Surprised That I'm Surprised

I will never understand the depths of the Republicans' hate for our country

This morning I was with my mother-in-law at an appointment when several phones got the alert about the court decision that President Trump doesn’t have complete and total immunity as he likes to claim (and wishes were true). An elderly gentleman read the alert and said, “Good! It’s time we get that son of a bitch!” and, man oh man, that was exactly what I needed this morning because I’ve been feeling pretty down about things.

I won’t say I understand why some Republicans are against sending aid to our ally Ukraine who is fighting Russia/Putin for us, but it’s essentially an extension of their years-long weirdness with Ukraine so I’m not going to spend time wondering what their reasoning is with that. I am, however, surprised they so easily and willingly disregarded the Border Patrol officers and agents and their union who is endorsing the bi-partisan bill House GOP leadership refuses to even bring to a vote. How do I still have the capacity to be surprised by them? That also surprises me. I am surprised that I am surprised; that’s where we are.

Republicans have stood beside the officers and agents of the Border Patrol and used them in their Immigration Reform influencer content and I guess I fell for the ads because I thought they really did want to help the ease some of the burden on those forces. I thought Republicans genuinely cared about law enforcement personnel. OMG! I’m embarrassed by my own naiveté. The Republicans in Congress only care about staying in power. That’s it and it drives every single decision they make. Most of them despise Trump but they do what he tells them because they’re afraid of his ability to cancel them with an ALL CAPS social media post. Just a few minutes ago President Biden said it best, “The position of the MAGA Republicans can be characterized by the New York Times headline: Trump first, Putin second, America third.”

As I hear those words, type those words, and try to process those words I think I understand why I still have a capacity to be surprised: Because the of putting Trump and/or Putin ahead of the United States of America is anathema to me. I’m in good company because the President went on to say, “Trump is desperately trying to stop this bill because he's not interested in solving the border problem. Republicans have to decide, who do they serve? Donald Trump, or the American people? I know my answer. I serve the American people. I'm here to solve problems.”

Thank you, Mr. President, for your administration’s tireless efforts to solve problems at home and abroad. Despite working alongside Republicans who chose to harm our country and citizens rather than see the U.S. succeed under your leadership, you keep working and it gives us all the hope and encouragement we need to keep working also.