Gary Franks, syndicated columnist

If you ever thought the President Donald Trump-led Republican Party is bad, well the Democrats are worse. The Democrats lack politically astute leaders, as well as vision and discipline. They seem incapable of being on offense and are always on defense where it is difficult to score points and win.

Only 37 percent of Americans approve of the GOP while a mere 30% approve of Democrats. In the mix would be Trump’s job approval ratings with Independents resting at just 28%. Geez!

It begs the question: Who should be leading America?

Democrats ruled in the 1990s, holding the White House for eight of the 10 years. Also, it was one of the country’s greatest periods in terms of economic success, international stability and domestic harmony.

By contrast, in the 21st century, we had former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden in the White House for a total of 12 years and George W. Bush and Trump for almost 14 years – pretty even between the parties.

During their time in office we have had “forever wars,” COVID-19, 9/11, the Great Recession, Hurricane Katrina, huge deficits, Black youth being killed and we have added more than $33 trillion to our national debt.

Why have we seen such a change?

Political polarization and gerrymandering of congressional districts have prevented compromise and good governance.

Now how did the Democrats manage to have such good results in the 1990s?

They actually had a moderate president, Bill Clinton. Clinton’s brilliance was that he did not see an idea being good or bad based on the political party presenting the idea. Four major changes during the Clinton days received a large number of votes from both Republicans and Democrats – NAFTA, a crime bill, welfare reform and a balanced budget that even gave us a surplus.

We as Republicans often said that Clinton took “our” ideas and made them his. No, the true answer is that with earnest debate and compromise, good ideas became law. The majority of the public agreed, while those on the extreme right and left did not. The extremists of the parties did not rule; today they do.

Today’s results? Nothing good happens. Our current leaders have failed to do the basics of their job for the entire century. They neglect to do the budgeting and appropriation via regular order.

Democrats must get rid of all the highly unpopular issues that pander to single constituent groups but fail to match the desires of the vast majority of Americans. Let those groups fight on their own to make their issues more mainstream. The entire Democratic party should not be leading the charge for these groups as they have been in past elections. It was and still is a recipe for defeat.

An outside-the-box idea would be to use the state governments to strengthen and develop constitutional amendments that would better protect our democracy from a “wannabe” dictator. Trump has ignored or sidestepped our democratic norms to the detriment of our nation and world.

From a more practical perspective, the Democrats have a number of aces that could “trump” Trump if used.

For example, historically speaking, the public does not like to have promises broken and they do not like to be hoodwinked. Examples of each cost a president their second term and hurt their party.

Prior to the 1988 elections, then-candidate for president George H.W. Bush pledged to never raise taxes, but he did. President Joe Biden and the Democratic leaders tried to get us to believe that Biden was “sharper than ever,” but in the debate against Trump we learned that Biden’s mental acuity was sharply declining. Biden also said the border was closed and secure when it was clearly not. That hurt former Vice President Kamala Harris in her attempt to succeed Biden. The message was clear to every American and the politicians paid a price.

This is where the Democrats can drive a train through the hole of Trump’s poor performance and his GOP sycophants in Congress today. Here is just a partial list of the promises Trump broke:

• When asked about carrying out a “retribution presidency” if elected, Trump responded by saying his success would be his retribution. Well, no. He has been going after all his enemies since his second oath of office.

• Trump said he would not start wars. Well, no. He has engaged in more war-like activities in a 15-month period than any other president in history. And now he has thrust the U.S. into a big one with Iran.

• Trump said he would not pursue regime change. Well, no. He has twice removed foreign leaders from their positions (the U.S. apprehended the Venezuelan president and killed Iran’s president).

• Trump said he would not get into nation building. Well, no. He is looking to rebuild the Gaza Strip, reform or control Venezuela, and he would like to pick the future leader of Iran.

• Let us give Trump a pass on his promise to end the Ukraine War quickly. Well actually, that one has gotten worse.

• Trump promised us a robust economy. Well, no. The size of family debt is at record levels. Americans are raiding their 401ks at unprecedented levels. Both are indicative of an “affordability” problem for Americans. This is easily the biggest issue when it comes to the so-called “America First” pledge. And then we have the elephant in the room – our $38 trillion national debt. Even Elon Musk, an “ally” of Trump, has said we are on course to go bankrupt as a nation. Our service on that ever-increasing debt is already drowning us. Politicians fail to recognize or even see the problem as they continue to add to the debt with every missile dropped on foreign countries.

• And last but not least, the Republicans promised the full release of the Epstein files. Well, no. “We get what we get when we get it” – that is the mantra of the DOJ. Files slowly trickle out containing massive redactions.

I am sure it is becoming more and more difficult for Republicans to believe Trump. How many times do you have to be lied to before you lose trust? There was a president who once said, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” Well, how about fooling the American public multiple times? “Sucker” comes to mind.

Republicans can change. They can stand up to Trump. And Democrats have an opportunity to make historic gains in Congress. Time will tell.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Gary Franks served three terms as a congressman from Connecticut’s 5th District. He was the first Black conservative elected to Congress and first Black Republican elected to the House in nearly 60 years. Host: Podcast “We Speak Frankly” www.garyfranksphilanthropy.org.