Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.

President Donald Trump arrived back in Washington on Tuesday following g a 12-day Asian tour of Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines, where he met again with the one-and-only, the notorious Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who hosted the 50 anniversary meeting of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations in Manila. The two first met at the White House during a State visit soon after President Trump took office.

Duterte and President Trump shook hands, sat next to each other during a gala-dinner on Sunday and then on Monday the two leaders met privately discussing international trade issues. Not much has been said if Trump raised issues of human-rights violations in the Philippines after Duterte took office in 2016. These admitted human-rights violations have been condemned by the United Nations, the U.S. Congress, the European Union and other human-rights activists.

Soon after taking office Duterte ordered his national police to confront drug dealers in the streets across the country and if they resisted arrest in any way the police were authorized to shoot to kill. News reports out of the Philippines say at least 12,000 suspected drug dealers and others have been killed in the past 15-months in a nation with an estimated 3-million plus drug addicts.

President Trump’s critics are blasting Trump for not blasting Duterte — in front of all these Asian leaders gathered in one place at the same time — about these prejudicial killings — without arrests, formal charges or any trial before a jury or judge. One such critic is Arizona Sen. John McCain, a fellow Republican.

Even as leader of the free world it’s not President Trump’s role to criticize Duterte for doing what he thinks he must do in order to gain control of his country from drug dealers and related government corruption that runs deep in this country of 81.6-million residents. The drug deaths include corrupt Philippine mayors, police officials and court judges. Duterte has been popular in the Philippines with little or no criticism from the people over these killings, but in recent months pressure is building for Duterte to suspend the killing spree and deal with these problems more humanely but it’s not up to the rest of the world to tell the Philippines how to eradicate the influence of illegal drugs in their country. In the USA heroin dealers are now being charged — in many jurisdictions — with first-degree murder in connection with the heroin-cocaine-opioids epidemic of overdoses plaguing America.

Meanwhile, in Washington, President Trump returns to seemingly countless investigations, a stalled-out U.S. Congress that accomplishes nothing for the American people in regards to healthcare or tax reform, or much of anything else. The infighting between Republicans and Democrats continues with no end in sight. All anyone sees on national news is non-stop Trump bashing coming from mainstream media, the Democrats and Republicans day-in and day-out. American voters are watching in disgust as the 2018 mid-term elections are now less than a year away.
Political observers are witnessing the unraveling of the two-party system in American politics. For years the public’s opinion of the U.S. Congress has been dreadful. Three national polls conducted this month give the U.S. Congress a dismal 9-percent, 14-percent and 21-percent approval rating. Also, 63-percent of American voters think the country is moving in the wrong direction, according to Real Clear Politics.  If you combine these two sentiments there is sure to be historical political upheaval next November with all 435 member of congress and 33 senate seats up for reelection. All the voters can do to help themselves is to replace most or all of congress.

The same polls also showed President Trump’s approval rating is between 35 and 40-percent, but the president does not face voters next year, congress does.

There is an anti-incumbent fever sweeping the nation. Since there are no term limits placed upon the U.S. Congress it’s up to the voters to remove the career politicians who have failed the voters time and again. The congress seems to have their own agenda that has little to do with improving the lives of everyday Americans or to work with President Trump to do just that.

The countdown to Nov. 6, 2018 has begun. One year from now the results will be in and many long-term career lawmakers will be packing their bags passing the torch to a whole new congressional freshman class of men and women who will push the USA forward working with the president — not against him.

About the Author Britt Nelson relocated to Costa Rica in 2011 from Florida, where he served as news editor for the Palatka Daily News, a newspaper owned by the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group (NYT-RNG) for 20 years.

Nelson served the NYT-RNG for 18 years in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida as a correspondent, reporter, staff writer, senior staff writer training new reporters, copy editor, page designer, editorial writer, editorial page editor and editorial board member.