Note: Disaster could happen

EDITORIAL MUG: Larry Anderson

There are 435 members in the House of Representatives. Presently 218 are Republican while 213 are Democrat with four vacancies. The Republican majority is thin as a wafer, especially with another Republican abandoning his seat in April.

The Senate is just as skinny but for the Democrats. There are 49 Republicans in the Senate and only 48 Democrats, but there are also three independents that caucus and vote with the Democrats, thereby giving them an uneasy edge.

Both the House and the Senate could flip in November since all representatives and one third of senators are up for election or reelection, depending on status. It’s also possible things will stay similar considering how sharply the country is divided, but there will be shenanigans afoot and one never knows.

The big question for me is what will happen to the country if the House goes Democrat and the Senate remains as is with Joe Biden re-elected. All three governing bodies would be controlled by liberals calling the shots and collecting the spoils. Only the Supreme Court would be reliably conservative, but that wouldn’t last long.

In such a scenario, the leftists currently controlling the Democrat party would move blazingly fast to consolidate their advantage and power. The following could absolutely happen.

The Trump tax cuts that have helped so many Americans would be allowed to expire in December 2025. Expiration of the tax cuts is equivalent to a tax increase since the rates would return to their old numbers unless some other modification happened. If Republicans are in control, there is an excellent chance the cuts would be extended and a tax crunch avoided.

There is a good chance other taxes would go up too, especially on those with higher incomes. But the income marker remains the big question since the Democrats would decide what constitutes wealth. There is also an excellent chance for new punitive taxes such as a return of the odious capital gains tax that wrecked profits and investments in the past. Taxes on capital gains are regressive. They destroy entrepreneurialism, wealth and opportunity. That’s why they are possible again should equity-minded Democrats win it all.

A Democrat House and Senate coupled with a Biden presidency would end any hope of border security. Open borders would be protected by new laws, our national autonomy would be permanently gone, and waves of immigrants will change labor, wages and a long list of other factors for good. There is no maybe here; this is a guarantee.

A blanket amnesty will be thrown over the millions of illegals who have entered this country through the recruitment, encouragement, and support of the Democrat party. With amnesty come citizenship and the right to vote. For whom do you think they will cast? This is the plan skillfully manipulated into place by the left.

America could become a single-party nation like other socialist countries around the globe. Don’t fall for the Bernie Sanders claim of a workable democratic-socialist hybrid. Socialism is a single-party system, and it would dominate; democracy would quickly fade.

Environmental fanaticism will be aggressively enforced by a plethora of new laws. Your freedoms will be measured by environmental impact. If you presently like your gas-powered car, your efficient lawn mower, your gas clothes dryer, your charcoal grill, you can forget them. They will be gone or fines/taxes put in place to punish their use. The government will decide what you can have, and it won’t be open for debate. Rationing isn’t out the question either. Keep in mind socialism is all about controlling production and consumption.

Education is already more about indoctrination than it is about teaching skills and understanding, but the curriculum will morph even more rapidly into socialist sensibilities while diminishing history, critical thinking, and patriotism. The government role in education will enlarge while parental input will decline and be scorned.

Bureaus and agencies will expand quickly in number, power and reach.

A conservative Supreme Court with three Trump appointees would be intolerable. SCOTUS would be packed with left-wing ideologues. The Democrats would then control every branch of government which has been the goal for decades.

Leftist domination is entirely possible in less than one year. If that happens, life in America will change forever and not in a good way. I hope everyone understands what is at stake and comes to the country’s defense because America is teetering on the brink of personal, political and economic disaster.

Larry W. Anderson is a retired educator.