Pardoning More January 6th Criminals is the Greater Priority

by Mark M. Bello

While the GOP shamelessly claims to stand for “freedom,” “opportunity,” and “hope,” its leaders refuse to guarantee the basics—food for children, Health insurance for families, and a functioning democracy.

We now have a president who lobbied all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States to block full payments of food-assistance benefits (SNAP) for millions of Americans. And we have a Speaker of the House who says he “won’t promise anybody anything” when asked if he’ll hold a vote to continue Affordable Care Act subsidies that make health insurance affordable for working families.

You read that correctly. The president of the United States and the Speaker of the House have publicly declared that feeding the hungry and keeping citizens insured are not priorities they’ll protect. If that doesn’t trouble you, it should.

Feed the Hungry? No. Pardon the Guilty? Absolutely.

While the Trump administration was lobbying the Supreme Court to block SNAP benefits—cutting off food assistance for millions—the President was busy issuing pardons to the very architects of the 2020 election subversion plot: Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Sidney Powell, Mark Meadows, and several others.

Consider the contrast:

Ordinary families struggling to feed their children were told to tighten their belts, while the men and women who tried to overthrow American democracy were being absolved of their crimes. The symbolism is chilling. Starve the poor; reward the loyal. It’s not governance—it’s feudalism in a red hat.

SNAP & Food-Assistance: A Manufactured Crisis

In November 2025, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to block an order requiring full payment of SNAP benefits. The Court allowed the freeze to stand—leaving tens of millions of Americans at risk of missing food aid during the holidays.

Food banks went into “disaster-response mode.” Lines stretched for blocks. And while ordinary citizens scrambled to find their next meal, the President’s legal team celebrated another “victory” over what they called “welfare dependency.”

This wasn’t about fiscal responsibility. It was about ideology—the belief that poverty is a moral failing, that empathy is weakness, and that cruelty somehow builds character.

Health Care Subsidies: The Vote That Might Never Come

Meanwhile, Speaker Mike Johnson publicly declined to guarantee a vote on extending premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act. His exact words:

“I’m not promising anybody anything… I’m going to let this process play out.”

Those tax credits keep health insurance affordable for millions of Americans.
Without them, premiums skyrocket, families lose coverage, and the poorest are left with nothing.

Once again, we see the same governing philosophy: withhold basic protections, then blame the victims.

The Broader Pattern: A Party at War with Compassion

Add all this up:

• The President fights to block food aid while pardoning election conspirators.
• The Speaker refuses to ensure health coverage continues.
• Inflation, instability, and cruelty are disguised as “tough choices.”
• Military deployments in American cities, violence from ICE, and whispers of authoritarian intent spread across America.
• And while all this happens, a Steve Bannon interview airs, suggesting that a plot is in the works that will keep Trump in office beyond 2028.

This is not conservative governance or small government. It’s a movement built on fear, vengeance, and authoritarian control.

Voters Must Remember This in November 2026

Elections aren’t only about policy—they’re about moral vision.

• Do you believe it is okay for a child to go hungry in America?
• Do you believe that affordable health care is a right and not a privilege?
• Do you believe that democracy depends on the rule of law?.

When you cast your vote in November 2026, ask yourself:
Do I want a government that punishes the vulnerable and rewards the corrupt?
Or do I want one that values decency, equality, and truth?

The Bottom Line

Under the current Republican leadership, we see an unmistakable pattern:

Feed the powerful. Starve the poor. Pardon the guilty. Threaten the free.

A nation cannot survive on that Diet of cruelty and corruption.

So when you hear the excuses—“tough Love,” “personal responsibility,” “fiscal restraint”—remember what this really means: Don’t feed the hungry or heal the sick. Do not, under any circumstances, uphold democracy.

We have a choice in 2026.
Exercise it wisely and change the course of America, before it is too late.

Mark M. Bello is an attorney and author of 9 Zachary Blake Legal Thrillers and other legal themed novels and children’s books. For more information, please visit https://www.markmbello.com

Bob Gatty Author, Podcaster, Blogger

For many years, Bob Gatty worked as a writer, editor, and communications consultant, based on the Washington, DC area with a focus on government and politics. He began at The Pittsburgh Courier, an African American weekly, covering crime and the courts. His salary was $55 per week before moving on to two local Pennsylvania dailies. At age 24, he began reporting for United Press International covering state politics in Pennsylvania and then New Jersey, where he was UPI’s state capitol bureau in Trenton.

Tempted by the allure of Washington, DC and big-time politics, at age 29 Bob became press secretary and chief of staff for two Congressmen – first Republican Edwin B. Forsythe, and then Democrat James J. Florio, who later became governor of New Jersey and until his recent death was a frequent podcast guest and co-host of Bob’s NFN Radio News podcast (now called Lean to the Left).

After seven years on Capitol Hill, Bob opened a communications business in Washington, first providing political media consulting to candidates and then freelance Washington coverage for business and trade magazines, plus creative communications services for trade and professional associations, including social media. This work involved articles and analyses of key governmental developments affecting businesses, such as the food and Health industries, retailing, and the environment.

His work as a communications consultant to trade and professional associations included launching and editing association publications, providing website content and social media assistance, and covering conferences and conventions.

Bob retired from G-Net Strategic Communications in 2016 and moved to Myrtle Beach, SC, where he launched his blog site, first called Not Fake News, now known as Lean to the Left.

Hijacked Nation
In August, 2020, Bob and co-author Chris Waldron, one of Lean to the Left's most loyal and prolific contributor, published "Hijacked Nation-Donald Trump's Attack on America's Greatness," a two-volume compilation of blogs regarding Trump's presidency and the consequences for our nation. A followup volume was published by Luna Global Media in September 2024. It is available at https://amzn.to/4ePrTF7 .

In all three volumes, blogs from Not Fake News and Lean to the Left create a virtual play-by-play of key actions of the Trump administration and Congress. For more information, please visit https://leantotheleft.net/books/, and visit Bob's Author's Page on Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/stores/Bob-Gatty/author/B08C7HWXZ5?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true&ccs_id=4e603563-7251-4074-b54d-40800c4ce40a.

The Lean to the Left Podcast
The Lean to the Left podcast provides commentary and interviews with newsmakers and others with interesting stories to tell. Video and audio podcasts stream twice weekly on major channels. More info at https://podcast.leantotheleft.net.

The Lean to the Left YouTube Channel
You'll find all of the audio tracks for the Lean to the Left Podcast here plus original videos, including complete video versions of each podcast.
https://www.youtube.com/@LeantotheLeft.