Posted on 12/29/2021 5:42:55 AM PST by Kaslin
All things considered, 2021 was a good year for Republicans. In 2022 will the GOP build on its 2021 successes, or allow itself to be dragged back to 2020?
The answer is right in front of our eyes. This year has been a disaster for the Democrats largely because they refused to move forward, electing instead to remain mired in the past and fighting yesterday’s battles. If Republicans take the same course in 2022, they will likely reap the same disappointing harvest.
The events of last January 6 at the U.S. Capitol will predictably be a focal point for Democrat campaigns heading into 2022. They really have nothing positive from 2021 on which to campaign, so they will use 1/6 as a lure to drag Republicans down, too. The last thing Republicans need is to take that bait and fight on that playing field; doing so would be a sure way to turn off moderate Republicans, as well as independent voters who the GOP must reach in order to regain majorities in the House and Senate.
This, of course, is easier said than done. In addition to Democrats chumming the waters, some on the GOP’s own team refuse to move forward. They see 1/6 as a positive flashpoint and Biden’s heavy-handed response to it as a wedge issue to churn up anger on the Right. This would be a major strategic mistake
As right as these Republicans are about the federal government’s overzealous response to 1/6, it is not the winning message going forward. Voters, especially those not already committed to the GOP, yearn for a vision for the future rather than to be repeatedly enraged by the past.
The tone Republicans should strike is found in one of Ronald Reagan’s most famous speeches, where he defined America as a “shining city on a hill.” This was a clear and timeless reminder of the greatness America can reach if the principles of free markets and individual liberty are allowed to thrive.
For an America tired of fearing COVID, inflation, crime, and losing what little precious freedoms they still enjoy, Reagan’s truly is the message for the moment; but it needs to be delivered by leaders who can express it and who have the backbone to follow it through.
Fortunately, there have been several gubernatorial standouts for the GOP answering this call. When facing a social and economic nightmare created by federal incompetence these governors turned lemons into leadership, with undeniably positive results.
Democrat-led states continue to suffer from the Left’s hapless response to COVID, while Republican-led ones (in particular Georgia, Florida, and Texas) continue to show incredible resilience against a rudderless federal government listing wildly from side to side.
On top of their economic successes, Republican-led states and localities have maintained public safety without locking down citizens like criminals. These governors and mayors were the first to realize America must learn to deal with COVID rather than run from it, if a sense of normalcy is to return. Meanwhile, Democrats continue to pump doom and gloom, even as they admit they have no idea what they are doing.
Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin’s recent, incredible victory in Virginia presents Republicans with a roadmap for victory in 2022. Rather than relying on divisive rhetoric to motivate the GOP base, Youngkin presented a clear and consistent vision for restoring conservative governance that appealed to Republican and independent voters alike. Sure, he was aided in his effort by a Virginia Democrat Party that relied on worn-out messages delivered by tone-deaf messengers, but the win was delivered by Youngkin and those candidates on his ticket.
The GOP entered 2021 battered and bloody, but as the year ends the Party is poised to crush Democrats in 2022.
The question Republicans must ask themselves at this juncture, however, is do they want to be dragged back to November 2020 and January 2021, and risk suffering the same consequences that befell Democrats this year by doing just that? Or should they march forth with a vision for the future, keeping in mind what they actually have accomplished this year by not looking backward? The answer would seem to be a no-brainer.
All things considered, 2021 was a good year for Republicans.
_____________________
What? Being forced to live in Covid hell, surviving Brandon crazies? Thant’s NOT a good year!
Bob Barr, typical Republicrat, looks to doing whatever is politically expedient rather than what is right.
And, hey, Bob, there’s also a practical matter: how would the Repulicans win if the election fraud that stole the 2020 elections is not addressed?
Define “fight”.
Tell us exactly what fight would mean, how it should look, in this context.
Maybe you can also tell us what specifically you are doing to “fight” and maybe give us an example to follow.
Well said. Let the Swampies devour each other first.
Or worse.
Advance the democrat agenda
Bob Barr can put a sock in it.
Ditto!
IMHO it matters not as long as the Swamp is allowed to fester and exist.
Check out what happened in Fairfax County, VA last November. The Dems attempted a big slow roll of the ballot count cheat there but it didn't work out this time. Repeat that in 2022 and vote cheating can be suppressed. Too many aware eyeballs on the process now so it makes cheating harder.
Well, that and the cheating on the election.
“Is it fair to ask, how will the Republicans stop the Democrats from cheating like last time?“
(The Republicans were ALL IN on that; they needed Trump gone too, but -shhhhhhhhh… don’t tell anyone..)
“THEY” will do nothing.
It is up to us.
Sit in your polling place for the full day, and observe every movement of the poll workers. Write everything down. Follow the ballot box to the main counting place.
Sit in the main counting place. Sit in your car outside with the dash cam rolling. Cover all entrances.
All WE have to do is sit and observe.
Good to look forward as Youngkin did. But we can’t allow past election fraud and politicized law enforcement to go unpunished — or there won’t be anything to look forward to.
Never mind.
How so? He continues to be outspoken and has been holding rallies ever since he left DC.
"Voters, especially those not already committed to the GOP, yearn for a vision for the future rather than to be repeatedly enraged by the past. "
The only vision of the future I and millions more like me yearn for is one where we have prosecuted and convicted so many commie democrats we have to build a new prison the size of Rode Island to house them all. Nothing else matters. Conservative republicans need to stop with the move forward we are going to fix everything nonsense.
Want to make America great again? Stop trying to reform government and start dismantling it. Stop working with democrats and start arresting them.
I don't see it. There are now two more Biden-supporting congressional districts that didn't exist in 2020.
Bob Barr is an opportunist. He went from being a Republican to a libertarian, but now he doesn’t care about the stolen election?
Reflecting on adulation is not fighting the enemy and is still losing
I’ll not define fight
All of his enemies are alive ,breathing and walking around. A fighter would have taken out at least one and a good fighter would have destroyed five or ten.
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.