Every day it is getting harder to watch the Trump Republican Party impose its will upon the American people; to watch the demise of the truth and possibly our country. The former The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation of E. Jean Carroll and has at least four other ongoing legal investigations in which he faces serious charges that could include jail time if he is indicted, then convicted when tried. Still, he is running for president in 2024 and is the overwhelming favorite candidate to be the Republican nominee based on current polls.
To make matters worse, none of the incumbent Republican politicians seem to care about their constituents… except during election cycles, and at those other times when it is convenient to do so. It appears that rather than having sought election to serve their country and a cause greater than themselves, they have obviously sought election to pursue their personal political ambitions and to accumulate as much power and money as possible. They expect the middleclass to carry the financial burden of the country. They know that the rich do not pay their fair share of taxes and that some of them, even billionaires, pay no tax at all. They ignore their constituents and accommodate them only in times of convenience without fear of being voted out of office because of the extreme gerrymandering that the Republican Party has effectuated.
This current Republican Party has further gravitated toward the rich and powerful and has, therefore, become even a greater haven for their lobbyists. There is no longer any agency at the federal government level that acts as an advocate for the average person and those without a voice. The Consumer Protection Agency? It exists in name only; kind of like the Voting Rights Act after it was gutted by U. S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. Is there even anyone at all at the federal level who is advocating for the average person and those without a voice?!
If there is, they need to show up and stand up now! Just look at what is happening to those average people with an Adjustable-Rate Mortgage (ARM) or a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC), they are being killed by higher interest rates! As for the Republican Party and its party leaders – like Mitch McConnel and his Lieutenants and other high-profile Republican senators, they are tacitly supporting all these Republican shenanigans by way of their deafening silence! Even while Speaker Kevin McCarthy and, what used to be, the extreme right wing of the Republican Party uses their refusal to lift the debt limit to hold America hostage, these Republican senators and others in their party remain mum! And they do this knowing fully well that not lifting the debt limit will destroy the American economy and have a devastating effect on the world economy.
If you are among those many Americans who are asking themselves why is the Republican Party so comfortable with doing these things when poll-after-poll shows that they are completely in opposition to the will of most of the American people, the answer is simple. In addition to the previously mentioned extreme gerrymandering that the Republicans have effectuated, they are acutely aware of other things that are now favorable to them such as 1. A United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS), which has a conservative supermajority that seems eager to do Republicans’ will.
It is worth noting here that the SCOTUS is at its lowest approval level in the history of its existence because many of the American people view it as corrupt and many of its Justices as simply politicians in black robes. And based on the scandals that it is currently plagued with; the top priority of its Justices appears to be money and power. Many Americans feel that these Justices are without ethics, feel that they are above the law and so, in essence, thumb their noses at all other components of the legislative branch of government.
And 2. The so-called Red States, which are a microcosm of what is happening with the U.S. Supreme court and federal-level Republican politicians and are also eager to do the Republican Party’s will. Republican legislators in these Republican controlled states are ignoring the will of the majority and enacting laws that are completely against the will of most of the people there.
Right now, with the way that Republicans in congress are conducting themselves, the SCOTUS might be the greatest concern that Americans are faced with if we intend to preserve our Democracy, because it is the foundation of the rule of law. Further, since the single source of the SCOTUS’ power is the trust of the American people and only about 25 percent of Americans trust it, this problem is in dire need of correction. Yet, currently, SCOTUS is left to police itself and address this lack of trust. That is why the SCOTUS is likely our greatest concern right now and a major component as to why the American democracy is teetering on the edge of disaster.
On the contrary, although the SCOTUS is of great concern and Republicans control the House, Democrats control the senate. Although that control is by a razor-thin margin and they must contend with the Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema factor (Senator Kyrsten Sinema has switched parties and Senator Joe Manchin is, well, just being Joe Manchin) – Democrats are not working to destroy the American democracy. Plus, congress – Democrats and Republicans, is constrained by checks and balances. The SCOTUS has no such checks and balances and so is left to monitor and control itself. It is obvious that this is not working and that serious changes need to be made to how the SCOTUS operates. Based on the existing circumstances surrounding the SCOTUS and how it operates, until those changes are made, it is the SCOTUS that potentially poses the most serious concern as regards our democracy.
American voters could rid ourselves of these kind of politicians by voting them out of office. However, based on the last few election cycles, it appears that voters are not willing to do this. Neither Democratic nor Republican candidates for office can win without strong support from women. It is surprising how many women voted for Republican candidates during the 2016, 2020 and 2022 elections. Even after all the derogatory and demeaning things that the former The Donald J. Trump of the United States of America said about women, the percent of women who voted for him rose from 39% in 2016 to 44% in 2020… Go figure! Specifically speaking – it was suburban, rural (generally speaking, another name for White women) women who pushed Mr. Trump over the top in the 2016 election and certainly contributed to the increase from the 39 % in 2016 to the 44% in 2020.
So even with the overturning of Roe v Wade and Republican lawmakers’ continuing ruthless attacks on women; stripping them of their long-held rights, one should not automatically assume that these women will vote to prevent Mr. Trump or someone like him from becoming president in 2024.
Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line