I saw a Trump store the week before last.

It wasn’t really a store. There was no brick and mortar building. It was more of a roadside stand, out on US 422 in Slippery Rock, PA, on the corner of a country road, between gas stations and rest stops. Ironically, just a few miles from the Butler Farm Show grounds, where the former president had a narrow escape.

When I pass by, there is usually someone on this corner with a truck selling either corn or peaches. Sometimes they also have homemade pies.

This time there was a small trailer that housed the person who accepted the money and made sure nothing was stolen or damaged. There was a canopy like the ones at Home Depot that protected the smaller items. There was an assortment of yard signs and banners featuring Trump and, ironically, AR15s, which are still very revered among Republicans.

The road led to a campsite, which is now used as an event venue by various groups.

I suspect that during my stay at the Trump store, there were more obscene gestures from festival-goers than customers.

I know people have come by to look at it and said the merchandise looks pretty worn.

We had a dry summer, so the roads were covered with fine, powdery dust. Until the beginning of August the storms came, two very impressive ones when I was there, one with very large hailstones. None of this was good for the goods or the area.

Butler County in Pennsylvania is rural or suburban. Farmhouses with pickup trucks parked next to them, then McMansions with expensive SUVs parked in expensive garages.

Tourism is an important industry there. The district is home to two beautiful national parks. Covid and high gas prices were not good for business.

People there see Trump as a savior. Some of them spend money that could be better spent on groceries, car payments, or a nice dinner at a local restaurant on signs and banners promoting the particularly ugly brand of hate in Trump’s campaign.

The Republicans have no real platform, plan or program. What they have are slogans and vague promises of future greatness.

They are all for sale on a country road in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, just above the rest stop.