Kudos to Congressman Don Bacon for his attempt to regain control of tariffs. Congressman Bacon proposed a bill to return the power of adding tariffs on foreign goods to the House and Senate where it used to be and take away power from the President.

In today’s partisan environment, where too many Republicans are afraid to do anything that might upset the man who would be king, it’s good to see our congressman stepping up and trying to return power back to our representatives and away from any one person who might be inhabiting the White House.

A similar bill has been proposed in the Senate. Senator Chuck Grassley has got a handful of Republican Senators to go along with the idea. It remains to be seen how the Republicans in the House will react, or if House Speaker Mike Johnson will even let it get to the floor for a vote. But at least Congressman Bacon and Senator Grassley are trying to bring some sanity back to a trade policy that is not only hurting us here at home but damaging the global economy as well.

Last Saturday, people throughout the country showed up to show their displeasure not on-ly with the trade policies of this administration but with so many other things the Trump administration has done in this short time.

I was one of the thousands of people who showed up at Memorial Park to protest.

I went not only to show my disapproval of what Trump and Musk have been doing but also to see for myself what others were thinking so I could comment on them here.

I saw young and old carrying signs that covered the spectrum.

There were veterans and seniors worried about losing the benefits they’d earned. I saw vot-ers concerned about cuts in Medicare and Medicaid. There were teachers and librarians say-ing that they read banned books. I saw signs wanting to save the National Weather Service. Others wanted to protect immigrants and LGBTQ rights. I saw at least two people in wheel-chairs, one on crutches, and a couple of seniors with canes who made the effort to show up.

And of course, there were protestors with signs going after Trump and Musk. Some of them prominently used the F-bomb to make their point.

There was some vulgarity and some things I saw made me feel uncomfortable, but nothing was any worse than what I have witnessed at Trump rallies. No matter what your political views, coarse language, and images are unfortunately going to be part of the process these days. Our First Amendment guarantees that right.

What I saw last Saturday at Memorial Park were thousands of Americans concerned about saving Democracy. Concerned about the haphazard way Elon Musk is gutting our govern-ment. Concerned about tariffs and the inflation they are more than likely to cause. Con-cerned that the man who fancies himself as a king is not concerned about the people he’s supposed to govern.

There were Democrats, Independents, and yes even some Republicans who may have voted for Trump but didn’t vote for this. They were all Americans concerned about America. Every day citizens took time out of their weekend to let their voices be heard.

There will be those in right-wing media who will claim that George Soros paid the protesters to be there. I don’t know if any of the organizers got paid, but I can assure you the thou-sands of local people and the countless others nationwide were not.

A friend of mine who wanted to dismiss what happened over the weekend said that nothing was accomplished from the protest. I beg to differ.

I went to Tea Party protests when they started almost 20 years ago. The crowds were not as big but every bit as energetic as what I saw on Saturday. The Tea Party protests were the start of the movement that eventually gave us Donald Trump.

Could the protests last Saturday and the efforts by Congressman Bacon and Senator Grassley be the start of returning the government to the people and away from an oligarch that is rapidly getting more and more out of control?

I certainly hope so, because if we keep going down the same path we’ve been on for the past few months, there will be no turning back.

Congress gave up its power to control tariffs. It’s an uphill battle for them to get that power back. If we the people give up our control it will be impossible to return to the America we knew.

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.