Republicans came up lemons in the recent election.  Time to make lemonade.

In Pennsylvania, a brain-damaged, far-left Democrat (that’s not disparagement, but an accurate assessment, I hope, and no offense intended) beat a TV celebrity carpetbagger whose only qualification was an endorsement from Donald Trump.  At least one commentator on the MAGA right looked at the results and decided that the reason is that Pennsylvania voters are idiots.  That’s idiotic, of course.  We can safely assume that some voters in Pennsylvania are idiots, and not all of them voted for Fetterman.  Some are geniuses, too, and not all of them voted for Oz.  The vast majority are average Joes and Jills who don’t pay much attention to politics, and the motivations for their votes are all over the place.  I strongly suspect that a lot of them said, we dislike/despise Trump, so that’s a strike against Oz.  Having grown up Democrats, we’re not completely comfortable with what the Republicans are offering in general, not that we’re happy with the Democrats right now, either.  It’s a close call, but that’s another strike.  Fetterman may be disabled, but he’ll have to be replaced in a year or 2, at least the replacement won’t be a MAGA type, and maybe he won’t be as nutty as the current crop of Democrats.  We can always hope.  Turn a blind eye, and it’s three strikes and you’re out.

Lesson for the Republicans:  If you want to win in states like Pennsylvania – and you do want to win, don’t you? – then, for goodness’ sake, nominate nice, sane, “real” Republicans who aren’t beholden to the most extreme elements of the party, who can unite the party and attract support from the middle.  Let the nutwingers grumble about the corrupt, deep-state-loving, elitist RINOs all they want; they’re wrong, and nominees like that can actually win.  And for goodness’ sake, no carpetbaggers.  We southerners in particular really don’t like carpetbaggers.

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Doubt that nice, sane, “real” Republicans have what it takes?  Observe Greg Abbot in Texas, Mike DeWine in Ohio, Bill Lee in Tennessee, Brian Kemp in Georgia, and Ron DeSantis in Florida.  Kemp in particular is a case study in normal, sane and real.  He was pilloried from the left for having “stolen” the governorship in 2018, and was running against the woman from whom he had supposedly stolen it.  He was pilloried from the MAGA right for refusing to help Trump steal his election in 2020.  He never backed down, defended himself vigorously from all comers, and governed competently as a moderate-right Republican.  He won big.  All of the others mentioned had their own challenges to deal with, did so competently, and won big.  There’s your model.

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Speaking of models, how about that Ron DeSantis?  Helped no doubt by a stumbling, bumbling Charlie Crist who seemed determined to throw away the election, he won in a landslide and hit all the right culture war buttons, too.  Once again, he set the stage for himself by governing competently – the one non-negotiable element of political success for Republicans – and then, like Kemp, never backed down in the face of withering criticism concerning his handling of the Covid crisis.  His common-sense, articulate denunciation of and active opposition to “wokeness” was the cherry on top.  And all without Trump’s nasty divisiveness.

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The Democrats have already drawn the wrong conclusion.  Asked what he will change in the 2^nd half of his administration, President Biden replied “Nothing.”  The Democrats think they won the election.  It’s closer to the truth that they barely survived, and the Republicans are still on the offensive.  They survived by demonizing their opponents, with a hearty assist from Trump and his minions, who burdened the Republicans with a number of candidates who in most years wouldn’t have had a snowball’s chance in hell at the nomination (Oz in Pennsylvania, Walker in Georgia, etc.), much less the election.  They survived because the Republicans carried on a mostly-negative campaign against the Democrats without clearly articulating what they were for.  (Frankly, given what a screwed-up mess the Democrats have made of the last 2 years, it’s understandable what the Republicans did, and it’s only in retrospect that the mistake is clear.)

Lesson for the Republicans:  Have faith in the American electorate.  They know you aren’t demons, and, other than die-hard Democratic partisans, don’t like your being painted that way.  Take the high road, stay positive, criticize your opponents and make your own case vigorously and without apology, but also without rancor.  Then, with a smile, hand the Democrats the rope and let them hang themselves.  They will.

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A boxing metaphor:  It’s possible to abide by the Marquis of Queensbury’s rules and still beat your opponent to a pulp and win.  And so much more satisfying.  The trick is in fighting smart, alongside your friends and allies, rather than lashing out in every direction at anyone who doesn’t agree with you on everything.

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Republicans came this close in a lot of places where they normally wouldn’t stand a chance – the New York governor’s race, for example.  Of course, coming this close is another way of saying that they lost.  But it demonstrates that Republicans have nearly closed the deal with a lot of people who vote Democratic out of simple inertia, but are increasingly fed up with the bovine excrement the Democrats are feeding them.  Can it be that hard to find the right message, delivered correctly, and the right candidates, properly supported, to make it over that final hurdle?  Of course it’s that hard!  But the proof is right in front of our eyes that it’s possible.

The next election is right around the corner.  The Republicans have lots to do, and good reason to believe that victory is within their reach.  Get to work.

 – Kenneth D. Gough © 2022