THE REPUBLICAN DILEMMA

By Ruth A. Sheets

There is no depth, it seems,  to which Republicans these days won't go!  They lie nearly incessantly and think that is not only OK, but necessary.  They support Trump nearly 100% but are upset that their constituents don't like him anymore.  So, what did they do; they claimed to be against Trump's war and his tariffs and . . . and are FOR THE PEOPLE!

Republican candidates mouthed that stuff through the entire last month of the campaign, but those who were re-elected or elected for the first time, will bow to their king and do whatever he wants (, and Trump wants total loyalty no matter what he does).  In fact, Republicana will go to extraordinary lengths to prove their loyalty and that they were only doing what they had to do to get elected; they really didn't mean they didn't support Trump 100%.  They will visit their king and bow and scrape to him professing their utter loyalty.   The hypocrisy and lying are astounding.  

We may have learned that no political advertisement can save a crappy product, and Republicana and Trump are crappy products.  Trump was terrible since before he came down the golden escalator.  He was a created entity by those who want to destroy our democracy in favor of oligarchic rule.  Those oligarchs believe they are superior human beings because they are rich when in reality, they are rich mostly due to luck, inheritance, and the hard work of a lot of other folks, often underpaid and treated poorly on and off the job.  Somehow, supporters just love what Trump represents, or did. 

Trump had nothing positive to offer anyone, but too many people shared his loud-mouthed hatred of women, people of color, Democrats, educated people, “The Woke,” and anyone who doesn't agree with him.  Trump wants to wreck anything that gets in the way of his kingship, his godhood and he’s doing a pretty good job of it so far, well at least until Republicans have had enough, if ever. 

Somehow, a significant part of our population lost their minds over a fool with no positive ideas, no serious ability to reason, no understanding of how the world beyond that of cheats and liars works, and a need for vengeance.  Trump was and is even Moreso now, an angry old man with dementia, trying to pretend he is something else, someone worthy of praise and honor; he isn't!  !, even though he demands it!

Now that so many of his sycophantic members of Congress, and those in office in even Red states have been defeated, Trump has been forced to see defeat.  The problem, just as we all expected, Trump is beginning his whine that the elections were rigged, that his minions really won and that Democrats stole votes and that non-citizens voted in vast numbers, and on and on, Trump’s fallback because he can’t imagine his pathetic voters either didn’t vote or voted for Democrats and Independents.  Can’t have that!!  

Republicans now, in this Lame Duck month or so have a dilemma!  They can continue to support the criminal elements of our government and their actions:  Steve Miller and the ICE thugs/killers/destroyers of families and communities throughout our nation; the destruction of our lands and monuments to suit the inner vision of a man whose dementia is taking over more of his brain every day; a Department of Justice that sees itself as Trump’s personal vengeance enforcer; liars throughout the government who have decided the truth doesn’t work for them and they don’t care about anyone else; the AIers and other oligarchs who use money thinking they can buy elections for their personal goon squad of congressmen and senators who will do their work of wrecking our democracy.  Republicans can keep supporting such a horror show.  That’s an option, or they can stand up and oppose it, not likely.   

The American people last week, chose better.  We voted to put the supporters of Trumplandia out of power as much as possible until the presidential election in 2028.  Democrats may not be perfect, but there is no comparison between Dems and the hateful, resentful, angry fearmongering anti-constitutional elements of Republicana.  Now, it’s up to Democrats in Congress and legislatures and governorships around the country to “keep their eyes on the prize!” The people spoke rather clearly about what they/we want.  We want Trumpian corruption to be investigated and stopped.  The high prices need to be checked out and brought down to reasonable levels based on actual costs for corporations – in short, dump the price gouging and shrinkflation.  The ridiculous war with Iran needs to end  and our support for Ukraine needs to be intact.  ICE and its concentration camp prisons must be stopped and “Dreamers” need a quick path to citizenship if they choose to take it. The oligarchs must be taxed fairly and the loopholes in our tax code must be closed so they pay in amounts that are fair based on their wealth and actual income, including capital gains and appreciation of property and stocks.  Our public services need to be enhanced:  public schools, child care, transportation, and moving toward some kind of universal healthcare.  Money must be severely limited in politics.  Global warming is real and needs to be addressed with renewable energy and sustainable farming, not with bills that let polluters have their way with our environment as some current legislation does, even supported by Democratic leadership.  An example is “The Affordability and Jobs Act” which is not really about affordability or jobs, just as all other bills given titles by Republicans mean exactly opposite of what that title would indicate. 

That’s a lot to try to accomplish.  Congress must work to pass good, well-named, important legislation even if “Mr. Veto” tries to stop it.  Each veto will make a great “sound bite” for the candidates running for president and Congress in 2028. 

We the People must stay in contact with our Representatives and Senators to keep them from getting caught up in what is unimportant, thinking the rest is too hard while Trump is still president and Republicans can still make considerable trouble.  That would not be an acceptable approach to these next two years.  There are choices all around.  Democrats can choose to act on the promises to the American people and Republicans can choose to stand with our nation rather than an angry old man with dementia and his anti-American delusions (it seems no positive change will happen though as seen by Republican refusal to impeach a Sec. of Defense criminal, Pete Hegseth today).  It seems they made their choice!