If you love the Republican Party, vote for a Democrat | Opinion
Donald Trump made two promises in 2024 that most voters, regardless of party, were 100% behind. First, he promised to "turn the page forever on those foolish, stupid days of never-ending wars." On election
night, he went further, pledging, "I'm not going to start a war, I'm going to stop wars."
Second, he promised to "rapidly drive prices down" and "make America affordable again." Your groceries would be cheaper, he said, and your energy prices cut in half.
What did we get instead? A pointless, endless war with Iran, gas prices up 50% since it began, record diesel prices and ground beef that's up about 20% since Trump took office.
Trump has kept some promises. He deserves real credit for securing the border. Other initiatives, like mass deportations, have had mixed results. Some, like balancing the budget, never got off the ground.
But this isn't about making us a promise and failing to deliver, which all politicians do. It's about making us a promise and doing the exact opposite.
Americans are paying the price for Trump's broken promises
This has real consequences for real people. Millions of Americans scaled back summer vacations because of gas prices and paid record prices for ground beef at their cookouts. One in five say they've cut back on groceries to pay their electric bills, and 29% of "buy now, pay later" users have used those loans to buy groceries.
Trump broke these promises, but that doesn't let congressional Republicans off the hook. We sent them to Washington to make sure the president delivered on his agenda. If that means holding Trump himself accountable, then that's their job.
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But that's not happening. Instead of pushing Trump to lower prices and end the war with Iran, they've voted again and again to let it go on, and they indulge his every whim. If congressional Republicans had demanded that Trump spend a 10th as much time on groceries and gas as he does on his ballroom, we might not be in this mess.
And instead of defending their records, they're trying to get reelected by insulting our intelligence.
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After months of shrugging them off, some Republicans suddenly care deeply about the war with Iran and the price of gas. Take Rep. Ashley Hinson of Iowa, the Republican nominee for Senate. With the House in recess, she demanded on Sept. 21 a "successful and immediate end" to the war and called on the House to return to tackle record diesel prices. The prior week, she had voted against a war powers resolution, the first step toward actually ending it.
The price of everything else is up, but talk has never been cheaper.
Even more insulting, they're treating us like children, trying to scare us with stories about "communist" monsters under the bed. The idea that a handful of squishy democratic socialists in Congress will destroy America is ridiculous. Trump himself isn't worried about New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and we've survived Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and the Squad for years. As long as Trump is president, we could elect the entire Chinese Politburo to Congress and it would accomplish nothing.
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Voters should put Trump in a two-year time-out
So electing some Democrats won't hurt the country, but it will do wonders for the Republican Party. Trump has driven out the Marjorie Taylor Greenes and the Thomas Massies who dared to hold their party to its promises. The Republicans who remain live in terror that Trump will say something mean about them on social media.
The party needs to relearn what integrity means and that Republicans answer to voters, not to Trump. A two-year time-out would drive that message home.
But this isn't just about the Republican Party's integrity. It's about ours. This is "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me" territory. Republicans made promises and delivered the opposite. You'd fire an employee who did that, and our representatives in Congress deserve the same. If we let them scare us into keeping their jobs, we'll feel like fools – and we should.
But don't take my word for it. Here's what former Rep. Greene said in September: "When you vote for someone, not only are you supporting them, but you're holding them accountable. And if they can't be truthful and hold (Trump) accountable to his campaign promises that affect the entire country, then they're liars, and they're hypocrites and they're in a cult."
I've criticized her before, but she has more backbone than the entire Republican congressional leadership.
Accountability is rarely pleasant, but it makes us better. The same goes for political parties. Congressional Republicans need to be held accountable in November. That's not retribution. It's tough love. And for every faithless incumbent we vote out, a Republican will run in 2028 having learned the lesson.
Trump isn't on the ballot this November, but his promises – and his failure to keep them – are. If you want more of the same, vote Republican. But if you want voters taken seriously instead of for granted, and a party you can be proud of in 2028, vote for a Democrat and make the Republican Party great again.
Chris Truax is an appellate attorney who served as Southern California chair of John McCain's 2008 presidential primary campaign.
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