2022 v 2024

Littlechild@emperorsnuclothes.com/ September 5, 2022/ Uncategorized

Dear readers, although I hate to say it, I am becoming increasingly pessimistic about the upcoming November midterm elections. Despite the misguided and downright stupid policies and actions of the Biden administration and the Democrat Party, hope for a radical “correction” in November seems more and more tenuous. There are, unfortunately, many factors at work.

Firstly is the fractious and feckless state of the Republican Party. Aside from Governor Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump, the party seems somnolent if not moribund. Most of the party seems willing to kowtow to the media and “woke” activists, rather than coming out publicly and forcibly with the alternative narrative that needs to be said: 1) America is NOT immoral and in fact is the preeminent force of governmental morality in the world today. 2) Black Lives Matter, the “Lincoln Project’” and similar conspirators need to be stopped and SHAMED. 3) Crazy leftist programs like socialism, and gender confusion must be stopped and SHAMED. 4) Draconian efforts by the Democrats to stop dissenting political speech on the internet, in academia and in the media must be stopped. 5) And MUCH more. Republicans need to stand up proudly and reaffirm the many things that has made America great in the past.

Then there are controversial core issues where the Republican “platform” has been forced into unpopular positions. Although abolishing Roe v Wade was morally right and well intentioned, it has pushed the Republican Party to a position that is not agreed upon by 76% of American women. Likewise the massacre at Uvalde, Texas, has pushed the Republican Party to an NRA friendly position (with gun restrictions kept quite minimal) that is not agreed to by 70% of ALL Americans who want much more stringent controls. Expect these discrepancies to be major factors in November, and expect them to be damaging to Republicans.

On top of all that, Republicans (including the Republican leadership) don’t seem to understand that to defeat the terrible leftist agenda that is strangling our nation, the Republican Party must UNITE. The “holier than thou” politics of Mitt Romney, Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, Lisa Murkowski, and Susan Collins, together with the milquetoast leadership of Mitch McConnell, have caused the Republicans to squander previous majorities, and have hurt the party badly. And the Republican In Name Only (RINOs) are poised to do it again. Several prominent Republicans have already begun to quibble among themselves. Recently, several have denounced Trump’s recent CPAC speech, effectively marginalizing the very large block of voters who support Trump. While it is true that to win at the polls, Republicans need to conscript middle of the road voters, we also need to motivate and energize the MAGA contingent as well. Alienating the MAGA block, in my opinion, will do little to bring in independent voters, but will go a long way to reducing the size of the MAGA turn out. Although, typically, the party that has recently elected a President loses seats in the next mid term election (the so-called “presidential penalty”) I don’t think that that effect will be strong enough now to offset all of the above.

I am more optimistic, however, about the 2024 Presidential race. That race will take place after another year and a half in which America can “stew” in the mess that Biden and the Democrats have made, with soaring inflation, increasing crime, increasing gas prices, increasing political instability abroad, rising power of adversaries China and Russia, the increasing bellicosity of Iran and the inevitable reliance on higher and higher taxes. Americans will also have the “opportunity,” for another year and a half, to wallow in the generalized “malaise” (first identified by Jimmy Carter and eventually remedied by Ronald Reagan) that happens when Democrat promises fall flat on their faces. Eventually American voters will “get it.” And, on top of that, the Democrat party has NO one that has BOTH the competency and the charisma necessary to win in 2024 (Joe Biden: zero competency, zero charisma, Kamala Harris: zero competency, zero charisma, Michelle Obama: some charisma, zero competency, Beto O’Rourke: some charisma, zero competency, Gavin Newsom: significant charisma, zero competency, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: all charisma, less than zero competency…. see what I mean?) So, if a charismatic and competent Republican candidate comes to the fore, we’ve got a chance. Governor Ron DeSantis (my choice) would do the job. Nikki Haley (close second) would do the job. Texas Governor Greg Abbott as well. Even Mehmet Oz would do (if he can win Pennsylvania in November, that is.). Although Trump is not my first choice, if he wins the nomination and conservatives can “smarten up” and unite at the voting booth behind him (no matter WHAT they think of him on a personal level), even he can do the job. If, and only if, the Republican Party can unite behind a competent and charismatic candidate, will we win in 2024. It’s up to us.