Will Republicans choose Trump over the nation?

The July 19 edition of the Democrat-Gazette had three opinion pieces that spoke out against the racist, anti-immigrant president and the Republican Party that supports and defends him, or that legitimizes him by remaining silent in the face of his offensive tweets. Then there was another that hoped the Republicans regained control of the House in the next election because all the Democrats do is resist and “wage war” on Trump. It occurred to me after reading all of them together that many Republicans are OK with Trump and his lack of moral integrity, diplomacy, intellect, manners and knowledge of history — as long as their agenda is pursued.

I would like to appeal to Republicans who are choosing to remain silent about Trump or who will, despite all the obvious racist, sexist, anti-American tweets he consistently sends, vote for him again because they don’t want to vote for a Democrat. Let’s start with some common sense. When your house is on fire, you don’t put it out with more fire. You don’t put it out by using the smallest bucket of water you can find either. Because it is your house you care about and have worked on, you bring everything you’ve got, all the resources you have to put out that fire.

Our house is on fire now. America is our house and we should all be fighting together to restore some dignity to the White House, to the Congress and to our place in the world. The Republican Party has become the party of Trump because of their representatives in the House and Senate who continue to appease and protect him regardless of what he does. The party of Trump supports the oil industry (as if they were in trouble), ignores the climate change crisis and wants the middle class to pay more taxes while the wealthiest pay little or nothing. That’s just a few of the bad policies.

Let’s look at it from another point of view: conservative vs, liberal. Republicans don’t want liberals taking over because they would so dramatically change things, “upset the apple cart.” Trump has done just that in Washington already, except in a totally negative way. Most of the departments under this administration have leaders who have resigned because of corruption scandals or who, if still in office, do not do what is good for the country, but what is good for corporations. Is this what you think is right for our country?

Come 2020 will you be able to look the truth in the eye and say, “no more?” No more children in crowded cages sleeping on concrete floors. No more pandering and praising of totalitarian regimes that commit unforgivable human rights violations. No more offensive tweets that put down brave Americans and go against our collective belief in democracy.

Will you be willing to vote “no more” regardless of party affiliation? STEVEN TRULOCK Fayetteville