“As someone from a country that has witnessed a civil war, totalitarian leaders, ethno-religious pogroms, state sanctioned brutality and the slow eradication of human rights under the guise of criminality, I can frankly tell Americans: You don’t know what you are playing with.”

This caustic comment on Twitter last week came in the midst of the U.S. government-sanctioned deployment of violent military force against the domestic U.S. population in Portland, Oregon that, as of this writing, is slated to extend to other major U.S. cities in the coming period.

There is no doubt in my mind that paid, violent provocateurs are being deployed on both sides of this scenario. The same sinister forces are functioning as puppet-masters on both sides with the aim of creating a false justification for the imposition of domestic martial law and the suspension of the November presidential election.

As the Twitter comment cited above ominously warns, we Americans “don’t know what we are playing with.” Step by step, the preconditions for the formal suspension of Constitutional law is being advanced, and while there is plenty of noise and protest while it is occurring, it is not being stopped.

Jonathan Capecart’s column in the Washington Post this week seemed to signal a recognition of this, saying that action must be taken in defense of the November elections now. But it turns out he was talking only about registering people to vote and gearing up for going to the polls.

But I am sorry, the prospect for this November’s election even taking place calls for far more serious action than that. There must be a huge awakening of the American public about the danger of a suspended election.

Key among the forces that are behind the Trump administration’s escalating atrocities on our domestic soil are those who are acting as if this may be their last chance to keep the nation under their control.

Some figures are letting this fear leak out, like Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas who has said publicly that if the Democrats cannot be stopped this November, then the Republicans may never win another election.

That’s how they are thinking. Of course, for the elite financial powers behind Trump and today’s GOP, they know they are already at a distinct electoral disadvantage. After all, if they are the one percent of the American people who are exploiting their advantages over the other 99 percent of us, then they are keenly aware that elections are not the way they can continue in power.

They’ve been able with smoke and mirrors, deceptions and a myriad of tricks in their playbook to fool enough of the public into voting against its self-interests on their behalf. But Trump has been so egregious and incompetent in his rule that these tricks are becoming useless to them, practically speaking. Trump, if nothing else, has ripped the false face off of many of the elites’ deceptions for the American public to see, and if an honest election was held this November, he would suffer the greatest landslide defeat in the history of U.S. presidential elections.

And, demographic shifts are about to seal the fate of these elites’ chosen party of preference, the GOP. Just as California went from being very conservative in its predominant voting results to deep blue in the last 20 years, due to the influx of hispanic voters, in particular, so has Virginia and now, so will very soon be the behemoth state of Texas, and for the same reason.

As Virginia and Texas (and maybe Florida) go as deep blue as California has, today’s GOP is toast as an electoral force in the U.S.A.

That sounds like good news to Democrats and the forces advocating for equality and economic justice, but wait. What it really means is that the overwhelmingly powerful forces behind the GOP must be gearing up for an alternative scenario to free and fair elections, and it will have to go for them far beyond their usual voter suppression tactics to work.

It’s not just Trump who won’t accept defeat this November. It’s all the forces who’ve backed him to their nefarious ends.

Nicholas Benton may be emailed at nfbenton@fcnp.com.