Donald Trump and maga Republicans want to control the 2026 elections because voters are finally fed up with chaos!

Echo essay published in the Los Angeles Times by Jackie Calmes:

I hope Maine's Senator Susan Collins 👀reads the Los Angeles Times.

If you wake each morning already angry at news of some latest outrage from Donald Trump, or some unhinged, malevolent message he posted online overnight and if you then go to bed already burdened by nightmares from the headlines of the day, there’s good news: You’re not alone.

Being social animals, humans find comfort in company. Except, in this case, for Republicans nationwide who will face voters in November. And that’s another thought that should be comforting: that those Trump-enabling Republicans are discomfited.

Those were my reflections this week as I read the Wall Street Journal’s report on a Texas Democrat’s 14-point victory on Saturday in a special state Senate election to represent a Fort Worth-area district that Trump won by 17 points in 2024. That’s a 31-point swing from red to blue. So sure, consider all the caveats about special elections being low-turnout affairs that aren’t exactly representative of the larger electorate that comes out in a general November election. But 31 points❓😃

What struck me even more, however, was independent voter Shanna Abbott’s explanation to the Journal for why she supported Democrat Taylor Rehmet in that race:

“Every day there’s something insane happening.”

See❓ You’re not alone in thinking that same thing. Misery loves company: an adage for our Trumpian times. And from solidarity comes action.

That’s what has Republicans quaking in this midterm election year. They’re especially unnerved because they also know that every day Trump will say something, do something or do nothing — say, to rein in the brutal, even murderous thugs masquerading as federal law enforcement agents on U.S. streets or to lower prices as he promised (instead of ultimately raising them with tariffs) — and keep alive the disgust that so many Americans share. It’s a growing majority, polls show.

For more than a decade this “flood[ing] the zone with s—,” as Trump high priest Stephen K. Bannon put it years ago, has been not just Trump’s innate proclivity but also a purposeful strategy to disorient and overwhelm the media as well as the public. 

Trump’s fire hose ❗was the weaponry of his superpower. No sooner did he say or do something that in past times would have undone another president — or at least provoked a consuming controversy — then Trump would spawn another rhubarb, and then another.

Discombobulated, Trump’s political foes as well as Americans generally just threw up their collective arms in surrender: It’s just Trump being Trump.

What’s more, at Trump’s debut on the national political stage, back when then-rival Jeb Bush presciently predicted during the 2016 campaign that Trump would be “a chaos president,” many Americans heard those words with welcoming ears and not as the warning that Bush intended.

Many voters wanted a chaos agent to shake up Washington, a disruptor to “drain the swamp” and to stick it to the elites. (Never mind that billionaire Trump was one of those elites, as he’s lately illustrating in spades with word of every self-enriching crypto deal and each new black redaction from the tranche of criminality known as the Epstein files that might be protecting him or his predatory pals from infamy.)

Yet, in his second term, with Trump unrestrained by the kind of normie advisors who checked him in his first term, and, in fact, encouraged in his worst authoritarian instincts by current aides (looking at you, Stephen Miller), the president has surpassed the limits of Americans’ appetites for his rhubarbs. They’re choking on his chaos, a revulsion that’s exacerbated when they see every day that Trump isn’t making their lives more affordable — he rejects the very word “affordability” as a Democratic “con job.” 

Instead, Trump is preoccupied with erecting gold and marble monuments to himself in Washington and partying at his sumptuous Mar-a-Lago with, yes, the elites IOW "The Jeffrey Epstein class".

Even some elites are hedging. A headline in the Washington Post: “Trump’s chaotic governing style is hurting the value of the U.S. dollar.” A weaker dollar, in turn, further raises ordinary Americans’ costs for imports including autos, electronics, clothes, food and more.

The year 2026, is only five weeks old and already Americans have stomached a lot.

They watched witness video of armed immigration agents shooting to death two citizens protesting in Minneapolis, only to hear Trump and his mooks slime and blame the victims. Americans saw 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and 2-year-old Chloe Renata Tipan Villacis taken by agents and sent 1,300 miles from Minneapolis to a detention center in Texas — just two among the thousands of children nabbed by immigration agents nationwide during Trump 2.0, independent studies and data show. (Reminder: Nearly a third of the estimated 4,600 children victimized by first-term Trump’s abhorrent family separation policy still had not been reunited with their families when he regained office.)

Local news carries horror stories in other cities coast-to-coast about the abuses of Trump’s mass deportation operations. Beyond U.S. borders, Trump took over a country, Venezuela, after the U.S. military abducted its leader without notice to Congress, then threatened to take Greenland from longtime ally Denmark, alienating Europe and threatening the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s continued existence.

And, Measles infections are back❗ On Sunday night, Trump announced he would close the Kennedy Center two years for reconstruction. (Just like his failed casino bankruptcies, he has closed yet another entertainment venue.)

Trump's administration’s cover-up of the Epstein files continues. And the Wall Street Journal reported a blockbuster on yet another Mideast deal benefiting the Trump family.

Americans raise their kids to be good losers, and tell them that elections are the foundation of democracy. Yet Trump continues to insist the 2020 election was stolen from him, last week had federal agents seize ballots from Fulton County, Georgia, to try to make his case, yet again, and twice this week said Republicans should nationalize voting in at least 15 states. (You can guess which ones, starting with California.)

Donald Trump is fearful, as he should be, about the midterm elections. Company’s coming. #VoteBlue

Bluesky: @jackiecalmes Threads: @jkcalmes
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Peaceful protests against Donald Trump! Do protests make a difference "YES!" They do!

Protest is How “We the People” Save the Country
Letters to the Editor  published in The Marietta Times Ohio newspaper: 

Protesters gather during the Hands Off protest outside the Ohio Statehouse on Saturday, April 5, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio. The event is part of the nationwide protests in opposition to the Trump administration and Elon Musk.Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch

The Trump Administration spent the first ninety days ++ plus of its tenure tearing down the very fabric of American Government. 

His evil theory appears to be that destruction is a necessary part of any “improvements” that his cult administration plans to make. The problem with this particular group of incompetent clowns is that they don’t care about the responsibility to improve the lives of individuals they govern and have no understanding about foreign policy or the world economy. In other words, to revise the old children’s tale “The Emperor has NO CLUE”. The World sees it and so do “we the people.”

Perhaps, that is why on weekends and weekdays in the United States, everyday people are coming together to say, “this is not acceptable”. After the initial shock and apprehension of another Trump presidency, people have come out of their safe spaces to join together in protest of ELON MUSK and DOGE but primarily of the entire world view of the (cruel!) 47th president. 

Americans believe in democracy and want no part of a dictatorship. They do not want a “fake” Christianity that ignores the basic message of Jesus Christ to “love the poor and marginalized.” The illegal and unconstitutional deportation of undocumented and documented persons; without due process, speaks volumes and should serve as a cautionary tale to American citizens. Citizens who could be denied legal recourse if they are wrongly accused of crimes or exercise free speech to oppose the current administration.

The recent protest that was held in Muskingum Park on April 5th, was an excellent example of what happens when ordinary people decide to courageously exercise their political muscle. A completely peaceful, almost joyful group of over 500 people of all ages came out on a rainy day to carry signs, listen to speeches and chant in unison.

The most important part of the protest, which quickly turned into a celebration, was that by coming out of the dark hole of listening to daily reports of this and that public service being dismantled or funding cut to highly successful programs, like Head Start, Medicaid or even the long-suffering United States Postal Service; folks came together to express their FAITH in the government that has preserved our union for over 200 years. 

They demonstrated a shared HOPE that this present group of malicious actors would be stopped by the Courts (and this is beginning) and ultimately, that LOVE is what will win the day.

Americans respect the spirit of capitalism that has built this country to be an economic power.

Nevertheless, the ordinary person is also equally proud of communities where people reach out and help others. The spirit of helping others to have access to food, health care and shelter is central to the motivation for the protests. In a federal government that is working together for the greater good these values are important. Unfortunately, the current Congress is more interested in writing a budget that robs the working poor of the safety net of Medicaid, in order to provide extension of tax cuts to wealthy donors who donate to congressional campaigns. Could there be anything more corrupt? The reality is that wealthy corporations acquired their profits on the backs of workers whose wages have rarely kept pace with a company’s profit report. This too is unacceptable and the same folks who are coming out to protest will be coming out to VOTE in State and Federal Elections moving forward.

Do protests make a difference? Yes❗ they do❗ The solidarity that is formed when 500 people who don’t know one another come together to express similar values and this continues to happen across the country; eventually the sound is loud enough that it reaches the Halls of Congress. Keep the demonstrations going❗

From Teresa R. Porter in Marietta, Ohio

Donald Trump is a failed leader- echo letter from Pennsylvania

Vote against Trump and Republicans on Nov. 6

Those who defending Donald Trump and the Republicans on Capitol Hill are bewildering. 

Trump portrays himself as an alternative (?) to Washington-as-usual, but, in fact, he's the epitome of entitled elitism. 

Republicans assume to speak for all Americans. But Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 3 million. What baffles me is that anyone actually believes them.

Trump brags of tax evasion and broken contracts as winning and good business. He brazenly defies emoluments laws for personal profit as the shameless Republicans look the other way.

He labels trusted media as "fake," while clinging to disingenuous Fox.

For criticizing and investigating, Trump demonizes the free press and Department of Justice, institutions that preserve our democracy.

Trump falsely promises revival of polluting coal power at the sake of clean renewable solar and wind.

He pledges to protect Social Security and Medicare, while gifting the wealthy a 1.5 trillion dollar tax windfall. Now those safety net programs are in the crosshairs of Republican cuts.

Most frightening, Trump recklessly disregards our planet's welfare, snubbing the Paris Climate Accord and dismantling environmental regulations. Future generations will face unthinkable climate cataclysm and enormous debt.

Trump is not one of us, nor even cares about us. He is motivated by vanity, power and greed. He is empowered by Republicans who do not speak for most Americans. Americans must retrieve our country. A good start is to vote blue November 6. 

(MaineWriter: In other words, vote against Donald Trump's failed leadership!)

James A. Frank, Reading, PA

Eliminate the Tea Party with Informed Voter Activism

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont says right wing Tea Party has caused the US irreparable harm.

“What we have already witnessed is the hijacking of the democratic process by a few dozen extremists in the House who are actively trying to annul the results of the last election. This sets a terrible precedent for the legislative process and will likely be repeated year after year,” he said.

Dear Senator Sanders, I respect your experience and judgement regarding the extremist actions of the right wing Tea Party. Nevertheless, Americans know how to undo the irreparable harm caused  by right wing activism. We must use our democracy to rebuild build our nation as the beacon of hope, and enlightenment and thereby blind the dark forces of extremist regression.

Here's the report from Senator Sanders about the damage caused by the preventable US government shutdown:
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
“As Vermont's senator, I intend to do everything I can to reopen the government as soon as possible and keep our country from defaulting, which could drive the global economy into economic turmoil,” Sen. Bernie Sanders said on Tuesday. “My fear, however, is that no matter what happens in Congress in the next day or two, serious and long-lasting damage already has been done to our country by the right-wing extremists of the Tea Party.”

Sanders statement came as the government shutdown entered its third week on Tuesday and as a Thursday default deadline loomed unless Congress extends the Treasury Department’s authority to pay bills.

“What we have already witnessed is the hijacking of the democratic process by a few dozen extremists in the House who are actively trying to annul the results of the last election. This sets a terrible precedent for the legislative process and will likely be repeated year after year,” he said.

“What we have already witnessed is the anxiety befalling over 1 million federal employees who are not receiving the paychecks they deserve. Having gone three years without a pay raise, they are now wondering how they will pay their mortgages, their student loans and take care of other basic needs. How many experienced and high-quality federal employees will we be losing as a result of this shutdown? What is the long-term damage to the functioning of the federal government?

“What we have already witnessed is the fear of many of our most vulnerable citizens – the elderly, the sick, veterans, the disabled, Head Start families – that the payments and programs they depend upon may not be there when they need them. Their confidence in their own government to keep the promises and commitments made to them will be forever diminished.

“What we have already witnessed is a blow to our position in the international community. In our foreign relations, we should not be surprised that the United States government is now the laughing stock of the world. Can we really be the ‘strongest country on earth’ when we shut down the government and do not pay our bills? The Chinese, our biggest creditor, are now openly talking about the need to “de-Americanize” international affairs because of the constant brinkmanship by U.S. politicians over the possibility of a debt default.

“The American people are better than this. They deserve a better government,” he said.

My response:  If Tea Party regressive extremists sincerely care about supporting our nation's democracy (but they apparently don't), they would recognize how their minority position is untenable. 

Meanwhile, Americans must learn to rout out all extremism in the voting process. It's our civic responsibility, as citizens, to understand how sharing our nation's wealth through income distribution is how Capitalism is supposed to work. Government is supposed to work by the people and for the people.Tea Party activists aren't democratic at all. Rather, they're political terrorists who must be eliminated from having any influence over our democratically elected government.

There's only one way for a democracy to eliminate extremism. Americans must become engaged in supporting voter activism and eliminate extremism by eradicating it in the voting process.