Stop Him and Implement Socialism

Democrats seem to be offering only two reasons for why people should vote for them this year.

Elect us so that we...

1. Can Stop Donald Trump.

2. Implement a Socialist agenda.

Try as you might, you cannot find any other positive policy reasons or a realistic platform of ideas from Democrats to improve the lives of Americans and make the United States better.

Yes, I don't consider the Democratic Socialist agenda either positive or realistic.

Many Democrat candidates for the House state that their number one priority is to impeach Donald Trump.

When asked what are the high crimes and misdemeanors that would be the reason for an impeachment, they cannot provide an answer beyond "he is guilty of so much."

What would an impeachment due to the nation's business?

You can be assured that if Democrats take control of Congress there will be next to nothing of importance that will come out of Congress over the next two years.

There will be a lot of investigations and noise.

Little of substance will be accomplished.

If Democrats are able to pass some type of legislation they favor, it most certainly will be vetoed by the President.

That will be the reality if Democrats control Congress.

A vote for Democrats this year undoubtedly means that voters will be even more upset with what Congress is doing (or not doing) than they are today.

As it is, voters are already very dissatisfied with the way Congress is handling the nation's business.

In a recent Quinnipiac poll, only 21% of voters approved of the way Democrats in Congress were doing their job.  A massive 70% disapproved for a -49% net approval rating.

Source: https://poll.qu.edu/poll-release?releaseid=3965

Republicans in Congress did not fare much better.

26% approved of the job Republicans were doing compared to 62% who disapprove for a -35% net approval rating.

Source: https://poll.qu.edu/poll-release?releaseid=3965

Trump's net approval rating in the same poll looks relatively good at -26% compared to those bleak numbers.

What is interesting in looking at polling numbers right now on Trump's approval, and how it relates to the upcoming midterm Congressional elections, is comparing the approval numbers to actual results delivered over the last two years.

It is clear that Trump is taking a big hit for the Iran conflict and its related effect on gasoline prices.

This is most particularly hurting Trump with Independent voters who are also most susceptible to mainstream media headlines as they are typically the voters paying the least amount of attention to underlying facts and issues.

The Iran conflict caught them blindsided. Trump campaigned against "forever wars". 

He campaigned on a platform of freeing up domestic energy and lowering gas prices.

I can see where they are coming from. This is not what they voted for.

On the other hand,  I previously wrote that I could see the midterm fortunes of Trump and the Republicans improving if the Iran problem was solved between now and election day.

Take those issues away and Trump's record looks pretty good from most objective standards.

What should those who voted for Trump two years ago but are not happy be doing now?

My suggestion is to take a step back and don't let their vote be ruled by short term emotions.

Look at the facts and reality.

Getting control of immigration was Trump's signature issue.

The Biden administration told us that nothing could be done about it without new legislation.

Trump stopped the flow of illegals crossing the southern border almost immediately.

 

Source: https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/southwest-land-border-encounters

The steady flow of illegals at the southern border has slowed to a trickle.

The Trump administration has also been prioritizing the removal of illegal aliens with criminal records, those who have overstayed temporary visas and tightening the rules regarding H1B visas.

All of this has resulted in the number of foreign born persons in the United States falling by an unprecedented 2.9 million people in the last two years.

It is the first time we have seen net negative migration to the United States since the 1930's.

There is nothing Trump has done on immigration that he did not say he was going to do.

Deporting criminal illegals may also be having some effects on crime rates.

The first six months of 2026 compared to the year earlier has shown major reductions in violent crimes in the United States.

We have also just seen the Census Bureau report the highest real (adjusted for inflation) annual household income in the nation's history---$87,460.

This broke the previous high that was reached in 2019.

 

Higher incomes and lower inflation with Trump in office compared to Biden has made a difference in real household incomes.

The percentage of people in poverty also reached a historic low in 2025.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/us-poverty-rate-102-2025-census-bureau-says-2026-09-15/

The record low poverty rates also extend to children, African Americans and Hispanics.

They have never been at lower levels in the nation's history.

Those high gas prices do hit you in the face at every street corner.

However, when adjusted for inflation and higher incomes today, it has been worse in the past.

I also remember when Biden was President the narrative was that he could do nothing about the high prices at the pump.

It did not matter that the spike was related to the Ukraine War which Biden's fingerprints were all over.

We have also seen prescription drugs prices decline for the first time in American history under Trump.

Source: https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/2101038712356282759

Stocks have recently been at all-time highs.

The S&P 500 is up 26% since Trump began his second term.

The NASDAQ is up 34%.

The current unemployment rate of 4.1% is also very close to the level that economists would consider to be full employment.

Yes, gasoline prices have increased significantly this year but retail sales (excluding gasoline) are showing signs of strength. 

People are somehow finding the money to spend even after spending more at the pump.

Retail sales (excluding gas station sales) in August, 2026 were 4.9% higher than a year before.

Source: https://wolfstreet.com/2026/09/16/despite-all-moaning-groaning-americans-not-in-the-mood-to-slow-down-retail-sales-surge-even-without-gasoline/

On top of all of this, the Atlanta Federal Reserve just revised its third quarter estimate of GDP growth to 5.1%. The retail sales figures for August undoubtedly had something to do with the upward revision.

If that number is realized it will be the highest quarterly GDP growth rate since 2021 when we were coming out of the Covid lockdowns.

Despite all of this, why do many Americans seem to believe that things are so bad?

A big reason is that the mainstream media tells them that. Every day and in every way.

I have written before about the University of Michigan Survey of Consumer Sentiment that has recently been at the lowest levels seen in the last 60 years.

Source: https://www.sca.isr.umich.edu/charts.html

Think about that consumer sentiment index we are seeing right now.

That is lower than during any recession the last 60 years.

Lower than the 1979-1981 period when we had double digit inflation for three consecutive years.

Lower than the early 1980's when mortgage rates hit 18%.

Lower than the period between late 1982 and early 1983 when the employment rate was more than 10%.

Lower than when the entire economy was shut down with Covid.

Lower than in 2022 when inflation was running at over 8% per year.

How can sentiment be so far removed from reality?

All of this proves once again why it is so dangerous to allow the narrative and the emotions of the day to get in the way of making sound long term decisions.

Stop Trump?

You may be stopping a lot more than Trump.

You make not like his bombast and bravado. 

Forget the form. Don't ignore the substance and the facts.

Implement Socialism?

Take a look at the data above once again and tell me socialism is going to improve life for the majority of Americans.

Yes, things can always be improved. However, do the Democrats seriously believe that taking a hard left turn is the way to do that?

It pays to consider a little history at times like these.

Many people around the world through the years were told they needed to stop someone.

They succeeded but what they got was far worse.

The Russians got Stalin. The Germans got Hitler. The Iranians got the Ayatollah.

In North Korea and Venezuela the Socialist/Communists told everyone that they needed to embrace collectivism to improve their lives.

It didn't exactly work out very well for them.

Before North and South Korea went their separate political and economic paths, the people in the North had GDP per capita that was 30%-50% higher than the South.

Those paths have diverged a great deal over the years.

Venezuela went from being the richest country in South America to the poorest in the span of a single generation once the "Democrat Socialists" gained control.

 

 

Most people would be better served by putting short term emotions aside and vote with their long term interests and future in mind.

This quote by Ayn Rand, the author of Atlas Shrugged, summarizes it well.

If you are not familiar with Ayn Rand and her book Atlas Shrugged, that was published in 1957, you might want to read the blog post I wrote in 2011 after I finally sat myself down and read the nearly 1,200 page book.

It is a good reminder that voters should not just shrug and vote mindlessly this year.

Indeed, there are consequences in avoiding reality.