This is a hard column for me to write. I’ve had the thought behind it for quite a while, but I still didn’t want to write it. I kept putting it off and even considered just being silent and not writing anything at all.

But If I keep quiet, I’d be doing the very thing I’m railing against. So, I’ve got to speak up.

In the past, I have vocally supported and voted for Congressman Don Bacon. I felt to bring sanity back to the Republican Party you had to support the sane Republicans. But it appears that the train has left the station. I can’t in good conscience support Congressman Bacon this time around.

Which is why this was hard for me to write. I believe that Don Bacon deserves to be reelected. He has an excellent staff and great constituent services. He touts being the most bipartisan congressman in DC, since so few in Congress want that title, his competition isn’t that tough.

When I was in my early teen years I hung around a bad crowd. I never did anything really bad, but I was bad kid adjacent. My parents sat me down and drilled into my head that even if I was doing nothing wrong, I would be judged by the actions of the others. I was told that you are known by the company you keep.

That is why I can’t support Congressman Bacon this time. He’s hanging out with a bad crowd. If the Republicans maintain control of the House, the Speaker will be an election denier. We can’t have that. Mike Johnson may have been a better pick than Jim Jordan, but having the speaker of the house deny the outcome of a free and fair election is a deal breaker. There is no place for that in American Democracy.

While the congressman has spoken out against Donald Trump in the past, he has said he is still going to vote for him. While he has acknowledged that Jan 6th was a bad day, he has downplayed it as an attempt to overthrow the government. Mike Pence, The January 6th commission, and the hundreds of injured Capitol police officers would disagree with him. Bacon signed off on a letter to remove the blue dot, bowing down once again to the former president. Now, I don’t believe that Don Bacon is MAGA, I do believe he’s MAGA adjacent. As my parents taught me, you are known by the company you keep.

Like I said, I hesitated writing this because I respect the service Don Bacon has given to our country both in the military and in Congress. But if I stay silent, I’m no better than all the Republicans who know what a threat Donald Trump is to democracy, and who know Trump’s lost his mind, but are still going to vote for him. These Republicans know the truth but refuse to say it out loud.

I can’t do that.

Recently in a World Herald editorial, three high-profile Nebraska Republicans, Chuck Hagel, John McCollister, and Clare Duda, wrote that they will be voting for Kamala Harris. A high-ranking Texas Republican judge has said that he believes many Republicans will vote for Harris but are afraid to speak out. It’s time for them to speak out.

As Liz Cheney has pointed out in her support of Harris, you can fix bad policy, but once democracy is gone it’s gone.

The smear campaign against Tony Vargas is unjustified. Vargas is a good and decent man. He is a hard worker. It’s time to give him a shot. If he doesn’t hold town hall meetings, or if his constituent services don’t measure up, or if his votes don’t reflect the second district, then in two years we can fix it.

I doubt this column will change anyone’s mind, but I hope it will give those silent Republicans something to think about. Maybe even the courage to start speaking up. I hope that if Republicans have a bad night on November 5th, the sane Republicans will be able to regroup and get back on the right track. Get back to being the party it used to be and the party I used to support more times than not.

It's funny how as a person gets older, their parents become smarter. Mom and Dad were right, you’re known by the company you keep. It’s time to make the Republican Party sane again.

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.