Well, well, well. There was no “red wave” after all, even as Democrats breathed a huge sigh of relief about what could have been.
Yet Republicans are still favored to win the House, meaning a destructive agenda can be stifled, and increased oversight will occur.
Meanwhile, the Senate remains in play pending results in Nevada, Arizona and Georgia. And some, fearing Biden’s low favorability, including California’s Gavin Newsome and Kamala Harris, have already approached rich party donors to support respective presidential runs in 2024.
Reality still beckons. The truth is that babbling Biden and his cackling VP have made America into their own personal dumpster fire. As Barack Obama once said, “Don’t underestimate Joe’s ability to (expletive) things up,” though many Americans tried to deny the carnage through their votes.
Pennsylvania elected John Fetterman (perhaps the worst candidate of all time) to the U.S. Senate despite his inability to utter a complete sentence. But MSNBC has already touted him for president. Among his positions before suffering a stroke in May was the desire to release one third of criminals from prison and the complete rejection of fracking. His handlers also successfully delayed his appearance at a debate until the end of the campaign. The “Keystone State” will soon be the laughing stock of the nation when they are forced to watch the cognitively-challenged giant try to function as a member of the world’s “greatest deliberative body.”
In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul (who wears a “vaxed” necklace) won despite a strong effort from Republican Lee Zeldin. Hochul, who conveniently claimed the office when Andrew Cuomo resigned under a cloud of sexual harassment, has governed with an iron fist through strict COVID mandates and a new tone-deafness on the issue of crime, but this didn’t bother the majority of voters who are apparently content to wallow in their own misery.
Amidst election ineptitude and questionable ballot tabulation in Arizona, GOP upstart Kari Lake awaits the count of over 600,000 votes in her gubernatorial race versus Democrat Katie Hobbs. Hobbs, the current Secretary of State, has refused to recuse herself from the ballot mess and barely campaigned in public while refusing all invitations to a debate. Lake terrifies Democrats and is a political outsider who launched a populist, common-sense campaign to clean up a state rocked by fentanyl and illegal immigration.
Then in the highlight of the election, Florida’s Ron DeSantis, who won the 2018 race for governor by just 30,000 votes, claimed the office with nearly 60% of the vote (a 20% margin over Charlie Crist). This foreshadows a likely presidential run in 2024. South Dakota’s Kristi Noem and Iowa’s Kim Reynolds were also successfully re-elected; however, when will other GOP candidates realize that DeSantis’ “results matter and woke goes to die” playbook is a winning strategy for them as well?
Meanwhile, throughout the first two years of Biden’s regime, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (who believes the war in Ukraine is the top issue America faces) has done little to inspire voters, or to support candidates with fresh ideas. Like when he said, “We don’t have to do anything. We just don’t have to be Democrats.” Will likely Speaker Kevin McCarthy be any better in standing behind his “Commitment to America” with a slim House majority?
History shows that Newt Gingrich is the only Republican congressional leader in the last 30 years to propose a real agenda. He understood that Democrats’ idea of bipartisanship meant Republicans caving on their beliefs. His 1994 “Contract with America” was built upon Ronald Reagan’s 1985 State of the Union Address. It detailed what Republicans would do if they captured the House. Then they went on to win both chambers for the first time since 1953.
Among its provisions was anti-crime legislation and tax cuts for small businesses, families and seniors, issues still relevant today. Most of these bills died in the Republican Senate or were vetoed by Bill Clinton, but Democrats should be forced to vote on them again.
For too long, some Republicans have only been concerned with winning the next election and being liked by a woke media. This includes milquetoasters who dare not take strong public positions and RINO’s who look for any opportunity to vote against conservative values.
America is at a tipping point in the literal preservation of civilization. History will record how Republicans went about confronting an authoritarian regime intent on eliminating all traces of sanity. Will they model the aggressive style of DeSantis or the head-in-the-sand approach of McConnell? The answer may well determine what’s left of America to save by 2024 with more Biden misery ahead.
Mark Figley is a political activist and guest columnist from Elida. His column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Lima News editorial board or AIM Media, owner of The Lima News.
