Opinion: Now Republicans need to show they can solve problems

Nothing speaks louder than the collective voices of voters.
The awesome power of “we, the people” nullifies and quiets all prognosticators, pundits and polls. It puts to rest all the events of an unusual and extraordinary campaign season, including two assassination attempts and the president’s decision to drop out of the race with a little more than 100 days left in the campaign.
After weeks of voting, the American people chose Donald Trump to be the first president since Grover Cleveland to win two non-consecutive terms.
Voters also gave Republicans control of the Senate. At press time, it was uncertain whether the party will also win a majority in the House. Regardless, that bestowal of power comes with great responsibility.
Many voters seemed upset by the direction of the nation’s economy. Despite some recent good news about a growth in GDP and consumer spending, and low unemployment, inflation has been a consistent reminder of government overspending, budget deficits and the national debt.
As of Jan. 20, this, once again, will be the Republican party’s problem. The national debt is fast approaching $36 trillion. Social Security and Medicare are heading for various states of insolvency within the next decade. Annual interest payment on the nation’s debt now exceeds the annual military budget.
Meanwhile, the world is becoming more dangerous. China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are coalescing into an axis that some are identifying by the acronym CRINK. It’s an axis that would love to destroy American influence and prosperity. These are the nation’s most pressing problems.
Utah’s new Senator-elect John Curtis met with us after the election to discuss some of these. He has ideas for ways to urge the Senate to budget more responsibly. He promised to be the “tip of the spear” on efforts to reform Social Security and Medicare, which many see as fraught with political danger.
He and other elected leaders want to be accountable for this. These are problems the American people need their leaders to fix before they get out of hand. These are the challenges that deserve the energies of those who have been newly bestowed with power.
In a democracy, power is fleeting. The Republican majority has two years to show Americans it can handle these important problems. Democrats may still use the power of the filibuster in the Senate to force compromise, and we urge Republicans to resist the urge to do away with that. But Republicans, just as the Democrats before them, will retain power only by using it judiciously.
Now that the people have spoken, the time has come for all Americans, regardless of which candidate they voted for, to unite in support of the president and all others who were elected to Congress and in state and local offices. The strength of the nation lies in its people’s enduring respect for the Constitution and their trust in institutions.
Trump and many Republicans had been insisting that the 2020 election was stolen from them, despite all evidence to the contrary. We hope Tuesday’s victory erases such talk and convinces all sides that American elections are, to an overwhelming extent, free and fair, with sufficient safeguards and guardrails in place. Tuesday’s result was different from four years ago because the people voted differently, not because of any outside influence or corruption.
As always, both major parties need to examine this election and glean lessons about the needs of a majority of the American people. They seemed angry at the inflation that affected the economy during the last four years, despite recent good economic news. They seemed to feel not enough was being done to secure the southern border. They rejected many of the policies of President Joe Biden, and seemed to feel Vice President Kamala Harris was equally culpable for those policies.
In Utah, voters largely stayed the course by electing Republicans to most offices. The GOP will maintain a supermajority in the Legislature. Gov. Spencer Cox was re-elected. Curtis was elected to the Senate, replacing a retiring Mitt Romney, and former Utah lawmaker Mike Kennedy was elected to his first term in Congress.
But even in Utah, power must be handled judiciously. Elected servants should always remember they serve the people, and that the people hold the keys to power.
The people, on the other hand, must remember that one of democracy’s enduring beauties is that there always is a next election; always another chance to hold politicians responsible. No result is ever truly final.