Posted on 11/04/2020 7:15:18 AM PST by Kaslin
As I write this, millions of Americans are still voting. There is no way to predict what the outcome will be election eve, or if Americans will know the outcome of the election days or even weeks from now. It did not have to be this way. The GOP should have won in a blowout, and that they are almost certain not to is a clear sign the Grand Old Party is in desperate need of a Grand Old Rebuild.
The lack of leadership and coordination by the Republican Party’s leadership on Capitol Hill and in “red” States across the country has placed the burden of party messaging squarely on Trump’s shoulders; it is both a benefit and a burden he has borne.
Trump’s strength as President, and indeed what has made him so effective in his first term, is getting things done. Trump is a businessman and political outsider, not a philosopher or erudite pundit; so, expecting that he, and he alone, should be responsible for the incredibly important task of articulating clear and consistent messaging to voters was at best shortsighted. It also explains why the GOP turned what should have been a blowout victory against a weak and extremist candidate into a down-to-the-wire nail-biter.
GOP leaders did a far better job heading into 2020 with messaging about Democrats than about Republicans. Whether voters agreed with Democrats’ radicalism or not, there was no question as to where they stood on the environment, healthcare, gun control, illegal immigration, criminal justice, and more. These positions were repeatedly reinforced not just from the Biden campaign, but with symbolic legislation passed in the House over the last biennium. Democrats knew the bills had no chance in the Senate, but each failed attempt, like their Green New Deal, became a rallying cry for voters and donors alike about the need to retake control in November. No such concerted or articulated effort was taken by Republicans in either the House or Senate (with the important exception of supporting the need for conservative federal judicial nominees submitted by Trump).
Regardless of the election’s outcome, the GOP must come to grips with these deep deficiencies, if it expects to remain a viable national party in a post-Trump world, whether that comes in a few months or a few years. The philosophical underpinning that once clearly defined the Republican Party – individual and economic freedom – still is an easy sell to the American public if they undertake the effort. Over the next four years, Republicans must do the following:
Restore Fiscal Discipline: Rather than offsetting the soaring costs of the President’s key initiatives (like the border wall) with spending cuts elsewhere, congressional Republicans now do just as Democrats have always done -- “spend now, pay later.” On a fiscal record, Republicans are now virtually indistinguishable from Democrats.
Reaffirm Gun Rights: Republicans have all but forgotten the true essence of the Second Amendment as a natural right. As a result, they have left it vulnerable to being chipped away, even from within their own party. They must learn again how to properly defend the Second Amendment and do so with more gusto than their limp-wristed approach of late.
Reduce Government Size & Power: Remember when eliminating needless federal departments like the Department of Education and the Environmental Protection Agency were once mainstays of the GOP? Now, Republicans are just as much inclined to increase the size and power of government as Democrats, just for different reasons and different agencies. Trump’s leadership on deregulation – a true mainstay of his first term – is rarely touted by GOP leaders as a leading issue.
Talk Traditional Values: Now more than ever in this soulless environment where social media has replaced true human relationships and where the value of life is marginalized, Republicans must speak to our innate human instinct for family and social bonds. They must remind us of the value of the nuclear family, faith, and human decency with policies and personal conduct that exemplifies these concepts.
If Republicans truly focus on these key areas consistently and uniformly, 2024 may turn into the landslide victory this year should have been. History tells us, however, that is a big “if.
Yeah I have a brother, sister, and unfortunately a son who are dingbat liberal. No matter how bad the economy gets, or crime, they will blame Trump for the next 8 years.
I remember when Genrich showed them how to win back in the “90s. They let the Clinton machine chew him up.
It’s not like most people would obey a Biden NFA extension, after all that’s happened this year.
If PDJT has this election stolen from him, I'm done.
I'm a free agent.
Different Barr.
One Uniparty to rule them all, One Uniparty to find them, One Uniparty to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them, in the Land of Soros where the Shadows lie.
Should PDJT have this election stolen from us, it’s back to square one.
Vote fer us so's we can keep our paychecks!
I hope not. It just means we're back to the Tea Party stage again.
The Empire Strikes Back.
Just? Come on, we've known this for years.
It's over.
It will be, someday. (Prophecy of the Anti-Christ.)
But we have won many victories, and these will enable us to fight again someday.
I remember when Obama won. We knew the country would go to shit, and it did. But then along came Trump, and we set the other side back years.
Biden isn't an 8-year President. We can still push back and win battles. We can't win the war and declare victory, but we can keep the fight going until we die and hand the battle over to the next generation. It's our midterm in 2022.
Dutifully voted Republican after Perot in 1992 - but I'm done.
What's hilarious is that the RINO NeverTrumpers actually think they'll be able to "rebuild" their party after President Trump...
I'm a tech guy, so I know.
PDJT had it on life support. If this election is stolen, just need to call the doc to make it official.
PDJT has given us the road map, and the big picture.
There's no going back. They will probably need a little time before that becomes obvious.
People need to figure out who they are...if they even have a compass.
So? How does that work out to quitting?
So very true. At least, to start the process. But finish it? Perhaps not.
Completely numb to the process today.
We all knew the socialists would cheat, but that it was even close enough to make it work is what's stunning.
It sure seemed like Trump had far more public support than the twice failed, ccp compromised, mental health failing, basement hiding biden had.
Did enough of them simply not vote because they thought the election would be a blowout for Trump? Apparently, enough suburban women (and men) voted with their emotions, believing Trump was just too mean and that biden would be a softer voice and a "centrist" or middle of the road democrat. At least, for the 1 year that he last's in office.
There are so many questions beyond the obvious vote fraud.
This should have been a GOP blowout.
As Soul of the South said, it looks like more than half the country is dependent on the govt in some way, and that's not going to change. And that there are millions of foreign nationals in our country unlawfully who will now almost certainly be given citizenship...and voting rights. Biden will halt the building of the wall and probably even take some of it down. And that, naturally, will be a call to the rest of the world that the U.S. is once again wide open for all to flood in...lawfully or not.
The demographics, and dependency upon the fed gov are indeed gaining and the only way that changes now isn't by supporting the GOP. We're way beyond that point. Depending on how destructive a harris presidency will be by 2024, even a world wide great depression or a major war may not be enough to change what's happened here.
The China virus was the opening salvo that got us here.
That’s a pretty good point, you might be right
Keep in mind that Gingrich was an exceptional opposition leader, but that only goes so far. Once you win and you’re in a position to legislate, you actually have to get something done instead of just attacking from the sidelines.
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