August 25, 2022

Cutting Through the Fog

The issues that concern most American voters have little to do with Donald Trump.

Here we are, nearly midway through the Joe Biden’s term of office, the one that was supposed to restore normalcy after the chaotic Donald Trump years. But the consensus feedback from national polls is that our nation is headed in exactly the wrong direction on nearly every issue.

What’s happening? How could all have turned upside down suddenly?

If you pay attention to print, broadcast and on-line media, you might conclude that the source of all of our troubles is a guy who hasn’t been president for nearly two years, who will be 78 years old on Election Day in 2024, and who is likely not to ever be president again.

The drumbeat is incessant; all day long we hear Trump, Trump, Trumpian this and Trumpian that, the Trump cult, Trump-endorsed congressional candidates, Trump’s zombie followers, Trump’s iron-fisted control over the weak-kneed GOP. We hear blow-by-blow accounts of his malfeasance on 1/6/21, the barrage of legal actions leveled at Trump and his business associates, and his supposedly illegal stash of classified material at Mar-a-Lago.

In short, the Leftmedia and Democrat politicians (and we’ll include Liz Chaney here) insist that the former president is both the root cause of everything bad that’s happened to America and our greatest threat going forward. And they are pushing the narrative that the GOP is in full meltdown, consumed by internal war over Trump’s role as the party standard-bearer.

No doubt, Democrats would like nothing better than to face a dispirited, divided GOP in 2022 and 2024. But don’t bet on it.

Most Republicans are realists. They admire Trump’s tenacity, they agree with his positions on most issues and they appreciate his accomplishments as president; they also recognize the substantial damage he caused as he was leaving office, particularly his role in the disastrous, unnecessary loss of the Senate majority in the Georgia runoff elections.

Some fervently wish for a Trump return to power, while others feel that it’s time to move on. I’m in the latter camp; my column last week argued for a clean slate of 2024 presidential candidates as our best chance for a break from the rancor of the last two elections and a move to fresh leadership for the daunting challenges ahead. We’ll see how that works out.

But the Democrats’ wishful thinking about a self-destructive GOP ignores the reality that on both sides of the Trump divide, there is broad agreement on the imperative of a major course correction for America. Ultimately, that objective will carry the day among GOP voters.

Main Street Americans care little about party squabbles. They care about the critical issues facing our country. And on those, I believe a strong majority would agree with the following:

  • Ours is a fundamentally healthy country. Democracy not in jeopardy. We’re not systemically racist.

  • Sky-high Inflation is crushing American families. We see right through the patronizing charade of an “Inflation Reduction Act” that is nothing more than another massive tax and spend bill — exactly the opposite of the action needed to combat inflation.

  • Our world is an increasingly dangerous place. To secure the peace we must build military capability second to none, and we must make it clear to our adversaries that we will use it if needed.

  • We must regain control of our borders. It’s instructive to watch DC Mayor Muriel Bowser’s frantic plea for National Guard help when a tiny fraction of the flood of illegal immigrants that have crossed our southern border suddenly show up on her doorstep in Washington.

  • We need reliable, affordable electricity, using American natural resources. We cannot achieve orderly transition to renewables by abandoning the oil and gas that backs them up.

  • We understand the long-term threat of climate change, but we also recognize mankind’s very limited ability to control it — and so we are unwilling to compromise our economic health in exchange for minimal, far-off and uncertain climate benefit.

  • We detest the woke culture that is shredding traditional values, and we cannot tolerate American education brainwashing our kids.

Every one of those is a direct consequence of Biden administration policy. Every one demands change. For conservatives, reversing the nation’s course in these areas is job #1.

Democrats hope that they’ll be facing a badly fractured GOP in 2024, and they’re doing their best to make that happen. Regardless, the fact remains that the issues of concern to most American voters have little to do with Donald Trump.

The political fog can be disorienting and confusing, but I believe that American voters in 2024 will be crystal clear on what’s important for our country, and they will vote accordingly.

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.