Years ago, when the Obama
administration bailed out the auto industry, in particular General Motors and
the Chrysler Corporation, it cost the government $80 billion of taxpayers’
money. Republicans were up in arms about this and vowed they would never
allow the Federal government to bail out another corporation again because such
action was juxtaposition to the concept of free market.
Well fast forward to 2025 and you will
discover that President Trump used taxpayers’ money to take a 10% stake in the
computer chip maker Intel Corporation. That’s right the Federal Government
intervened financially in a private company, something Republicans vowed in
2008 to never allow again.
Fast forward again to 2026, and guess
what, Spirit Airlines that had already emerged from bankruptcy twice in the
last two years is about to receive a government bailout under a proposal
submitted by our esteemed President. The Federal government would now own
a majority equity in the company. And naturally the excuse President
Trump espouses for this needed bailout is blamed on the Biden administration’s
refusal to allow Jet Blue and Spirit to merge in 2024. However, industry
experts agree that the actual final demise for Spirit was the result of the
exorbitant jet fuel price increases cause by the war with Iran.
This most recent action is yet one of
several that causes me to pause and wonder just what the Republican party
stands for anymore. Their three paramount political affirmations have always
been to reign in federal spending, minimize government interference in the free
market operation of corporate America, and avoid getting entangled in foreign
civil wars.
However, regarding their first
political mantra, federal spending is even more out of control despite the
efforts of the DOGE fiasco. As of April 2026, it stands at $3.65
trillion, an increase of $84 billion over the same period last year.
Also, the national debt has steadily increased under the present Republican
leadership to over $38.5 trillion, up from $36 trillion in 2024. The cost
of living is also up. And now the influx of Federal dollars to
corporations, and the Iran war, originally cast as necessary to help its
inhabitants rise up and cause a regime change in that country. However,
when that failed, our involvement has now switched to preventing Iran from
having a nuclear arsenal. Yet another ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction rally
cry?
It appears to me, as I constantly
remind my Republican friends who support the present administration, that the
Republican party has been highjacked. Consequently, you should no longer
refer to yourselves as Republicans. You are now Trumpians and the
policies that party espouses continually change according to the whims of its
leader.
