Experts Expound: Halloween Edition

Today is Halloween, and with that in mind we reached out to our esteemed panel of Capitol insiders to see what is scaring them today. Their answers are below. A list of of our experts is located at the end of the piece.

What is the scariest thing for you in the political world right now? 

“AI. [artificial intelligence]”

“The new committee Chairs for both houses in ’24.”

“Well, the scariest thing in the political world right now — in fact, the scariest thing in all of American political history — is the total disregard for the Constitution, the rule of law, the acceptance of election outcomes by elected officials and the base of the Trumpified GOP. If Trump were to win again in ‘24, kiss our democracy as we have known it goodbye. This is not just a scary prospect, it is existential.”

“Governor Tony Thurmond.  What a complete cluster that would be.”

“A re-elected Trump.”

“The continued popularity of Donald Trump among rank-and-file Republicans and the seeming inability of the Republican Party to extract itself from the influence of its most extreme elements.”

“The possibility of President Donald Trump again.”

“I’d have to say the Gaza situation. It’s asymmetrical and unpredictable. There’s no obvious political solution that diplomatic efforts can finesse.”

“Speaker Mike Johnson. He’s a climate skeptic, associated with efforts to criminalize queer people at home, and persecute them abroad. He tried to overturn the 2020 election, and called the supreme court’s overturning of Roe v Wade a “joyful day.”

“January 20, 2025. President Kamala Harris.”

“The Middle East/Ukraine spinning out of control into WWIII.”

“As an admitted Zionist, I am horrified by there being any question of the US’s total and complete support for Israel. The campus actions not to mention the blatant antisemitism was something I had believed would never reach the scary level it has in our lifetime. So much at stake by the decisions made in the Middle East.”

“My biggest fear at this moment is how the divide is continuing to grow in this country. The level of anti Semitism around the world, continued war in Ukraine, and China’s ambitions worry me as to what the next 12 months hold. Economies come and go, stock, markets, go up and down, inflation rises, and falls, but wars have generational impacts.”

“The significant lack of institutional knowledge and practical experience in the building as staff has exited en masse is concerning. Couple this with a legislative body that seems more motivated by click bait and is willing to legislate by press releases targeted at the lowest common denominator and you have a recipe for unserious policy at a time when many complex issues plague the state.”

“The lack of commitment to Democratic processes among the mainstream of the Republican Party. There have always been fringes that had outlandish conspiracy theories – fake moon landings, who shot JFK, 911 was an inside job, etc. And 2020 Election Fraud is as outlandish as those. But almost all Republican candidates for President and the majority of likely Republican voters actually believe that the election was stolen and other voter fraud lies. The second scariest thing is how our media has been so sensationalist and seemingly biased that they have failed to combat these lies that weaken our democratic process.”

The people from whom we solicited opinions: Elizabeth Ashford, Hector Barajas, A.G. Block, Barry Brokaw, Samantha Corbin, Jon Costantino, Richard Costigan, Tim Foster, Rex Frazier, John Howard, Fiona Hutton, Gale Kaufman, Steven Maviglio, Mike MeCey, Paul Mitchell, Barbara O’Connor, Jack Ohman, Kassy Perry, Matt Rexroad, Garry South, Paula Treat, Bill Wong, Daniel Zingale