There is something I keep coming back to, and I believe Americans have every right to ask some hard questions.

What about the people?

Families are struggling.

Groceries are expensive. Gas prices are putting pressure on household budgets. Farmers and truckers are dealing with higher costs. Working Americans are trying to stretch every paycheck a little further, and too many families are being forced to make choices nobody should have to make.

And while Americans are worrying about how they’re going to pay the bills, our government is spending taxpayer dollars on television advertisements promoting the President.

Let that sink in.

Taxpayer money. Television advertisements. Promoting the President.

Recent reporting confirms that the federal government has paid for television advertisements featuring President Donald Trump. One advertisement carried the disclosure, “Paid for by the U.S. Government,” and reporting says the spending expanded into hundreds of thousands of dollars. The White House says these advertisements are public-service announcements and argues that they are not campaign ads. Critics, including lawmakers and former ethics officials, have questioned whether the advertisements cross the legal line prohibiting certain uses of federal funds for “publicity or propaganda.”

That question deserves answers.

Because the issue isn’t simply whether someone likes Donald Trump.

The issue is whether our government should be using money collected from the American people to promote a political figure.

Federal law has long restricted the use of appropriated funds for publicity or propaganda, although the Government Accountability Office has also recognized that the government can use public funds for legitimate communication about government programs and policies. So whether these particular advertisements violate the law is ultimately a legal question that deserves serious scrutiny—not something we should simply declare settled without the appropriate review.

But even beyond the legal question, there is a question of leadership.

Where is the leadership?

Where is the urgency for the family standing in the grocery store calculating what they can afford?

Where is the urgency for the person sitting at the gas pump watching the numbers climb?

Where is the urgency for the farmer wondering whether another season will be financially possible?

Where is the urgency for the trucker paying more to keep America supplied?

Where is the urgency for the American family already struggling to keep a roof over their heads?

And where is the urgency when American military personnel are being placed in harm’s way?

The United States is engaged in a military conflict with Iran, and rising fuel costs have been linked by analysts and administration officials to the conflict and its effects on global energy markets.

I believe we should be asking whether this conflict is necessary, what the objectives are, what the exit strategy is, what it will cost American taxpayers, and—most importantly—how many more American lives could be placed at risk.

Those aren’t radical questions. They’re the questions citizens are supposed to ask.

We cannot allow political loyalty to replace accountability.

We cannot allow party affiliation to become more important than the American people.

And we certainly shouldn’t accept the idea that government exists to promote politicians rather than serve citizens.

Leadership isn’t about producing another television commercial.

Leadership is sitting down with the hard problems and solving them.

Leadership is looking at an American family and saying:

“How can we make your life better?”

Leadership is demanding accountability for every taxpayer dollar.

Leadership is being transparent about military action and its costs.

Leadership is protecting the men and women who serve our country.

Leadership is listening when Americans say:

“We’re hurting.”

America doesn’t need more political theater.

America needs honesty.

America needs accountability.

America needs leaders willing to put the people ahead of their own image.

And every elected official—Republican, Democrat, independent, conservative, liberal, or otherwise—should remember one simple truth:

Those taxpayer dollars don’t belong to them.

They belong to the American people.

So yes, ask the questions.

Demand the receipts.

Demand transparency.

Demand that the law be followed.

And demand leadership.

Because while politicians argue about who gets the credit, real people are trying to survive.

And the question remains:

WHERE IS THE LEADERSHIP?

America deserves an answer. ~OC