Another, "elections have consequences" lesson for MAGA.

I really like these type of stories!

How Trump's tariffs have hurt manufacturers instead of helping them | AP News

"Jay Allen is a fan of President Donald Trump, and voted for him on the belief that the Republican would cut taxes and trim regulations, helping his manufacturing business in northeast Arkansas"

"But the tariffs at the core of Trump’s economic agenda have wreaked havoc on his company, Allen Engineering Corp., which makes industrial equipment used to install, finish and pave concrete"

"Allen said he ran his company at a loss in 2025 because of tariffs. His payroll has fallen to 140 workers from a peak of 205. " (He had to reduce his payroll by a third.)

"“What’s really sad is the unintended consequences of his tariffs are hurting manufacturing in our country,” said Allen. “Unfortunately, the working-class people are getting squeezed.”"

I hope you like this one.  The mayor in the movie Jaws was still the mayor in Jaws 2.  Elections do matter.  

There is a lot of buyer's remorse going on in this country right now.  I know hardcore MAGA's that even question Trump's comments and actions at times.  That's a big step for those folks.  

I'm a lifetime republican and I'm sickened by this man.  But I predicted he would act like this way back in the mid 2010's when this country was considering electing a guy that thought it was tough to fire people on tv.  

What people don't realize is that Trump is the quintessential Republican. Chest-thumping foreign policy, wars to make AMURRICA happy, making sure the rich get richer and the poor stay poor, disregard for the law and the Constitution, considering the Bill of Rights to be toilet paper, corruption on an industrial scale, and of course, constant, rabid race hatred.

Trump isn't an aberration; far from it. He's the culmination of 75 years of Republican proto-fascism.

So Jerry, you should realize that Trump is EXACTLY what you've been voting for, for your entire life.

You can't throw this extremist in with all republicans.  And I did NOT vote for Trump for like the 60th time.  But you know that already.  

I also disagree with Kevin on this; I've voted for both Republicans and Democrats in many elections, whoever I thought was the best person for the job. I'll never vote MAGA, which creates a problem for me; this year, I have to vote a straight Democrat ticket because I can't give Trump any leverage. Sad state of affairs for sure. 

On a more positive note, Stone Temple Pilots will be at the M in July, and I have comps at the M, so all is right in my world!

I'd say there really isn't a Republican Party anymore. It is the MAGA party with very different views than the Republican Party had prior to Trump. Even when Trump is gone it isn't going to revert back to the old Republican Party.

To win the former Republican Party has to continue to cater to the MAGA crowd (the worst of the worst) so you will continue to see a party driven by conspiracy theories and no real plan for governance. 

Hence, the dilemma I'm in.  

I didn't say you voted for him. I said that by voting Republican, you helped to create the horror that is him.

Perhaps you should, in a rare moment of introspection, consider all the core tenets of Republicanism and evaluate whether they're valid or not. For example, the might-makes-right fist-shakibg chest-thumping American exceptionalism crapola. That reached its pinnacle under Ronny Raygun, who came within a millimeter of starting a nuclear war with Russia.

Then there's the GUMMINT SPENDIN' AM BAD EXCEPT FOR LOTSA BOOMITY BOOMS mantra. Do you agree with that core belief?

Republicans want to slather Gawd onto every aspect of public and private life, Bill of Rights be damned. Do you endorse or oppose that?

Republicans want to eradicate (to use Charlie Kirk's term) everyone whose sexuality and/or gender identity isn't straight heterosexual Victorian. Do you agree?

There are definitely some Democratic core beliefs/policies that I don't agree with, but I do subscribe to their basic worldview. It seems to me like the Republican worldview is stuck in the era of Fonzie and poodle skirts.

Trump is definitely an extremist, as well as an asshole. Ronny Raygun was a very nice extremist. But at the end of the day, each man's path ended up in the same place.*

*Thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster that Ronny watched "The Day After Tomorrow"; it turned him into a pacifist.

I agree with everything you said about your voting, I do the same. I also love the Stone Temple Pilots, hope you get to see them perform. I'm going to listen to Interstate Love Song now!