Five big reasons Republicans don't deserve your midterm vote | Opinion

For two years, Republicans have had complete control of our government – the presidency, both houses of Congress and a conservative majority on the Supreme Court. So the key question on the eve of the midterm elections is this: Has your life been made better?

It doesn’t take scientific polling data to know the broad answer to that is a resounding “no.” Unless you prioritize cruelty to immigrants and transgender children, or enjoy watching Republican politicians act as impotent bystanders in thrall to an increasingly unhinged and authoritarian-curious president, you’ve gotten nothing good from the GOP. Nothing.

In fact, the word “nothing” is the root of the problem. The vast majority of Republican lawmakers have done absolutely nothing to stop or even rein in President Donald Trump as he has behaved like a malevolent king. They have offered no resistance, just pathetic acquiescence. 

To drive that point home, here are five big reasons Republicans on the Nov. 3 ballot do not, in any way, deserve your vote.

They let Trump start a freaking war!

Without congressional approval, Republicans let the president waltz America into a wholly unnecessary war with Iran. That war has cost us the lives of 23 U.S. soldiers and $47.1 billion. It has spiked oil and fuel prices globally, sending diesel prices to record highs just in time for the U.S. harvest, devastating already struggling farmers.

Yet Republicans in the Senate have repeatedly voted down legislation to end the Iran war.

Republicans have completely ignored food prices

Remember how Trump promised food prices would go down as soon as he took office? Well, they haven’t. At all.

In fact, they’ve gone up. Republican lawmakers could have forced the president to focus on this issue vital to so many Americans. Instead, they just let him do his thing. 

GOP lawmakers watched as Trump demolished part of the White House

Like a pack of saps, Republican lawmakers stood around after the president tore down the East Wing of the White House without any form of approval. And since then, they’ve supported his incessant babbling about a grand White House ballroom and sat on their hands as it became clear taxpayer money will pay a good chunk of the exorbitant cost of that ballroom.

Epstein files? What Epstein files?

No Epstein files, no problem.

Trump has gone to great lengths to prevent the full release of the files relating to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, likely because Trump’s name appears in those files quite frequently. GOP lawmakers have aided and abetted this obvious cover-up and allowed the U.S. Department of Justice to act as the president’s personal law firm. 

The GOP cheered as Trump made America a global pariah

They let Trump alienate us from our allies. Republican lawmakers have never deemed it worthwhile to push back on the president as he has insulted, hurled tariffs at or threatened America’s longtime allies.

Canada now hates us, Europe has watched slack-jawed as Trump has repeatedly taken Russian President Vladimir Putin’s side in his monstrous war against Ukraine, and Trump’s seemingly random tariffs have shaken the global economy. Republicans could have stepped in. They could have done something to halt or lessen the chaos.

They did nothing.

But wait, there's more Republican failure ...

I could go on and on.

Under Trump’s direction, federal agents have terrorized communities across the country and shot and killed U.S. citizens in the streets. The so-called conservatives in Congress sat back as Trump drove the U.S. debt past a record-high $40 trillion. They let an unelected goon like Elon Musk swoop in and gut federal government agencies and programs while also putting sensitive taxpayer data at risk. They let the president accept a free luxury jet from Qatar and stayed quiet as Trump made $1.4 billion in cryptocurrency business deals.

They’ve catered to his every whim, from plans to build a triumphal arch in Washington, DC, to renaming Lake Ontario. His cruel rhetoric goes forever unchecked.

The president recently started referring to the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee from Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed, as “a jihadist,” which is simply beyond-the-pale Islamophobic garbage. How did Republicans respond? They didn’t. Some even adopted Trump’s gutter racism.

These are not serious people. They are opportunists bordering on cultists who put Trump first, themselves second and America very much last. 

They haven’t made your life better. They haven’t done their jobs. And they certainly don’t deserve your vote. 

Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Bluesky at @rexhuppke.bsky.social and on Facebook at facebook.com/RexIsAJerk.