Assuming the polls are correct – and history has shown that this is sometimes a risky assumption – after Tuesday’s election, Republicans will take the House of Representatives by a wide margin and perhaps even the Senate, winning enough seats to send a message to Democrats and the media.
The message to Democrats is that gigantic numbers of voters see their tax and spending policies, with their attendant inflation, lack of border security, and indifference to violent crime and the risky streets of New York and other massive cities, as their party’s fault. The message to the media is that no matter how biased they are against Democrats, it didn’t work this time. This news should embolden Republicans to ignore the inevitable raucous whining from the left and demand a mandate to achieve what their voters elected them to do.
Too many times in the past, Republicans have won a majority in Congress and failed to do so. Partly this appears to be due to the media’s constant talk of deal-making and compromises with Democrats (note that this phrase is never used when Democrats are in the majority), and partly because of media reports that allege that any spending that Republicans they want to cut, they will harm children and women and minorities.
This time everything may look different. A younger group of Republicans with no government experience (a good thing, considering what the experienced ones have given us) seem committed to making change. Republican Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance appeared on Fox News last week. He believes that if Republicans win a majority in the Senate, Democrats will compromise, especially on crime and borders. If not, he suggested, Republicans will continue with their agenda.
It will be complex to overcome a veto by President Biden, who is likely to oppose attempts to change the status quo, but if Democrats lose, he could become a lame duck sooner than perhaps any newfangled president. With veteran Democratic pollsters and party leaders already quietly talking about replacing Biden in the 2024 election (but who could they choose who wouldn’t offend their ultra-liberal base?), Biden could quickly become irrelevant.
The main flaw in Republican thinking over the years is their desire to be liked and appease the mainstream media. Being liked is overrated. Discipline is needed. A disciplined party that can demonstrate success in what voters care about most will succeed, and success is the best antidote to the politics and rhetorical poison invented by the left.
If Republicans need encouragement, they should check out Gallup’s latest media poll: “Americans’ confidence in the news media to report it ‘completely, accurately and fairly,’ at 34%, is essentially unchanged from last year.” year and is only two points higher than the lowest recorded by Gallup in 2016 during the presidential campaign. Just 7% of Americans have “a lot” of trust in the media, and 27% have “very little” trust in the media. measure.” Meanwhile, 28% of U.S. adults say they don’t have much trust, and 38% don’t trust newspapers (ouch), TV and radio at all. “It’s worth noting that for the first time, the percentage of Americans who have no confidence in the media is higher than the percentage for a lot or a lot of money combined.”
Advice to Republicans: ignore the media and do what you were elected to do. The outcome will be better for your party and, more importantly, better for the country.
