Op-ed:

Economics + War = A Maybe Midterm Loss...Part Two

By Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor

This opinion piece is my opinion alone, and does not necessarily represent the views of blogspot.or google.com    

In last week's article, “Economics + War = A Maybe Midterm Loss...Part One”... I wrote as to why, in my opinion, we Republicans might well lose both the House and the Senate come November's midterm election by focusing on the economic perspective. Now here, in Part Two, the focus is on President Trump's, what I believe to be, mishandling of the still ongoing war with Iran...a war that has become highly unpopular and polarizing here at home, and even more so as the November midterms draw near.

So let's begin with the cardinal rule that Trump has broken, as in the U.S. does not...I repeat not...negotiate with terrorists. And yes, Barack Obama did break that rule with his infamous “5-for-1” Taliban deal...as in five top Taliban operatives being released in exchange for U.S. traitor Bowe Bergdahl's release...which saw many of us chastising Obama's actions en-mass, and rightly so. But when now President Trump outwardly strives and continues to strive to make “deals” with Iran's terrorist regime...as in the world's leading “State Sponsor of Terrorism,” the silence from way too many Republicans remains quite deafening.

And to make matters worse, when some of us do call Trump out for dealing and negotiating with terrorists... which includes the still ongoing ultra secretive behind closed doors negotiating aspect...along with the fact that we have yet to actually win this war...wars being fought do need both an actual winner and a loser...we who do so are then deemed by Trump loyalists to be traitors to the president and to the party because we, according to our naysayers, suffer from what they deem to be “Trump Derangement Syndrome” or “TDS” as it's more commonly known, and it's no matter that most of us voted for Trump three times, and still do support many of his domestic policies, but dare disagree with him on anything, well you know the rest.

So here I must say that I see we dissenters as being true “American patriots” for we know that one's ultimate loyalty should not be to one man or to a party, but to the United States Constitution...the very document that the shadow of Trump hovers over for both right and wrong reasons depending on whose side of the political discourse one is on.

And this very aspect in relation to what is deemed to be misplaced loyalty by some, as well as it having divided the Republican Party, has become not just the second (second only to the economy itself) “albatross” dangling from what could be a Republican midterm loss, but it is something Trump cannot simply just walk away from.

Why so? Think of it this way, as defined by these seven proven to be facts.

Fact One: Besides Trump wanting to make deals with terrorists, he also set an unrealistic time frame as to when this war will end... six weeks tops he said.

Fact Two: Right from the beginning President Trump made unfortunate what are strategic miscalculations regarding Iran's ability to fight back, which included his not taking into account Iran's regional proxy army/drone retaliations against Iran's own Arab neighbors, as well as his telling our ally Israel what they can and cannot do in regards to this war, as in his wanting a diplomatic solution to end the war vs. Israel's wanting to finish the war last summer when we truly were in control of the discourse.

Fact Three: the remnants of what's left of the regime... as in the IRGC...still does remain in control of Iran, and continues to execute jailed “Freedom Fighters” by the day, and they show no sign of backing away from battle anytime soon, after all their religion simply will not allow them to do so.

Fact Four: Trump, to date, still has not yet made any serious public statement regarding Iran's bio-weapons program...the very program I have been calling out since this war began for these are Iran's “last stand” weapons of choice...weapons that the regime would surely use either against Israel, our military personnel stationed at bases in the region, or if desperate enough against the Iranian people themselves.

Fact FIVE: And most important of all is our original reason for going to war with Iran, as in to permanently stop any and all of Iran's nuclear ambitions... the very thing we have yet to accomplish for Iran has agreed to nothing nuclear wise...no agreements has been made let alone their signature appearing anywhere on the dotted line.

Fact Six: And dare we not forget how the Strait of Hormuz did turn this war into a war that many now deem to be but a war for “control over oil;” and how that one aspect does affect not only the global market, but the price at the pump here in our own country as well. And then there's the fact...whether some like it or not...that this war has to some degree actually depleted or at least has run down the numbers of certain of our important  military stocks...military stocks such as U.S. Patriot Missiles, components of our THAAD anti-missile defense system, and our all important Tomahawk Missile inventories, to name but three.

Fact Seven: Also something very telling that must not be forgotten is that while President Trump has again raised troop presence in the Middle East...a good thing as it increases our show of strength...yet he still keeps the all important so-called “boots” locked up on battleships and aircraft carriers instead of allowing them to do the job they were expertly trained for and are willing to do...as in to outright win this war and not be but “hands tied behind their backs” window dressing bystanders.

And here it is important to remember that that actual strategy planning itself...whether it be economic or a military/war type strategy...is most assuredly a multi-tiered endeavor...but that whatever strategy is agreed upon said strategy's implementation...whether it be war time or economic strategy...is actually initiated solely by the president, no matter if he decides to listen to or not listen to what his advisors or experts tell or suggest him to do or not do.

So here let me say that while I personally do still agree with President Trump's original reasons for going to war with Iran, I still do not support his actual handling of the war to date as its components of non-tangible and unrealistic solutions continues to weigh heavy on the minds of many voters, and could well be being a contributing factor in the Republicans possibly losing the midterm election. Why so...because the midterms are actually a referendum on how the sitting president and his party are doing...as in have promises made to “We the People” actually been kept or not.

And sadly, for this president who promised us “no new wars” on his watch while campaigning in 2024, that does not sit well now for the man or his (and my) party, especially when it's coupled with the issues I discussed in “Part One” of this article...including Trump's what is tariff fiasco. And here might I add the fact that while job numbers have increased as have wages...good things indeed...wages themselves have not been able to keep up with inflation which is not a good thing, meaning one cancels out the other, something no one wants to see happen around midterm time.

So to sum it all up, and to prove that 2 +2 in the political realm can still or at least should = 4...the fact remains that a midterm loss for Republicans is thankfully not yet guaranteed, but unfortunately nor is a midterm win. But maybe the odds can be shifted back in the Republicans favor if President Trump were to tell the voters that he's now putting his ego aside so that what are his true economic and foreign policy successes (like the Abraham Accords) can finally shine though on their own, and also that this now unpopular war with Iran is guaranteed to soon be coming to an end and with a U.S. “written in stone” victory.

A hard sell for sure but it can be done, and maybe this midterm election can be the turning point to where we on both sides of the political aisle finally realize that we ourselves, courtesy of in-party fighting, are actually helping to destroy our beloved America from within. So maybe it's time that both the uber far left and the uber far right rhetoric in each party needs to be toned down or better yet ditched completely, for both the far left and the far right are actually one and the same...unyielding, deliberately divisive, with hatred alone being their driving factor...solutions to problems be damned.

So maybe come November 3rd we Republicans and Democrats together as Americans can finally understand that adopting some Reagan-style bipartisanship can actually be what saves our country from ultimately imploding from within, after all nothing else has. Case closed.

Copyright @ 2026 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All Rights Reserved.    

***************************************************************************************************

RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE! 

Tomorrow, Tuesday, October 13 from 7 to 8:30pm EST, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss 'Economics + War = A Maybe Midterm Loss...Part One'; ' 'Iran's Regime - Low on Time, Out of Leverage, Long on Desperation.'; and important news of the day. Tune in to RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS on https://rspradio1.com Click 'LISTEN LIVE.'