Democrats should move beyond Trump, work with Republicans

Ruy Teixeira is a highly regarded political scientist and an unapologetic Democrat best known for his book, The Emerging Democratic Majority, where he and his co-author predicted the Obama coalition. The authors anticipated the demographics of the nation changing with minorities, young voters and educated professions, providing the Democrats a never-ending majority. However, Trump’s victories and the Republican appeal to working-class voters have prompted Teixeira to rethink this thesis.

In his Substack, Ruy advised Democrats to move beyond attacking Trump and work with Republicans where they can. As he stated, “Nothing feels better than unloading with both barrels on Donald Trump.

And few things are less effective or boring.” Everyone in America understands that Democrats believe Trump is Hitler, a racist, a danger to democracy and that Democrats just really, really hate Trump and MAGA. Ruy used the example of the recent bipartisan policing bill that Senator Booker (D-New Jersey) went on a rant over regarding the evils of Republicans. The bill passed with unanimous consent out of committee and included provisions long held as important to Democrats.

“MAGA” comprises 30 percent of the country but 21 percent voted for Trump for purely policy reasons.

Republicans outperformed Democrats in polling on illegal immigration (up 24 percent), the economy (up 12 percent), inflation (up 10 percent), foreign policy (up 8 percent) and tariffs (up 7 percent). Ruy believes collaborating with Republicans on these issues will restore Democrats to the majority.

Trump is receiving both barrels from Democrats on illegal immigrant’s due process rights. The Clinton Administration modified due process for illegal immigrants in 1996. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act strengthened U.S.

Immigration law. The law imposed tougher penalties for immigration crimes and expanded deportation grounds including misdemeanors or felonies. The Act introduced expedited removal and allowed deportations without judicial hearings. Democrats yelling that deporting felons is bad does not move most Americans.

Unemployment has been stable since inauguration, but there is one interesting change in who is employed. 1.8 million U.S. citizens have joined the workforce since March while 1.5 million foreign born workers have left the workforce. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not know if the foreign-born workers are legal or illegal, just that 1.5 million foreign-born workers are no longer employed. It might be that Americans will take jobs that just nine months ago Democrats stated were jobs “Americans” would not do. Since the inauguration, inflation has been less than 3 percent, the S&P 500 is up 500 points (8 percent), BLS is reporting a 3.5 percent increase in wages and the tariffs have added $130 billion in revenue (Taxes) to the Federal Government. A job, a growing pension or 401k and more money in the paycheck reflect what Trump voters were looking for from their government.

Trump and the Republicans will overstep and if rational Democrats (see Governor Kelly) are candidates, the 21 percent will shift again. The energy in the Democrat party seems to be the far left with members of the Democratic Socialist of America (DSA) winning more elections. If a DSA candidate wins the Presidency, I will rant that they are communist, atheist and gun grabbers that will end the United States. The 21 percent that determine elections will not care.

Bob Laubengayer Rural Ellsworth

Reader dissatisfied with Trump

This week’s jobs report for July shows the fewest jobs added for nine years. President Trump’s response was to fire the reporter of the bad news instead of trying to do something about the problem which is his scary tariff policy. Under his short tenure average United States tariffs have gone from about 2 percent to 18 percent. Basically tariffs are a consumption tax.

Contrary to Fox news, the tariff is not paid by the country tariffed. The tax is paid by the American importing the product from that country. If the product is resold to an American consumer, that cost has to be passed on to the consumer if the importer is going to stay in business. He has imposed a 50 percent tariff on Brazil, one of the few countries where we have a trade surplus, when one of the supposed reasons for the tariffs was to attack our trade deficits.

Coffee which we cannot produce is one of our big imports from Brazil. The coffee I buy in the store has gone up by 25 percent! The last time we had tariffs this high was the great depression.

This week he said Epstein “stole” Virginia Guiffee” from Mar-A-Lago and she wasn’t the first one he “stole”. He claims he ended his relationship with Epstein because of that but records show he was partying with Epstein years after that. What was a 16 year old girl doing working in the massage parlor at Mar-A-Lago? How old were the other girls Epstein “stole”? What did Trump think Epstein, whose supposed business was tax advice, was going to do with the girls. Trump had already been on the record saying the Epstein liked his girls young. This week after his former defense lawyer Todd Blanche met for nine hours with Trump’s old friend Ghislane Maxwell she was transferred to a minimum security prison. Her conviction for sex trafficking a minor disqualifies her for that prison. What did she agree to say to get that special treatment?

Also this week we learned that the new ICE agents are getting a $50,000 signing bonus. Since they intend to hire 10,000 new agents we taxpayers will be spending half a billion dollars just in signing bonuses for America’s new gestapo.

Thank you, Ron Svaty Ellsworth

Contact representatives, demand accountability

Dear Editor, I write to you not as a partisan, but as a registered Independent who’s fed up with political sleight of hand. During the campaign season, Republican leaders assured voters they would not defund Medicare or Social Security. Yet here we are — facing devastating cuts through a backdoor maneuver few saw coming.

Have you heard of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act, commonly known as the Sequestration Law?

When Congress passes legislation that increases the federal deficit beyond a certain threshold, this law automatically triggers spending cuts across government programs. The latest budget bill — ironically dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” — has been projected to increase the deficit by over $2.3 trillion.

That means automatic cuts are now required.

Here’s the kicker: while Social Security is technically exempt from sequestration, Medicare is not. The law mandates up to a 4 percent annual reduction in Medicare spending, totaling over $500 billion in cuts over the next decade. Meanwhile, Social Security faces its own crisis. According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the trust fund will be insolvent by 2033, triggering an automatic 24 percent cut in benefits — roughly $18,000 per year for a typical dual-earner couple.

Let’s bring this home. In Ellsworth County, over 20 percent of our population is 65 or older. These are our neighbors, our parents, our veterans. How many of them can absorb a 25 percent loss in income and a spike in Medicare premiums? This isn’t just a policy issue — it’s a moral one.

If you’re skeptical, I urge you to look it up yourself.

The facts are clear, and the consequences are looming.

We must act now.

I encourage every reader to contact their representatives and demand accountability. This is not a partisan issue — it’s a human one. The citizens of Ellsworth County deserve better, and we need your voice.

Respectfully, Terry W. Kepka Ellsworth