Song sung blue? No. Last night was the Hallelujah Chorus sung blue
Last night’s rebuke of Donald Trump should be a long-needed slap in the GOP’s collective face. His party has needed to come out of its Trump-induced stupor for a long time.
Trump caused this because he has taken the Republican Party on a path that has veered away from long-standing conservative principles, creating problems that led to a sweeping rejection of him and his loyalists.
If Trump had been true to Republican principles, this wouldn’t have happened.
If Trump had followed traditional GOP practice and ideology, his tariff binge would not have occurred. Republicans have historically been champions of free trade. During the Reagan and Bush era, free trade initiatives, particularly the development of the World Trade Organization, were a top priority. Back in 2017, South Dakota senator Mike Rounds was writing about the benefits of trade agreements and their importance to South Dakota. Trump’s tariff agenda has been bad for South Dakota and the country in general, particularly on the inflation front.
Trump’s rhetoric on immigration completely reversed the attitude that was prevalent during the Reagan-Bush era. Trump’s exclusionary rhetoric and policies have had a negative effect on the economy.
Trump’s energy policies, which lead to greater dependence on fossil fuels, have been a disaster. “Drill, baby, drill” is about the dumbest approach to energy management I can think of, and I think about it every time I have to shell out serious bucks for a tankful of gasoline. George W. Bush was a strong supporter of renewable energy. Why Trump won’t follow suit is a mystery.
The common denominator for the way Trump has turned away from policies common to his recent Republican predecessors in the White House is inflation – and clearly, inflation is one of the main causes of the discontent that led to last night’s debacle. Trump has created an identity crisis for his party, and the public has just shown that it has had enough of it.
Hallelujah.
John Tsitrian is a businessman and writer from the Black Hills. He was a weekly columnist for the Rapid City Journal for 20 years. His articles and commentary have also appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The Denver Post and The Omaha World-Herald. Tsitrian served in the Marines for three years (1966-69), including a 13-month tour of duty as a radioman in Vietnam. Republish with permission.
Photo: public domain, wikimedia commons
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