State Rep. Jim Walsh spoke to protestors in November 2020 in Long Beach regarding his opposition to various pandemic precautions. He now leads the state Republican Party.

Washington State Rep. Jim Walsh recently was chosen to lead this state’s Republican Party. In run up to his party’s leading state position Rep. Walsh evaluated his party as “… in good shape financially and organizationally.” And then he added, “There are no fires to put out.”

Hmmmm, how does Walsh ignore Donald J. Trump’s two impeachments, four indictments and currently facing 91 criminal counts? Walsh’s national party leader’s charges include: 34 counts of falsifying business documents; four counts of attempting to overturn the 2020 election; 40 counts for his alleged mishandling of classified documents. And let’s not forget Trump’s painful actions surrounding the January 6th Capitol riots. Wow, Walsh sees not even a hint of smoke.

Added to all this is a recent poll revealing a majority of Republican voters agree Trump should be sentenced to prison if found guilty of state and federal charges. Our state’s top Republican, Walsh, should scrap his blind devotion to a 77-year-old “wanabe” demagogue who recently stated he’d have no choice but to lock up his political opponents if he wins the 2024 presidential race.

Walsh needs reminding his 19th District voters are predominantly senior citizens who frown on Republican efforts to gut Social Security — and failing that at least to privatize this federal retirement system — trusting greedy corporate types to manage seniors’ hard earned retirement savings. Nonetheless, believe it or not, Walsh’s current MAGA party continues flirting with gutting your current and future Social Security. In fact, if Trump had his way while in the White House he would have cut $30 billion from Social Security. Contrast current Republicans with 1956 Eisenhower Republicans who promoted extension and protection of sound Social Security benefits.

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We must remind the new head of Washington state’s Republican Party that things weren’t always this way. The Republican platform in the mid-1950s was surprisingly progressive. Of course that was when Dwight Eisenhower’s influence dominated with visionary party planks.

We must remind the new head of Washington state’s Republican Party that things weren’t always this way. The Republican platform in the mid-1950s was surprisingly progressive. Of course that was when Dwight Eisenhower’s influence dominated with visionary party planks. In 1956 some key GOP positions included federal minimum wages raised for more than 10 million workers and unemployment insurance was extended to four million more. Eisenhower’s social conscience significantly expanded these vital programs. Further, Eisenhower’s mid-50s supporters extended unemployment insurance to additional workers; and wages were increased along with improved welfare and pension plans for federal employees.

Eisenhower’s Republican Party was very different from today’s Trump GOP. Mid-50s Republicans kept calling for changes to the Taft-Hartley Act to more effectively expand rights of labor unions. Unlike today’s fearful MAGA Trumpsters, Eisenhower Republicans supported national suffrage, and ending discrimination against racial minorities — including extension of the 1953 Refugee Relief Act. Unbelievably back then, Republicans recommended Congress support submission of a constitutional amendment providing equal rights for men and women. Today’s MAGA men simply could not endure additional challenges to their fragile male egos.

And get this, mid-50s Republicans encouraged federal assistance for construction of hospitals. Further, Eisenhower’s party emphasized low-cost chronic disease treatment for elderly persons along with medical care for the needy. Currently, Trump-cult Republicans want to kill Medicare — another program critical to all of us, but particularly to senior citizens. Contrast this with President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act featuring historic reforms addressing prescription drugs. Now thanks to this new legislation Medicare can negotiate lower drug costs. For instance, this year out-of-pocket costs for most insulin products are limited to $35 per month. Another benefit of the Biden Inflation Reduction Act is starting this year low-income subsidy for Part-D coverage will be limited to 150% of the federal poverty level. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services publishes this month a list of the 10 drugs included in the first round of price negotiations with drug manufacturers.

Today’s Republicans claim frugality as one of their important trademarks. Nonetheless, Trump worshipper Rep. Walsh should be reminded his party’s leader increased our national debt nearly $7 trillion — primarily because of former President Trump’s tax cuts aimed at benefiting billionaires and large corporations. Today no less than 67% of prospective voters are concerned that Walsh’s party is at odds with them. Have any of us ever heard the newly appointed head of this state’s Republican Party disagreed or in any way challenge former President Trump?

While addressing Walsh’s cult Republican’s “claim” to frugal management of our government we naturally must ask him to explain why his MAGA buddies oppose Democrats increasing the IRS budget by nearly $80 billion. Republicans want to strip at least $67 billion from this new IRS operating budget. If Democrats prevail, IRS focus for the next decade will pay more attention to taxpayers taking home more than $400,000. Recently, IRS launched an increased effort to improve tax fairness, starting with going after the wealthiest tax-dodgers. A large portion of this increased IRS budget will be invested in hiring more accountants to corner tax-cheats and thus reduce government deficits.

President Eisenhower wrote to his brother: “Should any political party attempt to abolish Social Security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are … a few … Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas.” Then Eisenhower’s letter concluded, “Their number is negligible and they are stupid.”

But of course unlike Trump, Eisenhower was not a deranged narcissist maniac with visions of unlimited authoritarian power. Now we’re dealing with Trump’s MAGA cronies like Walsh who nationally are super busy stripping schools of diversity, censoring our books, whitewashing our history, silencing our librarians, punishing our teachers — all the while stonewalling student debt forgiveness. Further, Walsh’s Republican buddies nationwide have conducted a disturbing wave of attacks on election security. In fact, they’ve introduced no less than 450 state voter-suppression bills throughout our country. This list goes on and on and on. We have to ask could the current Republican Party even exist without lies? Will the current crop of MAGAs ever again accept election results they do not win?