Surprise!

So after everything that has happened, the thing I am seeing commentators focus on is Donald Trumps threat, or promise,to jail Hillary Clinton if he is elected. This is of course a pretty stupid thing to say, also not actually something he could legally do, also pretty terrifying. But what really is striking me is that this is not the first time he has said it, so why the shit is everyone so up in arms now?

Seriously has no one even looked at transcripts from his rallies, or other interviews over the summer? He's been all but promising to "lock her up" since he secured the nomination. The fact that our media is hand wringing in shock over this shows how completely bankrupt they are as an industry.

Hell, a similar question can be asked about the video that dropped the other day, this isn't the first time he has said something horrible about women on the record, it's only barely "worse" because he used slightly more explicit language than usual. No shit he said something awful about women, where were you during basically the entire campaign? Also the last twenty plus years of his existence in the public eye? Suddenly now his treatment of women is unconscionable? I mean I am glad people are finally seriously talking about it but for goodness sake people it can't be a surprise to you.

At least the Republicans who are his supporters have the excuse of ignoring it because of politics up until now, let's not kid ourselves here, not a one of them has a higher opinion of women than Donald Trump, they just have an awareness that much of the country does care, so they don't just come outright and say it, too often anyway.

In presidential elections there is the concept of the October Surprise, the event or leak of information that changes the course of the campaign, it is basically entirely bullshit, by October there isn't a whole lot of undecideds anymore, and those who have picked a side are not likely to change at this late of a date, it has to be something fantastically blatant to make a difference. This does not qualify, nothing surprising is happening here, Donald Trump, for all his faults, hasn't hidden who he is from us even for an instant during his entire career in the public eye. The fact that something like forty percent of the country has been willing to ignore that, or worse yet, thinks that is exactly what we need, is the most demoralizing thing about this election season.

There is no surprise to be had here, and when a video drops tomorrow or the next day with him saying racist slurs on the set of The Apprentice or something, that will still not be a surprise, the only surprise is that people are finally paying attention to it.