Republicans need to save our democracy from Trump

My fellow Republicans, we are all Americans regardless of Party Affiliation or differing viewpoints. What has made America great is our differences and debating issues that bring us together in a consensus. This may happen at a local city or county commission meeting or at our state or federal legislative sessions.

As Republicans, we need to step back from the rhetoric and get serious about the situation we are witnessing—real facts about our President who wants to weaponize our military against our own citizens and use our cities for military training. A president who says there is an "enemy within." A president who has used extortion as a weapon to get votes from Congress. A president who has organized attacks against the press, calling it fake news, as he lashes out with fact-free comments that resemble the ranting of an unhinged figure. This is not healthy for our democracy.

As an American, a Republican, and a Marine Corps veteran, and with 22 years’ experience as a Manatee County Commissioner, I hope you will respect what I am trying to convey. Everyone with an open mind should be alarmed by what is going on with an authoritarian as president. Republicans in Congress have failed to fulfill their responsibilities under the Constitution, in my opinion. The hard work done in the past, passing laws with the consensus of all political parties, has been undone by one person, and that, my fellow Republicans, is not the Democracy of the United States of America.

I am appalled to watch one person authorize a boat to be blown up with people on board without any proof being produced. To me, it’s a prelude to what we are about to see in the United States: kill Americans with our military might without due process because one person takes aim at people he opposes. We have seen the retaliation of our president against Americans by using the Department of Justice to charge people he wants charged when the DOJ investigators did not find evidence to support such charges.

We have seen this president strip away security protection for people he dislikes for various reasons. We have witnessed his double standards, making us believe that we should not weaponize our courts against Americans, only to have him use them more openly as weapons than any president in my lifetime. Trump signed an executive order to promote free speech, but uses his power to limit press coverage, to promote firing those who are critical of him using comedy, and seeks to fire anyone who posts something not in line with his policies.

Now, to seek a federal job, one must agree to defend the Constitution as it stands, but one must also agree to serve the Executive Branch faithfully. There is a new questionnaire for all applicants for federal positions at the GS-5 level and above, asking, among other things, about their favorite Trump administration policy or executive order. Here are the questions: “How would you help advance the president’s executive orders and policy priorities in this role?” the question states. “Identify one or two relevant executive orders or policy initiatives that are significant to you, and explain how you would help implement them if hired.”

We have seen this one person authorize the use of force against peaceful immigrants, hardworking people with families who are not a threat to our country. Some are ripped from their families at a court hearing for asylum. Congress has the power to act and stop this senseless, inhumane, and very costly immigration program, but it ignores its responsibility. Before the election, an immigration bill was going to be passed, and then one person, Trump, as a candidate, threatened Congress, and the bill was not considered. Is this a democracy when a threat from one person can stop Congress from protecting good people seeking asylum?

We can’t raise the Christian flag as a country founded on Christian principles if we are not acting like Christians. Politicians who go to church on Sunday and allow the inhumane treatment of migrants are not following the words of Jesus Christ. Even Pope Leo, the head of the Catholic Church, called out those who describe themselves as “pro-life” for opposing abortion but do not reject the “inhuman treatment” of migrants and the death penalty.

If we really are a "Christian nation," why do we send bombs and weapons to Israel to kill innocent civilians, journalists, doctors, and volunteers trying to help people who are starving and displaced? Yes, it was tragic what happened to Israel at the hands of Hamas, but to see what retaliation has been done is a form of genocide. Our taxes assist in this fight against another country or population that has committed no crime or act of violence against our country.

The tactics used by Israel are similar to those that Russia used in Syria at Aleppo, where civilian buildings are blown up, eliminating an entire city. We were outraged then, but now it is okay? A ceasefire in Gaza could have been in place for months, saving lives, and without any renewed threat to Israel. Now our President wants to be the head of some new board created to be over Gaza. How is this part of an interest we have as Americans?

I am also shocked by how little has been said about Pam Bondi’s comments on hate speech and using the Justice Department to crack down on our citizens' use of words that she ( and the president) does not like. Are we going to have morality police like Iran, or get punished for a social post the government does not like, similar to what China does, or ban the free press like Russia, because our government does not like what we say, and can somehow simply declare it hate speech?

As a country, we have made so much progress to be free, but that is all changing rapidly. Now we have a president making war on his own citizens, whom he was sworn to protect, all because they disagree with him. In one of the saddest moments in our country, a person’s death was used to target his opposition without any facts being presented. Our president has yet to apologize or correct his unwarranted comments. I make no excuses that I am not an extreme far-right Republican. Like many of you, I feel like I am in the middle these days, just like most Democrats and No Party Affiliation voters. In Manatee County, I don’t see an enemy within; we all get along for the most part and can disagree while still enjoying our good fortune in living in this wonderful place.

What makes America great is our diversity. Our states are unique and distinct. California and New York have different mindsets regarding governance than Florida or Texas, so let them be. This is how the country was intended, a collection of states for a common good, not to have our military force change. If crime rates are higher in Chicago, then let them solve the problem or live with it. Our country needs a president, not an authoritarian who runs to the Supreme Court to stop what Congress implemented, with past presidents signing off on bipartisan legislation.

Our authoritarian president is removing rules to protect our health from polluted water and air, eliminating watchdog agencies, and replacing independent board members with loyalists who will enforce his policies rather than Congress’s policies. Our Country needs to be united, not divided by a president. I truly believe we have a great nation, and it was great even before Trump. I suppose that if "great" means making yourself and your friends millions or billions at the expense of the common good we expected, then you were misled about what MAGA was about.

As a country, the worst thing to do is to ignore the warning signs. It is like having chest pains and not thinking you might be having a heart attack. Our country is one step closer to dying, losing a democracy that was thriving and the envy of the world. Wake up, Republicans, because it is up to us to save American Democracy.

Credit: Jose McClash, The Bradenton Times

Joe McClash is the publisher of The Bradenton Times. He served on the Manatee County Commission from 1990 to 2012.