How do Republicans and Democrats differ in 2022?

I can't speak for all Republicans, and the two Democrats running against me can speak for themselves, but unfortunately, there is a wide gap between the two parties today. America's current president campaigned on a promise to unite our country but has done exactly the opposite. He has refused to secure our borders, allowing literally millions of foreigners to enter our country including terrorists, child traffickers and drug dealers. Hundreds of Americans are dying every week of Fentanyl overdoses as a result.

Republicans believe we have immigration laws for good reason and that our Founding Fathers were very clear that we should be ruled by laws, not by leaders with political power. Yet the current president uses executive orders to spend billions of dollars with congressional approval, such as his recent directive to shift the cost from students who haven't repaid their loans, to hard working Americans who are struggling to put food on the table and gas in their cars.

Inflation is rocketing out of control because of the Dems' misguided energy and foreign policies. Three years ago America was energy-independent and mid-east countries were powerless to control us. Today we, and especially Europe, are at the mercy of our adversaries such as Russia and Iran for oil production.

Dems demonize guns and want to ban them. Republicans believe that our second amendment right to bear arms must be upheld and we understand that only law-abiding citizens obey our laws. More restrictions on gun ownership will only reduce law abiding citizens' ability to protect themselves against crime. And we understand that guns are used far more often to prevent crimes such as robbery, rape, and murder, than they are used by criminals to commit those crimes.

Dems believe that the cure for our failing public education system, that now produces graduates that consistently rank poorly in global exams, is to give teachers unions more power and money. School Choice on the other hand, allows parents to select the school and education that is best for their children, not what is best for the unions. If we are to improve public education, it will be by shifting the focus to student outcomes instead of teacher salaries.

Our first amendment right to free speech is being mocked, especially on college campuses where Leftist democrats have effectively redefined our right to speak freely into a requirement that nobody can be offended by that speech, and that the listener will be the one to decide whether or not they were offended. Not to mention "woke" requirements championed by Dems that recently approved a Supreme Court justice who is unable, or unwilling, to define a "woman", yet will be interpreting our Constitution -- likely for decades to come.

How do we bridge those gaps? We need to look at the policies that gave us an "America first" focus that produced energy independence, global peace, low inflation, freedom, our Constitutional rights, and record employment by minorities just three years ago. In late June, a CBS poll found that 85% of Americans feel that our country is headed in the wrong direction. Is it just me, or has the current "America last" approach been a total disaster? It is time to elect Republicans to begin to repair the damage before it's too late.