We are fortunate here in Omaha to have incredible medical facilities. CHI, Methodist, and Nebraska Medicine all provide amazing health care. The research hospitals are constantly working to discover new and innovative ways to treat both common and rare diseases and disorders.

This makes me hope that the Lied Transplant Center or any of the other facilities are working on a procedure to transplant a backbone to all the Republicans who seemed to have lost theirs during the Trump administration.

I will give Don Bacon some credit. He has shown more of a willingness to stand up to the president than most of his Republican brethren in Congress. Congressman Bacon has spoken out against Trump’s chaotic firing of federal employees and Trump’s support for Russia blaming Ukraine for the invasion Putin started.

But what about all the other Republicans who remain quiet and vote to approve grossly unqualified candidates for important cabinet positions? Kash Patel for the FBI??? Really??? Where is their backbone?

I’m not talking about a difference in policies. This is not about disagreements in taxes, immigration, or abortion. Reasonable people can have opposing views on those topics.

I’m talking about the way the president is alienating our European allies and lying about who started the war in Ukraine. I’m talking about the way he is dismantling the Department of Justice to benefit him and his buddies’ lawless actions. I’m talking about how he calls himself a king on the official White House web page. Regardless of party affiliation, anybody with a third-grade education knows about the war we fought to rid ourselves of a king.

Too many Republicans excuse these things just because he says he’s one of them. I don’t know what he is, but he certainly isn’t like any other Republican in history. Pete Ricketts, Deb Fischer, Jim Pillen, and countless others who put an R after their name know that if a Democrat did the things Trump is doing, they would be up in arms, and rightly so. Wrong is wrong regardless of the party.

I guess if I wanted to give these Republicans the benefit of the doubt, I wouldn’t say they lack a backbone, but rather they are victims. Victims of the Stockholm Syndrome. They have been kidnapped and have fallen in love with their captor.

Except these Republican legislators are not physically being held captive. They could break away. They still have their free will and it’s telling them to remain silent while the Felon in Chief takes apart the foundations of this country piece by piece.

While our medical professionals are working on a backbone for the Republicans, maybe they can also find a way to wake the Democrats from the coma they’ve been in for some

time. Granted, with the GOP having control of all three houses, there’s not much they can do, but it’s time for the Dem’s to get out of their vegetative state and start their rehabilitation. 2026 will be here before we know it.

I love this country, but I don’t recognize what it is becoming. I believe that America has always been great, but it can always be better. I think we’re heading in the wrong direction.

Progress is made when both sides work together to solve problems. It’s not made when both sides sit idly by and let a guy who thinks he’s a king rule the country by executive order. Progress isn’t made by only hiring people whose main qualifications seem to be loyalty to Trump’s imaginary throne.

Some of the most loyal to the delusional king are those convicted of crimes during the January 6th insurrection. With all the stories about Musk, Ukraine, the firings, and more you may have missed the one where Trump fired the president of the Kennedy Center and was named the Chairman of their Board of Trustees. As such, they canceled a performance of the Gay Men’s Chorus and replaced it with the January 6th Choir made up of criminals convicted of storming the Capitol.

In the grand scheme of things, that might seem like a small thing, but if a Democratic president took time away from his Oval Office duties to book a performance from criminals, can you imagine the uproar from talk radio, Fox News, and Republican representatives?

And yet when President Trump does those things, the spineless conservatives don’t say a word.

I hope the medical community can give these folks a backbone before it’s too late.

Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.

Opinions expressed by columnists in The Daily Record are not necessarily those of its management or staff, and do not constitute an endorsement or recommendation. Any errors or omissions should be called to our attention so that they may be corrected. Contact us at news@omahadailyrecord.com.