strong coffee or a triple vodka tonic.

To watch or not to watch? That is indeed the question on November 5, when our own version of gunpowder, treason and plot could unfold, plunging the country into chaos and fascism should Republican Donald Trump defeat Democrat Kamala Harris and take back the White House.

Is it nobler to stay awake, optimistic in the belief that what passes for US democracy will survive? Or would it be better to sink quickly into alcohol-induced oblivion and hope that when dawn breaks —  and despite the hangover — a vulgar, racist felon isn’t president and Harris is?

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
The main buildings of Shifa Hospital lie in ruins after Israeli air and ground offensives, with the hospital administration estimating that 70% of the facility has been destroyed, in Gaza City, July 4, 2025
Features / 16 July 2025
16 July 2025

Funds are being raised to bring the bombed al-Shifa hospital back from the ashes, reports Linda Pentz Gunter

Democrat mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks during a rally at the Hotel & Gaming Trades Council headquarters in New York, Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Politics / 14 July 2025
14 July 2025

From Labour’s panic over the Corbyn-Sultana formation to Democratic Party grandees distancing themselves from Zohran Mamdani, centrist cliques on both sides of the Atlantic are quick to throw the same old insult, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER

President Donald Trump listens during a meeting with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Blue Room of the White House, July 7, 2025, in Washington
Features / 9 July 2025
9 July 2025

Trump’s cruel Bill will deprive millions of essential medical support while escalating deportations and rewarding the super-rich, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER

Previously unissued photo dated 28/6/2025 of Bob Vylan crowd surfs during his performance on the West Holts Stage, during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset. The performer led crowds on the festival's West Holts Stage in chants of
Media / 2 July 2025
2 July 2025

Despite declining to show Kneecap’s set, the BBC broadcast Bob Vylan leading a ‘death to the IDF’ chant — and the resulting outrage has only amplified the very message the Establishment wanted silenced, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER

Similar stories
Anti-cuts protesters rally on Capitol Hill in support of fed
Features / 2 March 2025
2 March 2025
Musk’s ‘Doge’ is already dismantling institutions and destroying lives with shocking rapidity, while legal challenges and protest movements finally begin to mount against the chaos and cruelty, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
Destroyed buildings by Israeli bombardments as seen inside t
Features / 18 January 2025
18 January 2025
After 46,000 dead and countless more from disease and starvation, Palestinians can celebrate a truce, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER, yet even as the Democrat and Republican leaders scramble to take credit, Israel continues killing
Democratic US presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Har
Features / 8 October 2024
8 October 2024
Donald Trump calls her ‘comrade Kamala’ and portrays her as a left-wing radical — but as a presidential candidate, Kamala Harris is endorsing more centrist positions than she did as a progressive senator, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
Senator Bernie Sanders smiles as he addresses Unite Here Loc
Features / 25 September 2024
25 September 2024
Facing down the many ardent Israel supporters within his own party, the socialist senator will introduce a resolution to ban US arms sales to Israel, reports LINDA PENTZ GUNTER