Summary

This article is an appeal to moderate Republicans to reconsider their support for Donald Trump due to his bigotry, divisive rhetoric, and fiscal policies that benefit only the wealthiest.

Abstract

The article, titled "To My Moderate Republican Friends," is written by an author who acknowledges that the current Republican Party is dominated by Trump's ideology. The author addresses the fiscal conservatives who are not swayed by Trump's bigotry and divisiveness but are willing to overlook these issues because of the promised tax breaks. The author argues that the tax breaks primarily benefit the wealthy, not small businesses or the middle class, and that Trump's anti-migrant rhetoric is also harmful, particularly to industries that rely on migrant labor. The author highlights the fact that farmers, who rely on migrants to harvest their crops, have been negatively affected by Trump's policies and required an 18 billion dollar bailout. The author also points out the rising cost of fuel as another negative consequence of Trump's policies. The author suggests that these combined issues could lead to an economic disaster for small businesses and their employees. The author concludes by warning against the proposed Republican plan to cut Medicare and Social Security to pay for the tax breaks, emphasizing that these programs are essential for many Americans, including the poor and elderly.

Bullet points

The current Republican Party is Trump's party.
The author addresses moderate Republicans who are fiscal conservatives but are not swayed by Trump's bigotry and divisiveness.
The tax breaks promised by the Republican Party primarily benefit the wealthy, not small businesses or the middle class.
Trump's anti-migrant rhetoric is harmful to industries that rely on migrant labor, such as the farming industry.
Farmers have been negatively affected by Trump's policies and required an 18 billion dollar bailout.
The rising cost of fuel is another negative consequence of Trump's policies.
The combined negative consequences of Trump's policies could lead to an economic disaster for small businesses and their employees.
The proposed Republican plan to cut Medicare and Social Security to pay for the tax breaks is unacceptable and harmful to many Americans.

To My Moderate Republican Friends

If you are a die-hard “Trump can do no wrong” Republican, this is not for you as you are likely a lost cause and there is no chance of reaching you anymore. None.

Caricature by DonkeyHotey: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic

I want to take this time to address my moderate Republican friends, neighbors, and fellow citizens. The Republicans who don’t buy into Trump’s bigotry and divisive rhetoric but are willing to let it go because you are fiscal conservatives. The old guard Reagan/McCain types.

Clearly, today’s GOP is Trump’s Republican Party. I know you probably love the idea of the tax-breaks but like me, you’re all too aware of the fact that it turned out to only benefit the wealthiest among us. Small business owners out there, like you and I, know all too well that the Republican tax package did little-to-nothing for us. In fact, if you’re like me, it actually hurts your bottom-line a considerable amount more than it does any good.

We aren’t seeing the same level of benefit as those on Wall Street. We can’t just start paying our employees more because we can’t start charging more for our labor and services. Thanks in large part to the free-market which remains as competitive as ever. If you’re in the construction or service industry, increasing wages only leads to not just a loss of revenue, but a loss of business as well.

And that’s just a tip of the iceberg.

His anti-migrant rhetoric is also quite hurtful on many fronts. As a former government contractor, like farmers, I relied on migrant workers to fulfill the demands of our contracts. Migrants provide a wonderful labor force of hard workers that earn the same, if not more, than their American counterparts.

Trump’s racist language towards non-white folks hurts the bottom-line for many industries as well.

Think of the farmers who rely on these migrant workers to harvest the food we eat.

Farmers who rely on migrants to harvest product that gets shipped overseas. His language and policies hurt Americans across many industries. The taxpayer has so far had to foot the bill for an 18 billion dollar bailout to subsidize those very farmers.

You’re not going to get a subsidy like that.

See where I’m going with this?

Those tax-breaks, coupled with his rhetoric, makes doing business more expensive across many fronts. Have you seen the price of fuel lately? It currently sits at a higher price-per-gallon than it was over the summer. It’s an absurd thought, but here we are. Welcome to upside-down world.

Can you imagine what fuel will cost next summer? It’s scary, but we have to start thinking ahead.

These are all issues, that when combined, could spell death for a company of a dozen employees. Your competitor who has 50 employees can sustain it better than you and will price you out of the market in mere weeks. The upcoming peak-season for many industries will tell us all the truths we need. By then, it may be too late for the small guy.

It’s an economic situation that only promises to get worse for small business.

Maybe you don’t own a small business. However, it’s very likely that you work for one. Do you think this won’t impact you?

Surely you realize that you will be the first to be impacted.

When your bosses start hemorrhaging revenue and they need to maintain their management team to try and make adjustments, you will be on the losing end of those adjustments. Non-essential staff are the first to go. Essential staff will have to be cut and those who are willing to do more for less will be the ones who get to stay.

That is the death knell for competitive pay.

All the makings for an economic disaster, both personally and nationally are already in play and the end is nowhere in sight.

People are already struggling across many fronts and these policy decisions, without accountability, will only make things worse.

So far, the only option Republicans have on the table is to pillage Medicare and Social Security. Our “old-age safety net” that we’ve paid into our entire lives. That’s not acceptable. Certainly not to pay for tax-breaks that go solely to those who will never need such programs.

The wealthiest among us already have retirements in place for generations to come, yet somehow the Republicans in the pockets of the rich feel justified in allowing them to accrue even more wealth on our backs.

In other words, they want us to pay for the rich to get richer using our meager retirement benefits. When people ask you why you would vote against your own interests by voting for these extremist Republicans, this is what they are talking about. By continuing to vote for the same old guys, that have amassed quite a bit of wealth themselves, you are giving them permission to take that away from you, me, our parents, and the poorest Americans.

If that sounds like a shitty deal to you, it’s because it is.

I’m not here to tell you who to vote for, but I am here to tell you to stop believing the hype that these old guard politicians are selling. Because what they’re selling is junk and they’re using fear to convince you to buy it. They like to use keywords to scare the shit out of you. But we’re Americans. This is the home of the brave. We aren’t supposed to fear a damned thing. Right?

Stop buying what they’re selling.

Instead focus on their voting records, if they even vote. Focus on the issues that matter because they matter to a great deal of us. Stop listening to their bullshit and focus on the reality of who they are and what they represent.

Currently, they’re only representing themselves.