Born Losers
How many times must the Right fail before they re-evaluate?
-
Tools:
Well, another election has come and gone, and just as before, the far left continues its triumphant reign of toxically destructive misrule.
At this writing, we don't even know if they lost anything at all - Republicans may still end up with a majority in Congress, possibly even the Senate. But if so, it'll only be by the slimmest of margins - not enough to do anything useful, only enough to be called "The Republican Majority!" whenever anything goes wrong for which the media needs to cast blame.
And this, after two years of ongoing disasters.
Our army run out of a country by a pack of medieval savages, leaving behind enough high-tech weapons to staff half a dozen medium-sized countries.
Gas prices more than doubling, and only held down to that by the near-total draining of our strategic reserves.
Ongoing supply chain issues leaving our stores more reminiscent of Communist Eastern Europe than anything Americans are accustomed to, and at prices more typical of legendarily-overtaxed Western Europe.
Our European allies looking at a winter of literal freezing and starvation.
A President who doesn't know
where he is or what he's supposed to be doing, but clear on one thing:
he hates half the country and wishes they were... well, not in any way
active in politics, at the very least. We'd say he wishes us
dead, but, probably not - at least, not those of us who live in blue
states where we'd keep right on voting indefinitely.
For all that... the meter moved not one measurable iota. There was no red tsunami, no red wave, barely even a red ripple. By comparison with historical midterm elections, Joe Biden won, and won resoundingly. If Republicans cannot win an election under these circumstances, they never can and never will.
No doubt the next months will be filled with forensic dissections of every tactical error that contributed to yet another failure of the Right. Did Donald Trump do a lousy job of picking his endorsements? Did Mitch McConnell misuse his war chest to promote his supporters and kneecap Trump's? Did Democrat operatives throughout the bureaucracy and officialdom pull off another Big Steal?
There's some truth to all of this and many others, but none of these are a true explanation. Indeed, none of them, or all of them together, explains the failure that rightfully rests on the shoulders of our side.
To pick just one example - of course the Democrats cheated, they always do and always have. But they clearly didn't have to cheat much; or if they did, with years to prepare, how did our side utterly fail to catch them in the act beyond reasonable doubt? Nobody with a pulse or two brain cells should have been voting for any Democrat under the current circumstances; the fact that, clearly, millions did underscores our failure, not Democrat perfidy.
Conserving - What, Exactly?
The true cause is nothing so simple as bad choices or bad leadership, nor anything so easily fixed. If New Yorkers are being shoved daily in front of subways and raped in broad daylight in public parks, and they still vote in the same party that misrules them, we have long since passed the point where conventional politics has any value. What, exactly, would have to happen for the residents of blue cities to decide to make a change? Half the city centers have been burned down by rioting mobs, and they still can't learn!
Of course, that's not exactly true: many thousands of New Yorkers, Californians, and so on have indeed learned that they don't want to live under their reigning Democrats anymore. The problem is, they've also learned what the rest of us are still coming to grips with - they lack the political power to force change, and see no likely path to gaining it. So instead they've moved to other places more to their taste, like Florida and Texas.
The big winner this week, if that's even a fair characterization in the midst of such catastrophic results, is Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis. Where just a few short years ago Florida was a purple state trending blue. it is now overwhelmingly red, even urban Miami-Dade county.
Not to diminish the excellent work Gov. DeSantis has done in every way, but, this landslide was not and could not have been achieved only by his efforts. It was driven by the throngs of newly-minted Floridians who truly appreciate what he's done, because they've spent most of their lives under something quite different.
Much the same is true of Texas, where, as re-elected Gov. Abbott has explained, the ex-Californians now residing in his state are actually more conservative than the natives. Indeed, your humble correspondent himself relocated to the Lone Star State for exactly those reasons.
But, in doing so, and beefing up the red margins in Texas and
Florida, we've also made it effectively impossible for conservatives to
win elsewhere. California is a lost cause; so, now, is New
York. Massachusetts has been for a long time. Illinois too;
Colorado is trending that way, Maryland probably has arrived at that
point as well.
Yes, Texas and Florida may now be out of reach for the Democrats. How many states are out of reach for Republicans, and have been for far longer? How many more such states do they have to permanently own, before they'll have an equally-permanent lock on the federal government regardless of how resoundingly red-states defeat their own local commies?
The point is: by doing what is individually sensible, practical, wise, prudent, and conservative at the individual and family level, conservatives may have ultimately doomed the country as a whole to leftist rule. They're acting like Mexicans who cross our border illegally. Instead of working to clean up their government so they could earn wealth as we have, they're walking across our border to participate in what we've built, while abandoning their natal country to its fate.
Fifty Years of Lessons Unlearned
This phenomenon is not at all new; it was trailblazed a lifetime ago by the moral heart of the right-wing, the religiously devout.
After the turmoil of the sexual and cultural revolutions of the 1960s, traditional Christians correctly observed that public schools no longer reflected or even respected their point of view - girls were now allowed to wear pants, of all shocking things! So they exercised their American right to withdraw, establishing independent private Christian schools across the country throughout the 1970s, and pushing to secure the right to homeschool in the decades beyond that.
In a way, this worked: there are far more religious school pupils,
and homeschooled children, who are not subjected to the depraved
frothing of leftist indoctrinators than there otherwise would be.
But prior to, say, 1960s, nearly all Christian kids attended public
schools, so their parents actually cared, participated, perhaps even
taught there - thus preserving a Christian influence over the vast bulk
of American children. No, most American public schools didn't
explicitly indoctrinate kids in any particular religious sect; but,
nearly all were suffused with what might be called
lowest-common-denominator Protestantism, and thus, so was the country
as a whole.
That's now all lost and forgotten, so much so that we can barely even imagine how it could be restored. Even if the wildest dream of conservative education policy wonks were to come true - portable parent-driven school vouchers - that would merely make life easier for parents already of a conservative bent. It would do nothing whatsoever to help reach other people's children, who'd continue to be indoctrinated that Republican = Nazi as they have been for decades now.
As Andrew Breitbart used to say, "Politics is downstream from culture." The Left entirely and completely owns the culture and has for most of our lifetimes; it's a miracle that the Left does not also entirely own politics lock, stock and barrel, and that there's even any resistance remaining at all.
The Wrong Questions
As things stand, most of the questions you'll be hearing over the coming months will be as irrelevant and pointless as their answers. Should Donald Trump shut up and go away, deferring to Ron DeSantis? Should the elderly Republican leadership retire and let younger blood take over? Should Republican governors fight harder for what most Republicans believe? Should the Republican party become more populist? Less doctrinaire? Do more outreach to constituencies previously thought owned by the Left?
In the long run, none of this will matter one iota until and unless we come up with a way to prepare people's minds to even give conservatism a hearing - and then, of course, to persuade them over to our side. How do you do that, if the past two years haven't moved the needle at all?
Until we answer that question, the national level is irretrievably lost.
And, in the long run, so will all other levels be. Did the devout Christians manage to preserve their beliefs and their families by their vast effort and expense at creating parallel education institutions? The statistics are well-known - of kids brought up in Christianity, well over half abandon it as adults and become, statistically, just like anybody else.
Of kids brought up as leftist environmentalists, Communists, LGBTQWTF, whatever name-your-leftism-here, how many abandon those beliefs as they mature? Some handful, yes - single digits maybe, if that? The Left keeps their acolytes, the Right does not.
In a democracy, politics is not just about winning elections, it is about winning hearts and minds. If you do that, electoral winning will inevitably follow. If you can't or won't, you're just delaying the inevitable collapse - a worthy goal, to be sure, but let's not expect any more from our efforts than that.
Rather than participating in a blame-fixing circular firing squad or obsessively analyzing over tactics at the margins, perhaps we should re-evaluate our grand strategy - or if we even have one at all?
-
Tools:
What does Chinese history have to teach America that Joe Biden doesn't know?
The "Strategy" appears to be trying to convince the last three generations of just how great life really was in the 50's!
Good luck...
It is, as you point out, a numbers game, and yes, there are States where major changes to the public education system may be possible, but there sinply aren't enough of them.
Struggling here to sound and optomistic note of nsome kind....and failing.
If the GOP ends up with a majority in the House, they'll make somebody like McCarthy as the party leader. Win or lose, I bet the senators reappoint that idiot McConnell as party leader. Time to Pitch Mitch, but the GOP folks need another shot of estrogen to do it.
Democrats had a national message, even if it was all lies. Republicans are a threat to "our democracy." Dobbs is a threat to all abortions, even rape, incest and to save the life of the mother. Neither point was true, but everyone knew what Democrats were running on.
Republicans had no national message. Every candidate saying, "Are you better off now than you were two years ago?" would have been enough, but nobody said it. Nobody believes a Republican Congress has the guts to stop Biden. Our candidates didn't promise to undo the mess using reconciliation bills, the same way the mess was made. Nobody said they would try to force Biden to see that the laws were faithfully executed. We just promised a stop to bad stuff in very general terms. That ain't good enough. Congressional politics is a team sport, and voters instinctively know it.
If Rinos (Republicans in name only) can't agree to fight Slow Joe on anything specific, what's the point? If our Congressional Leadership is mush, without a single agreed policy that they can get most Republicans to talk about, where's the motivation? Even the slogan "Drill, baby, drill!" repeated by almost every Republican would have been a start. "Fund the police" and "Put criminals in jail and keep them there" would cover the crime issue. "Secure the border" could have been the closer. Repeated over and over and over, until voters could hear them in their sleep, these slogans would have given voters a reason to vote Republican. None were used.
If Rinos can't agree on any one or more of these points, it's time for party leadership to demand the type of party unity Democrats have. They can shut up for the good of the party, or they can switch parties. The above mentioned slogans are basic now. If you don't support them, you basically are a Democrat.
Mr. Proudfoot,
If I could select any one message to be delivered, today, to every Republican in this country, especially those in office, it would be your letter above.
A Happy Thanksgiving to you and all of the other readers of Scragged.
Fred
Elections matter, but how much? A change in our elected leaders can only go so far. I liken it to changing the icing on the cake with the cake being the unelected and unionized bureaucratic state that actually runs things. They will still be there, no matter who wins. And we all know which way they vote.
A Libertarian saying is that Democrats want to grow spending by 20% while Republicans want to only grow it by 10%. Meanwhile, Liberatians want to cut it 10%.
Sad to say, but I don't think it will change in my lifetime (I'm 70) and my sons and their generation will have to deal with it. Pity them. It was said that democracy only lasts until people realize they can vote themselves benefits from the national treasury, which has been happening since 1933. The body politic, like elsewhere in the world, is uneducated and illl-informed. The piper is paid through a constantly depreciating currency and the end will come. The question is whether the revolution will be soft or hard and will the republican form of democracy prevail. Thankfully, I most likely not be around to witness it.
It is a shame, but John Volk is right. I am 81 and see it all too clearly.
America that I grew up in is certifiably dead. American people are not capable of self governance anymore. No self remorse, no shame, no sense of duty. Me, here, now. What will replace it is a second century BC Roman government full of leaches, whores, and thieves. No way any nation survives under those conditions.
The uniparty is 100% united to ensure their survival, and our demise.
They always have been, and like Trump repeatedly stated: "they're not after me, they're after YOU".
It's been like this forever but the curtain was torn down by Trump for all to see and no one can deny. There is absolute unanimity and the evidence is overwhelming. They don't even try to disguise their disgust for us anymore.
There's no separate "swamp" alongside some "non-swamp" in DC. Washington IS THE SWAMP. Don't get me wrong, yes, there are elected men and women who naively go there with righteous, moral motives, determined to change things. Once there, they are called up to meet Mitch, Nancy, Kevin, or Chuck and told in no uncertain terms that they either toe the line, keep their mouth shut and vote as told; or they will be shunned, marginalized, undermined and quietly exit after their term ends. Or, they can play the game, make the money, enjoy the perks, get 100% taxpayer funded healthcare like we used to get before they took it away. They also get stock info long before anyone else and can buy or sell stocks to ensure optimal returns and minimal risk. And they're all, above the law. Have a drug problem or arrest, get a dwi while on the job and wreck you 5.0 Mustang like Ted Kennedy's nephew did? Not a problem. Have sex with a Chinese spy or employ one as your driver? Ahhh.. Relax..ain't nothing going to happen. Zero consequence, zero accountability.
Does anyone really believe the uniparty will vote to limit their terms?
At this point, voting is pretty much a waste of time and energy. It's beyond ridiculous.
Every election cycle, us/conservatives get our hopes up, imagine how much better the economy, support for our rights, adherence to the Constitution, etc. will be when our Republicans politicians win. Yet even when they do win, and going back many, many years..there's one constant- the Republican labeled swampers NEVER reclaim/take back one inch of lost ground. Never.
And they never will because it's not important to them as it doesn't affect them.it affects us! And the uniparty doesn't care about us., they only care about themselves.
The US is doomed in my opinion. My real challenge is how to live however many years I have left, I'm 66, with as little stress and anxiety as possible while doing my best to enjoy this life.the only life I'm ever going to have. And one way is to detach from the news and stop purposely injecting the poison that is the msm and the internet, into me. Time to detox and move on, live and stay in the now.
This is a tweet from Ben Shapiro under the Daily Caller article:
"Blessing in Disguise - Election Night was Good for Conservatives..They Just Don't Know It"
Shapiro tweet: "As I said yesterday, Joe Biden is going to double down on everything. No lessons learned. Just triumphalism. Which means Democrats are treating 2022 as a massive win rather than as a bullet dodged. But 2024 may disabuse them of that notion quickly if the GOP can get serious. IF."
Bait n switch. Don't look at or criticize republicans. More impending doom for dems. Yeah, sure.just like last weeks red wave. They're already setting us up to ignore DC republican leadership fails in midterms and trying to whip up support for whatever these idiots point at and identify (again) as "our next, best, last, hope for freedom and victory"! And while we wait and hope, they: the unified DC swamp rats continue as they always do - business as usual, totally unaffected by the damage they have inflicted on us and this once great nation.
And Kari Lake lost to the dem Hobbs in Arizona using the never fails "fix" methodology of early election month (not day) vote counting to determine additional ballots needed to ensure dem wins.
If Trump and a handful of repub/conservatives had a clue and actually thought out the long game, they would start a 3rd party. And please, don't start with the "that would only take votes away bs". As far as I can see, a 3rd party is what the uniparty swamp is so afraid of. That's why the repubs killed the tea party and the Dems killed anti Wall Street group uprising (I forget the name of those crazies).
At minimum, a strong 3rd party would guarantee that neither side of the same coin swamp parties would ever get a clear majority thereby throwing the proverbial wrench in the gears. A conservative 3rd party would have to be reckoned with and while it could still fail and quickly become just another faction of the swamp, in my opinion, it's worth a try.
Rico is right. BTW, I think Ben Shapiro is a hack.
We all understand that no one changes their opinion about anything, unless they experience actual personal consequences, good or bad, from their actions. Watching the consequences of Democrat policies on TV simply doesn't qualify. Two generations have seen countless horrendous examples, but very few have been personally affected. There's plenty of food, the only wars are overseas, and everyone gets a new iPhone every other year.....so, "Why are these Republicans always trying to scare us for no reason? they're all just gloom and doom and the cannot except the good that will surely come from our efforts in climate control, ending racism and so many other goals to make life even better!"
If someone has a strategy for overcoming this virtuous complacency, I'really would love to hear it....one
What an awful mid-term Election Day.
I blame everyone except myself.
Article discussing need for 3rd party on conservative treehouse
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2021/01/07/is-it-time-to-start-a-third-party-a-presentation-by-dr-steve-turley-and-support-from-cth/#more-206985
Here's a quote..
Without a third party influence; and considering the rule-books used by the RNC; the predictable 2024 republican presidential election will field these final four candidates. DeSantis is closest to MAGA. Noem is MAGA-lite with Koch Brothers edge. Haley will be the supported RNC candidate. Cruz (term expires in 2024) will play the role of controlled opposition, conservative-base splitter, all while gaining material wealth.
CTH can clearly see this traditional RNC approach with Nikki Haley in 2024 as the establishment front-runner like Jeb Bush in 2016.
If we do not initiate an outsider option using the MAGA community as the base, these four will be used by the RNC to install Nikki Haley.
The final RNC club argument will come down to club elites who demand that a woman be the next Republican front-runner. Those same elites will have "Palinized" Kristi Noem by implanting club operatives inside the Noem camp intended to undermine her campaign.
So don't be surprised when the above comes true in next 2 years. The uniparty is already pushing this narrative.
We are and have been - played.