
Pete Riehm
Every couple years, Americans are admonished to vote in the most important election of our lives; press and politicians predictably and persistently emphasize the next election will be the most crucial and impactful. Some are and some not so much; every election is certainly a choice of candidates, but often it is also a choice for what course the country should take. The upcoming 2026 midterm elections are presenting voters with distinct choices for candidates that are polar opposites. There is little if any common ground, so that indicates there is a stark choice in the competing visions for the nation.
The past two years Republicans have controlled the executive and legislative branches of the federal government, so President Trump has been implementing a forceful far-reaching obvious “America First” vision largely with Congressional support and a few judicial obstacles. Therefore, if Democrats recapture the House and Senate, they will be pushing an aggressive agenda to thwart Trump and have vigorously promised as much, but what are Democrats offering?
The only sure thing Democrats are promising is that they will impeach President Trump weekly and try to prosecute his family and supporters. That will excite and please their radical leftwing base and most likely usher in two years of bitter gridlock, but what are Democrats offering average Americans?
The short answer is nothing. They still support open borders and unrestricted illegal immigration because they need illegal immigrants to vote; and we are learning more than we thought have already been voting illegally. Illegal immigrants take American jobs and drive down wages; moreover, too many new immigrants are not coming to assimilate, they are coming for generous government benefits and Muslims are coming to impose their incompatible culture. We are also learning they, particularly Somalis, regularly defraud and exploit our hospitality.
Of course, Democrats vow to abolish ICE, and they still want to defund the police and prisons. Any cursory examination of blue cities and states shows the miserable effects of failed policies: unsupported police and weak law enforcement has wrought filthy and unsafe cities. Public safety is thrown to the wind in favor of criminals and illegal immigrants. Do average Americans want those policies implemented nationally? No.
Despite over 80% of Americans believing boys should not play in girls’ sports, Democrats still support extremist transgender policies, so how do voters reconcile that? They also support abortion right up until birth as evidenced by Massachusetts’ gruesome new law. They fiercely oppose “school choice” demanding the state indoctrinate your children with progressive policies and to hate America. They do not believe parents have much if any say about their children’s education. They incredibly believe schools can aid minor students in transgender transitions without parental consent or even knowledge; blue states will even take a child from parents that deny their child’s transgender delusions.
Our Constitution has fostered the most peaceful and prosperous nation in history, but Democrats are determined to dismantle our Constitutional Republic. They promise to stack the Supreme Court by expanding it to 13 justices so that the presumably next Democrat president will appoint four new liberal justices to shift the Court to liberal activism, so we will have a meddling intrusive Court like Brazil. They want to make the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico states to grab control of the Senate. They also want to abolish the Electoral College to make big cities supreme and render rural states impotent and irrelevant. Quite simply, Democrats are only seeking to establish irresistible and perpetual national power.
Democrats howl they are the ones trying to save democracy, but their party rigs their own primaries; and they insist illegal immigrants should be counted in Congressional representation and even vote. Democrats hate free speech and love censorship; they routinely shout down if not assault anyone they disagree with. As we learned during the COVID pandemic, they will bully social media to deplatform anyone that dissents. They spy on press and politicians. Democrats also weaponize government power from the DOJ to FBI to IRS to silence or even arrest their opponents. Any casual observer plainly sees that liberty will not survive under Democrat rule.
Democrats blather endlessly about affordability, which is still a challenge for too many working Americans, but what are their solutions? Beyond carping, basically nothing. They swear they will repeal the Trump tax cuts, so they are offering to raise your taxes and spend it on more frivolous programs. That doesn’t help working folks; and it’s insult to injury since we now know the federal government wastes or allows much more of the treasury to be stolen than ever imagined.
Democrats are essentially promising to return to the Biden years. Remember the hyperinflation, economic malaise, social lockdowns, wide open borders, skyrocketing crime, and just general chaos and hopeless resignation that America can only decline.
The cost of living is still too high, but some costs have come down. That trend is very difficult to reverse. However, Trump did substantially reduce inflation, and he is still working on it. Had the Iran threat not metastasized, energy costs would have been tamed, and they will when Iran is defeated. No one likes war, but Trump deserves immeasurable credit for not kicking the can down the road to win the next election when faced with the threat of a nuclear Iran.
Trump has restored the USA as the preeminent power on the world stage. Our allies may not like us, but they respect us; and our enemies fear us again. By implementing common sense foreign policies and rebuilding our military, Trump is reestablishing global stability and peace through strength. Resetting the economy is huge slow process, but Trump has garnered trillions of dollars in foreign investment that is returning manufacturing to America. That’s creating high paying jobs helping working Americans cope with affordability. The economy is steadily building and if we stay the course, we are set for robust growth.
Despite a lingering Iranian threat and persistent affordability challenges, overall, the nation is much better off than just two years ago. Democrats offer no solutions; the only thing they offer is to make Trump’s life hell. That does nothing for Americans. Though it still tickles rabid leftists, hatred of Trump has become pointless and quite tedious.
Trump is making steady progress restoring American greatness, so it’s hard to imagine voters want to return to ridiculous nonstop Trump impeachments and also risk slipping back into the misery of failed Biden policies. It’s only half time and we have a good leader in Trump, so given the choice, why would Americans vote for Democrats who offer nothing but acrimony and chaos?
“Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18).
Pete Riehm is a Navy Veteran, conservative activist, and columnist in south Alabama. Email him at peteriehm@bellsouth.net or read all his columns at http://www.renewamerica.com/.
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© Pete Riehm
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