The case against every Republican in Washington, and even Harrisburg, is simple- everything costs too much, and their policies made it so. By kneeling before a mad man President, they created a monster. An inflation crisis that was slowly improving is now an inflation disaster- gas, health care, food, and housing, essential core building blocks of life that we cannot skip as people, cost too much. The “Big, Beautiful Bill,” a failed trade war, a botched and unnecessary war in Iran, and rampant and undeniable corruption have wrecked our economy, made our country weak, and destroyed our place in the world. Republicans are heading towards a brutal wipeout that they earned.

Of course, the problem with this is that the Democratic Party is troublesome right now. As a lifelong Democrat, I am trying to navigate the mess we have made. I’ve sent thousands of dollars from the pac I work at to candidates this week, some of whom I have issues with. Small problems that are actually big ones, things like whether a candidate wants to scrap the Affordable Care Act for a larger, unworkable government plan, I’m overlooking, basically because ending Trump’s functional power as President is more of a priority. More core, fundamental things, such as embracing antisemitism, calling for the abolition of borders, police, and prisons as a whole, are not. The truly personally terrible few who are running. Candidates who would steal from their own family? I’m taking a hard pass there. A crook is no more worth a vote than an imbecile.

I obviously won’t vote for Ryan Mackenzie. He’s awful. But Bob “Crooksy” Brooks? I’m still a hard no on him. I’ll just leave it blank. Why? Because what they’re saying about him is true. So even as I send out checks and independent expenditures to candidates in Alaska, Florida, Wisconsin, Maine, California, and other places in the hopes of the Democrats ending Trump’s reign of terror on the world, here at home I just can’t stomach our local version of John Fetterman and Graham Platner.

Democrats spent the last decade chastising the GOP for putting “party over country.” Voting for some of these folks we are running would prove we were nothing but scolding hypocrites who would do the same thing in pursuit of power. Most people already believe that, which is why they allowed themselves to vote for Donald Trump to begin with. I have quite a few friends happy to prove them right, apparently.