Everything is pointing in favor of a GOP victory over the socialists holding Congress through 2022. Faced with redistricting, senior Democrats are retiring. Recruiting is difficult because attractive candidates anticipate a bloodbath, and no one wants to be shackled with the label of “loser.” The so-called generic ballot polls, where respondents indicate their preference for controlling Congress without regard to candidate or issues, is in the same place it was in 2010. Joe Biden makes Jimmy Carter seem like a candidate to Mount Rushmore. We don’t have any reason to be confident that this unique opportunity won’t pass.
Today’s NRCC Chairman Tom Emmer appeared on Fox with Jason Chaffetz (lolol), as host. That, right there, is what law enforcement types would call a ‘clue.”
Chairman @tomemmer joined @jasoninthehouseThis morning, we will discuss GOP attempts to retake majority⬇️⬇️⬇️
Our job over the next year is to make sure voters understand that Dem policies are driving inflation, the crime wave & are responsible for the border crisis.#FIREPELOSI pic.twitter.com/rp9hsz0l7h
— NRCC (@NRCC) November 28, 2021
EMMER: Democrats in Congress are out of touch right now with Main Street America, and the middle class. And our job over the next year, we know it’s going to be a dogfight, is to make sure it’s very clear that every day that their policies, their big-government policies, are driving inflation, are driving the crime wave across this country, are responsible for the open border, and we can go through all kinds of incompetent leadership that this administration has shown us since the beginning of the year.
I don’t want to be terribly critical until I see what they roll out, but from where I sit right now, it looks like the GOP will run based on the same old playbook they use year after year. I’m not sure “inflation” will get the GOP anywhere but engaged in a food fight with various fact-checkers. It isn’t inflation that’s the issue. Each and every one. However, the problem lies in that supply chain distortions have increased gasoline consumption by more than 50% and also had an adverse effect on food prices. Proper inflation–that caused by the trillions of dollars pumped into the economy–will hit but not for more than a year from now. I think the idea of blaming the Democrats for the economy, or even economic sanity, doesn’t fly given the fact that Biden’s Infrastructure behemoth, a bill that includes universal pre-K for 3-4-year-olds and a pilot program to tax you based on the number of miles you drive your car each year, only passed because of GOP votes in the House. A “crime wave” is less an issue than Democrat politicians actively colluding with Black Lives Matter and with Antifa to create civil strife that they can use for political advantage. Any failure to link the Democrats to the “bail reform” and “defund the police” causes is just malpractice.
My sense is that crucial issues are not being addressed.
When Glenn Youngkin won the governor’s race in Virginia earlier in the month, education was one of the primary issues driving people out to vote. Parents were not only angry at how schools responded to the Wuhan virus, but they also felt angered at the racist treatment of their children under the heading Critical Race Theory. Virginia voters stated that education was the top issue. It is true that education is mostly a local and state issue. Still, the success of Newt Gingrich’s Contract with America was that he took issues that were not usually considered to be Congressional election issues and made them into national issues. The GOP needs to weaponize the behavior of the arrogant school boards and entitled teacher’s unions and push that to the center stage in 2022.
I can’t imagine attempting to campaign in 2022 without mentioning election integrity as a critical issue. You don’t have to claim the 2020 election was stolen to be able to say that it was not run in a manner that inspired confidence in the outcome and that fixing some of the issues, like the ability of federal judges to change rules in the days or hours before the election has to be curbed.
More significantly, I don’t see freedom on the ballot. Anthony Fauci, and other unelected bureaucrats have displayed outrageous behavior. A ballot issue should include the possibility of using a virus in order to reduce freedom for Americans. Although a large portion of the malicious behaviour was committed by Democrat governors; the GOP must campaign on their conduct. Also, campaign issues should focus on the economic impact of lockdowns and the mandated vaccines. I don’t see any mention of the overreach of federal law enforcement. I don’t see any acknowledgment of how the federal bureaucracy meddled in the 2016 and 2020 elections and the necessity of ensuring that the civil service stays the hell out of partisan politics. It is not mentioned why Steve Bannon was charged with contempt of Congress. This happened despite the fact that none of the House Republicans’ referrals for lies about the Russia Hoax have been acted upon.
Emmer refers to incompetent leadership of the Biden team, but this is not enough. Biden is extremely unpopular. Even his party doesn’t support him. Biden’s unpopularity needs to be tied like a string of tin cans to the tail (figuratively speaking) every Democrat running for office. As we witnessed in 2020, every Republican was linked to Trump. Now it is time to let them have their cake and eat it too. Let’s Go, Brandon became an overnight hit for a reason.
As much as I’d like to be enthusiastic, I have to admit that Emmer’s interview left me feeling a bit like a James Bond martini.
Emmer seems to be completely unaware of the populist anger still present and is reverting back to the old GOP Chamber of Commerce strategy. It is nearly like the last six years didn’t even happen. I hope I’m wrong, but I won’t be shocked when I’m proven correct.
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