Posted on 01/09/2023 7:21:23 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
With the red trickle behind us and the 2024 general election less than two years away, Republican voters will be faced with three options, like it, or not. The option a majority of GOP voters choose will be pivotal in both congressional elections and the election of the next president of the United States, as well.
Those options are:
Continue to focus on election day only, which historically determined the outcome of all elections.
Continue to whine about “massive fraud” and “stolen” elections as the reason your candidate(s) lost.
Realize that election day has given way to election season, and a substantial increase in early voting.
The correct option is #3, of course, whether we like that, or not. Republicans can continue to claim voter fraud and rigged elections until the proverbial cows come home. But the reality remains, as we’ve seen countless times, claiming massive fraud and proving massive fraud are entirely different propositions.
And here’s an extra tip, free of charge: If you hate the explosion of early voting — you shouldn’t — and the growing number of mail-in ballots, you must win a majority of seats in a majority of state legislatures before you can change anything about it. Otherwise, you remain stuck with option #2.
As reported by Just the News, new Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Brian Schimming has said in a number of interviews over the past week that he wants to focus on early voting and raising money ahead of the spring ’23 election. Wait a minute. Does Schimming sound like a Democrat? Yes. Does sounding like a Democrat make Schimming wrong? No. Why not? Because if the Republican Party doesn’t learn to play the Democrats’ election season game, Republicans will continue to lose close elections. Reality bites, huh?
Schimming, unanimously elected as Republican Party Chairman on December 10, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he’s focused on building Republican infrastructure and looking ahead to the April election.
"I don’t do change just for change’s sake. I don’t go to knock over furniture just for the heck of it. But I’m sending the signal not only internally but externally that if it works we enhance it. If it doesn’t work, it goes."
In another interview, Schimming made a similar pledge about his motto as GOP chairman:
"I’m not here to milk sacred cows. And, if it’s working, we enhance it. If it’s not working, it goes out to the curb."
In reference to doing a better job of getting early votes, Schimming said:
"We can’t keep walking into Election Day 100,000-200,000 votes down and expect we’re going to make it up in 13 hours between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m."
Exactly. As Albert Einstein wisely admonished, doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. I might add that if you continue to play stupid games when new games work better, you continue to win stupid prizes.
The Bottom Line
As I reported in a Christmas Day article, Republican political strategist Karl Rove argued in a Wall Street Journal column that it’s time for a generational leadership change in both parties. Brian Schimming is a perfect example of what new leadership — and new ideas — should look like in the Republican Party.
Needless to say, the usual crowd chose to attack Rove in the comment section, rather than objectively debating his argument. That kind of thinking is not dissimilar to the Titanic band continuing to play, after the “unsinkable” ship hit an iceberg and began to slip beneath the waves.
Let us hope that the same band isn’t playing on the deck of the USS 2024 Presidential Election on November 5, 2024, as the one we have now.
I have heard friends who are involved in the politics at the state level say the same thing regarding election season, mail in voting and ballot harvesting - you gotta play the game to have a chance.
If/when the Rs get good at the game is when you will see the left start crying about election fraud.
It’s hard to believe that in Wisconsin, the state legislature is almost veto-proof for the Republicans, but the Dems still have the statewide offices.
I'm going with #2. Fraud is fraud, and the voting systems are so compromised now, the DSC will always be able to best any conservative attempts to match that fraud.
Exactly. Brian is all about ‘strategy.’ He actually WANTS to win. What a concept! ;)
“...but the Dems still have the statewide offices.”
Hence the reason for New Blood with this WI GOP Chairman.
I don’t disagree.
Brunson case just got denied by SCOTUS for standing. No surprise but still disappointing.
Madistan/Dane Co. generates North Korea levels of participation and percentage 90%/90%
Yes they use ghost addresses and a lot of other illegal practices- But this is where we are The binary choice is to overcome or bitch about the practices and walk away
Big Test for Brian is Spring Election in April. Balance of State Supreme Court is up for grabs
I’m on option #4.
2022 was the last election where I’ll be voting for anyone.
I will be in the voting booth, but it will be a write-in of “No Confidence” for each elected office.
Well, as I just typed on another thread, if the NC legislature wins the case they have before SCOTUS, then the Republicans in the Wisconsin legislature make the rules.
Neither the Dems in the statewide offices nor any court will be able to do anything about it.
Fingers crossed.
The GOP (other than Trump) has not had a coherent message for nearly two decades. They have a party platform, but you'd never know it when watching them during campaign season. They don't try to compete in the big cities, they don't reach out to non-white voters that might be receptive to their message, and they try to drive away MAGA and Tea Party voters despite the fact that this party needs every vote it can get. That doesn't sound like a party that is serious about winning elections and being the majority party.
Every D51/R49 race ought to be able to be flipped to R51/D49 if repubs actually play the game. The CA GOP figured it out and is a big reason we barely got the US House, because they didn’t lose a bunch of seats like 2018. They learned their lesson and now harvest ballots, embrace mail in ballots and put out their own ballot collection boxes in churches and other places. Dems tried to take them to court but lost.
That being said, it is sheer insanity to deny voter fraud occurred in both 2020 and 2022 and to deny that it is very likely to occur in significant Democrat cities in swing states even if Republicans manage to master ballot harvesting and mail-in/drop box voting.
What happened in Atlanta in 2020 -- the lie about the waterline break, ballots pulled out from beneath tables and ballots being run through machines multiple times by Ruby Freeman -- and the intentional printing of ballots that wouldn't run through the machines in Maricopa county this election cycle can't be ignored.
Yep. I read that, too. :(
Shoot! I did a search. My bad.
Brian is going to prove to be a BLESSING to the Wisconsin GOP.
Let's get back to that fighting spirit that caused us to break from the Whigs and start the Republican party in the first place! How soon we forget! :)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.