Following the news and politics of the day, I often ask myself rhetorically, “Why vote GOP?”  Hillary Clinton claimed during the Benghazi hearings, a deadly disaster over which she presided, “What difference… does it make?” One could say the same about voting for Republicans, at least at a Congressional, and in some cases gubernatorial level.

I asked this question on these pages on August 2021. At the time I bemoaned the fact that during President Donald Trump’s first two years in office, Republicans controlled both Houses of Congress, and accomplished little.

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Despite lofty campaign promises in 2016, they squandered their majority in opposition to their party’s leader, President Trump, simply because elected Republicans were part of “the big club” and Trump wasn’t in it.

Obamacare was not repealed, Planned Parenthood remained funded. Benghazi and Hillary Clinton’s emails were not seriously investigated, while fully fabricated Russian collusion dossiers, paid for by the Clinton campaign hamstrung the first years of the Trump administration. Most elected Republicans sat on their hands and thereby condoned the Trump witch hunt.

The border wall was not funded, as the GOP Congress felt it was more important to kiss the boots of the Chamber of Congress and donor class than respect the wishes of Republican voters who elected Trump to “build the wall” and “drain the swamp”.

I will give credit where credit is due for the House introducing tax cuts which passed into law, and the Senate for withstanding withering opposition from Democrats and their media megaphones, confirming three conservative Supreme Court justices.

Due to overall inaction, the GOP lost the House and then the Senate as their voters must have asked themselves, “Why vote Republican?”

Fast forward to today and look at how most GOP members of Congress despise their voters, and anyone remotely connected to Donald Trump.

Start with Ukraine. Republican Senators John Cornyn, Lindsey Graham, and Marco Rubio are full speed ahead defending Ukraine’s border with Russia but have zero interest in securing America’s border with the rest of the world. Another donor class Republican, Senator Thom Tillis is more concerned with feeding Africa than his own constituents saying,

Take a look at do you really want Russia to own the breadbasket of Europe, and that's Ukraine, affecting food supplies? People are forgetting what we've had to do to get food into North Africa because of the conflict. Do you really want that under Russian control?

What about Americans who can’t afford their grocery bills after a year of double-digit food inflation? How are these Republicans any different than the suddenly hawkish Democrats, spending money we don’t have on another foreign war where America has little if any national interest?

Speaking of inflation, where are Republicans in calling out President Biden’s war on fossil fuels, a key driver of inflation? Is anyone even talking about America going from an energy exporter to begging the now China-friendly Saudis for a few barrels of oil?

The December 2022 omnibus spending bill, $1.7 trillion in additional spending, spread out over 4000 pages, voted on in the middle of the night, has plenty of Republican support, 20 GOP senators. If Republicans support reckless spending, why vote for them?

Are any Republican members of Congress, other than a small handful, speaking out about the two-tiered justice system in America? Of the travesty of the January 6 hearings where the law enforcement and justice agencies entrapped Trump supporters, sending many to prison for years?

All this happened while hundreds of Biden Family crimes remain covered up by these same agencies, not investigated, and given a pass that would never be given to a Republican, especially a member of the Trump family.

This witness could not explain why Hunter Biden wasn’t investigated prosecuted for a gun crime warranting 15 years in prison.

What about the weaponization of the justice and intelligence agencies, colluding with social media giants to squash Americans’ First Amendment right to free speech? Soviet style propaganda used against legitimate opposition to “the state” seemed to draw little interest or concern from elected Republicans.

Then there is the teased and delayed indictment and arrest of President Trump by the Manhattan DA’s office, for non-crimes that previous prosecutors declined to pursue and for which both Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels, in written statements, exonerated Trump of any wrongdoing. Virtually all elected Republicans remain silent, which signals their support of this “Get-Trump jihad”. Is this what Republican voters want from their leaders?

Recall how Democrats rallied around President Bill Clinton when he was accused of real crimes. Republicans run away from Trump, essentially telling their voters to bug off, at least until the next campaign cycle when they will suddenly but temporarily listen to their voters and ask for campaign donations.

Are GOP voters down on Trump? Hardly. From the Gateway Pundit,

A new Premise poll of 1,509 registered voters conducted March 16–21 shows President Trump leading Joe Biden by six points in the 2024 General Election for President and leading Ron DeSantis in a landslide 31 points in the Primary.

Polls this early are hardly predictive of a November 2024 election but do reflect voter sentiment today.

Are the voters enamored with Trump’s Tweets and brash personality? Or are they recognizing that the government and ruling class are out of control, one small step away from tyranny?

Do voters understand that this relentless effort to destroy Trump is not driven by what’s good for America but by fear of what Trump might do if he returned to the White House? Do they realize that Trump is the only potential brake on an out-of-control authoritarian government that is far astray from what the Founding Fathers envisioned?

We currently have a tyrannical ruling class willing to cheat, lie, and use the massive force of the US government to control the American people and destroy anyone attempting to challenge or stand up to their quest for money and power.

From COVID and the trans movement destroying an entire generation of young Americans to a two-tiered justice system and a fervent desire to create World War 3, the ruling class of Democrats and Republicans are united in their desire to impose their will and crush any opposition.

Trump is the last best hope to stop this. DeSantis may or may not be a suitable alternative. Is he a younger version of Trump or Jeb sequel, a creation of the ruling class to talk tough but maintain the status quo as did members of the Bush, Cheney, and Romney families?

How will Trump supporters, lining up hours for his Waco Texas rally, going to react if the Republican party rigs the GOP presidential primary to keep Trump off the ballot? Will they say, “oh well” and vote for the establishment chosen nominee? Or just stay home on Election Day?

Speaking of rigged elections, where are elected Republicans on fixing the fraud-prone current election system which ignores ballot chain of custody and signature verification in favor of stopping vote counting on election night only to have a new vote leader emerge the next morning?

If this process isn’t fixed and deemed fair, it doesn’t matter who anyone votes for as the outcome is predetermined. Where are Republicans leading the charge on election reform? Or are they happy with a system which they can control for their benefit?

Where is the Republican party in the battle for the future of America? Are they willing to stand up to our descent into authoritarian tyranny or do they prefer to look the other way, sucking off the teat of the ruling class, comfortable in the assurance that their families will be taken care of, just as Politburo families were in the old Soviet Union?

Are Republicans the solution or part of the problem? Is supporting Republicans like Charlie Brown trying to kick Lucy’s football, with her pulling it away at the last minute? Unfortunately, in the conveniently organized two-party system, voters have only two choices, bad and worse. What if voters chose “none of the above”?

As we contemplate the 2024 election, many of us ask ourselves “why vote Republican?”.  I hope that the GOP can offer up voters an answer to that question.

Brian C Joondeph, MD, is a physician and writer.

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