Last week’s Presidential election proved the Democratic Party is out of touch with most Americans but post-election analysists from party leaders seem to indicate they didn’t get the message. With poll after poll showing that Americans thought the country was headed in the wrong direction and that the economy was the number one issue, followed by the crisis at the border then crime and security, the Democratic Party and their candidate, Kamala Harris, chose to ignore the masses and instead launched a Hillary Clinton inspired campaign in the final weeks attacking Trump instead of addressing the issues that mattered most to voters.

The result was a devastating loss for Democrats and a landslide victory for Trump and other Republicans as they regained control of the Senate and maintained control of the House.

Trump not only won the Electoral College but also the popular vote, giving him a resounding mandate to begin major changes to “turn things around” in our country and he has committed to doing just that.

What is perplexing to me is how most in the Democratic Party and their liberal counterparts in the national media cannot or will not acknowledge their failures but instead immediately began finger pointing as to why they lost the election. They blamed Harris and her campaign, they blamed Joe Biden, they blamed Trump supporters, and on and on instead of seeing the election for what it was.

The bottom line is the Democratic Party is out of step with most citizens and despite Harris’ constant line of “I grew up in a middle-class family”, she demonstrated that she knew nothing of the troubles and issues that middle-class families are facing.

But the woke and ultra-liberal direction the Democratic Party has fully embraced in recent years has left many Americans with no choice but to leave the party they have been affiliated with for years and switch over to Republican. While some have changed their official party affiliation, many simply crossed over and voted Republican while keeping their Democrat status.

Who would have ever thought that the party that was once known as the party of the “common man”, that stood for individual rights, state sovereignty and viewed the central government as the enemy of individual liberty, would transform into the party it is today.

Now, the Democrats are controlled by those who love government control, despise individual liberty or freedom of individualistic expression (specifically, they are opposed to anyone’s ideals that are not in line with theirs) and they have become the party of transgenders, pedophiles, abortion on demand, open borders, soft on crime and they love big government … literally having thousands of Americans held captive by government handouts.

While it is true that the majority of Americans have shifted to more liberal views (who would have ever thought gay marriage would be supported by so many or the embracement of gateway drugs such as marijuana would become mainstream?), the majority also are not so far to the left that they are ready to embrace mutilating boys who identify as girls or think it is okay for a man to compete against women in sports.

This really was a referendum on the Democratic Party and we will see in the coming months and years if they got the message or if they will continue to plunge full steam ahead with their woke ideology and ultra-liberal policies.

If they don’t, Republicans will continue to increase their numbers as most Americans, through their vote last Tuesday, said “enough is enough.” There are some things that matter more to people and until the Democratic Party realizes that, they will continue to falter on the national stage.

One other note about the election: We are still waiting for every county in the nation to submit their final results, but it appears that once again, LaSalle Parish gave Donald Trump one of the best vote percentages in the nation. With 91% of the parish voting for Trump, the number will surely be one of the highest in the land.

There is no doubt that this is “Trump Country” and our patriotic, strong Christian citizenry demonstrated through their vote that they are and will continue to have God, Family and Country in their priorities. This priority list allows us to remain strong in the face of difficult economic times and even in the face of moral decay that is occurring all around us. Simply put, Donald Trump and the Republican Party aligns more with this parish’s beliefs than the Democratic Party, which is why he received such an overwhelming vote.

However, I would like to caution the many Trump-loving fans right here in La-Salle to not be so quick to demonize someone simply because they didn’t vote the way you did.

This past weekend and Monday, we celebrated Veterans Day and honored the many in our parish who have fought to ensure the freedoms that we enjoy. One of those freedoms is the right to vote for whomever we choose. As is the case in most elections, both on the national and the local scale, there will always be differences of opinions regarding which candidate is the best. Just because someone doesn’t vote for your candidate, it should not be the basis of friendships or cause strife in the community.

The most “American” thing anyone can do is to simply vote. With 75% of our parish voters casting ballots last week, I’d say we all have at least one thing in common, no matter who we voted for … We are certainly American.