This is an open letter to Republicans in Congress. Now is the time for you to act — to break your support for President Donald Trump. There will be no better time later.
The longer you wait, the more difficult your situation will become — especially if you’re planning to seek reelection next year.
More and more of your constituents are growing angry; and the longer you wait to buck Trump, the more angry they will become.
Let’s enumerate just some of the long list that is causing your constituents’ anger.
Near the top of that list — particularly for upper- and middle-income voters — are the losses in their savings and buying power because their stocks and bonds have lost value. Trump’s tariffs have produced the unforgivable political sin of tampering with the value of their money.
The longer you wait, the more you — and they — stand to lose as the U.S. dollar already has lost nearly 12% of its worldwide value. That is up from 10% only a couple weeks ago.
Your constituents also are concerned about inflation and price increases as Trump’s chaos continues with his on-again, off-again tariffs instability. And they already are receiving warnings of product shortages and empty shelves — even for Christmas gifts more than six months from now.
But I’m only just beginning to note a few of the long list of grievances growing in your constituents.
Many parents are quite unhappy over cuts to head start and school lunch programs, and the repealing of grants to local healthcare agencies.
At least a dozen of you and your Republican colleagues in Congress already have reported opposition to a federal budget that slashes Medicaid services. Not only will families in your districts suffer, but representatives of clinics, hospitals and doctors’ offices have complained to you that they will lose substantial income from the loss of providing Medicaid services.
Others are disgusted with the federal cuts to science programs and research at our universities. They want to know they can count on those services to protect us from the threats of new viruses while research continues with efforts to conquer old diseases like cancer.
And anger is building in retirees over reductions in Social Security and Medicare services.
Outrage and disgust evolved over Trump’s shift toward favoring Russia in the war with Ukraine, plus his indications that he might lead the U.S. to renege on the NATO mutual support pledge.
In addition, you have seen how our Defense Department leaders bungled what should have been a secured communication of classified secrets. And now our allies are questioning whether the U.S. can be trusted with intelligence secrets.
It would be laughable except that most voters take our national security quite seriously.
Meanwhile, small businesses that rely on sales of imported products and tourism may be forced to close. The numbers of visitors from Canada and overseas have been declining precipitously.
Have you given any thought to how the operators of closed businesses, the employees who lost their jobs, and their family members might vote next year?
Voters’ distress over current leadership becomes quite evident as we see Trump’s approval ratings plummet on issue after issue — to low 40s and even only high 30s on some issues. So you are dreaming if you expect to see any appreciable improvement by November of next year.
If you are among the Republicans expecting these issues to blow away by then, you need to change what you are vaping, or stop. With Trump, the number of new turmoils and the magnitude of the old ones will continue to grow rather than shrink.
In November of next year, voters will not only be balloting on every Republican in the House of Representatives, but 20 senatorial seats now held by Republicans also will be on the ballots. And voters have long memories when you mess with their wallets, their health, and the future of their families.
With the mounting disappointment and anger that has been building in your districts and states, it boggles my mind how you can even consider continuing to support Trump.
Yes, I am well aware of the threats some of you have received from a few fanatical zealots or mentally sick ones who support Trump. But the longer you delay a break from Trump, the bolder they will become until they puff themselves into actually doing harm.
So the sooner you break, the better.
Perhaps it might even be a good idea for readers to send copies of this open letter to their Republican friends in swing states and other purple districts — especially if any are working for Congress members.
Again, there will be no better time to make the break. Hopes for improvement in the White House can be expected to fizzle as the turbulence continues.
Our democracy needs thoughtful Republican leaders, not a collection of mostly grovelers.
Darrell Berkheimer is a retired journalist whose career spans 60 years. He was city editor and news editor at The Daily Herald, Provo, during the 1970s and ’80s. He also filled newspaper editor positions in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Texas and New Mexico, and is the author of several essays books. Contact him at [email protected].