What, if anything, did the midterms tell us about the country—other than underwhelming Republicans could still take the House and Senate?
During the COVID lockdowns, American elections radically changed to mail-in and early voting. They did so in a wild variety of state-by-state ways. Add ranked voting and a required majority margin to the mess and the result is that once cherished Election Day balloting becomes increasingly irrelevant.
Election Night also no longer exists. Returns are not counted for days. It is intolerable for a modern democracy to wait and wait for all sorts of different ballots both cast and counted under radically different and sometimes dubious conditions.
The Democrats—with overwhelming media and money advantages—have mastered these arts of massive and unprecedented early, mail-in, and absentee voting. Old-fashioned Republicans count on riling up their voters to show up on Election Day. But it is far easier to finesse and control the mail-in ballots than to “get out the vote.”
The country is more divided in more ways than ever. America’s interior just gets redder and the bicoastal corridors bluer.
Exceptional Republican gubernatorial or senatorial candidates like Lee Zeldin, Tudor Dixon, and Tiffany Smiley in blue states like New York, Michigan, or Washington cannot win upsets against even so-so Democratic incumbents—even during a supposedly bad election cycle for Democrats, laboring under a president with a 40 percent approval rating.
Similarly, media-spawned leftist heartthrobs like Beto O’Rourke and Stacey Abrams can burn through hundreds of millions of dollars. But they still cannot unseat workmanlike Republican incumbents in Texas and Georgia.
Out-of-state immigration has only solidified these red-blue brand polarizations.
Over the last decade, millions of conservatives have fled California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania to Florida and Texas.
The former states got bluer as New York governors like Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul said good riddance to fleeing conservatives—who were welcomed as refugees to red “free states.”
As voters self-select residences on ideological grounds and the deleterious effect of blue-states’ governance, the country is gravitating into two antithetical nations. Americans vote not so much for individual personalities as blocs of incompatible parties, causes, and ideologies.
Debates count for little anymore, especially after the disastrous performance of winners John Fetterman and Kathy Hochul.
Democrats often limited or avoided them altogether. And the Republican charging and complaining that they did so meant little at all.
Democrats still voted for Democratic candidates, regardless of John Fetterman’s clear cognitive inability to serve in the Senate and despite Joe Biden’s failures, harm to the middle class, and unpopularity.
Most Republicans are similar party loyalists, but not quite to the same degree—at least if some feared supporting a hardcore Trump-endorsed candidate might give them grief among family and friends.
Winning or losing means revving up party bases, not running as much on a variety of issues. Biden’s vicious attacks on conservatives as semi-fascists and un-American worked. When he recklessly warned that democracy’s death was synonymous with Democrats losing, he further inflamed his base.
Biden also goaded young people to vote by temporarily lowering gas prices through draining the strategic petroleum reserve, offering amnesty for marijuana offenses, and canceling half a trillion dollars of student loan debt. He told young women that they would die without unlimited abortions. And most of that mud stuck.
In contrast, Republicans wrongly assumed all voters, red and blue, sensibly cared most about spiking inflation, unaffordable food and fuel, an open border, and a disastrous foreign policy.
Americans do worry, but also demand concrete solutions that they often did not hear from even insightful critics of Biden’s ruinous agendas.
Moreover, in the last days of the election, Biden and the media effectively smothered those existential issues by claiming the country was threatened by insurrectionists and pro-life fanatics. Stooping to claim the attacker of Paul Pelosi—a crazed, homeless, nudist, illegal alien—was the veritable tip of the supposed MAGA insurrectionary spear proved to be effective Harry-Reid-style, October-surprise demagoguery.
Ron DeSantis likely emerges as the dominant force in conservative politics. His landslide win in Florida carried all down-ticket statewide candidates throughout Florida, which has become as utterly red as California has turned all blue.
To the degree Republican gubernatorial candidates not supported by Trump easily won their races in states like Georgia and Ohio, they helped Trump-supported senatorial candidates. To the degree Trump-supported gubernatorial candidates lost badly such as in Pennsylvania, they hurt Trump-supported senatorial candidates.
Trump’s pre-election unexpected attack on DeSantis may have turned off a few thousand independents and Republicans from voting for Trump-affiliated candidates. And his pre-midterm boast that he would likely run for president may have scared—and energized—some last-minute, hard-core anti-Trumpers and Democrats to go out to vote.
Pollsters got it wrong—again. But this time once trustworthy conservative pollsters had little inkling that the simmering left-wing base was enthused by wild talk of abortion and insurrection. The real under-polled voters were not silent, wary Trump supporters, but this time around seething upscale women and college students.
Final takeaways?
Democratic opposition to a flawed and impaired Joe Biden running again in 2024 will recede. Republican loyalty to the unpredictable Trump could fade.
And both those realities will empower Ron DeSantis.
This article originally appeared in American Greatness.
With Trump there was calm throughout the world-no imminent wars, tariffs on Chinese goods thereby starting to bring manufacturing back to the US, building a wall to stop illegal aliens from entering America and drilling for oil so we were oil independent for the first time, so I am asking how does that make us “Trump unpredictable”?
How? Democrats, Rinos, & the Media, aided and abetted by our corrupt Educational system.
Once upon a time, I tried to reject the term, “The Establishment, Both Parties are the Same”…I was wrong.
Hating what comes out of Trumps mouth HAS quickly overtaken his accomplishments in office.
He doesn’t need to shut up.. he just needs to learn WHEN to shut up!
Nobody wants an A-hole around even if they do good work.
Trump is suffering from the Palin treatment. She went from popular Alaskan governor to VP candidate and after the media and Democrats were done with her, she can’t even win a house seat. Trump is now damaged goods in the eyes of many. DeSantis will undergo the same treatment unless we wise up and defend our strong people. They are our future and the Democrats know it and fear them. You cannot look at the Trump backed candidates and call them inferior when a Fedderman, Hocul, Kelly or Whitmer can get elected.
I’d say Trump is unpredictable rather than unstable. At any rate, it’s was only a liability when it came to “scaring—and energizing” the panicky never-Trumpers to vote.
“The Democrats—with overwhelming media and money advantages—”
Overwhelming UNEARNED money.
And a constituency of low IQ voters designed and produced by Marxist gong back to Woodrow Wilson. They now run the education system, media, culture and political power. This will be a tough nut to crack, it may be too late. But, I’m not going anywhere.
America is like Weimar Germany, a candle burning from both ends while sitting on a debt bomb
The Dem Bolsheviks are becoming more radical and more Leftist ; moreover they are ”gaming the system” in regards to ”mail in voting”
Young folk and women are being seduced by the sinister siren song of the Dems
They have specifically opened the border and encouraged a Third World de facto invasion , but this type of illegal mass migration will turn America into the Third World
The writing is clearly on the wall, insomuch, sensible, realistic patriots recognise that there needs to be a national divorce to save what can be saved of a dying country . There needs to be a PRAGMATIC PARTITION something akin to the pragmatic 3 -WAY partition of India/ East/ WErst Pakistan of 1947
What’s happened is worse than election fraud, it’s the fact that about half the voters have lost their minds and are determined to destroy the country from within; I wish it wasn’t so, but it clearly is, and no election can ever fix what has gone so badly wrong !
Yes, half the country wants to destroy America as founded. Even places like South Dakota are experiencing a moving boom from people who just want to be left alone.
Those folks will never be left alone as the Left will come for them as surely as the NKVD came for the Kulaks in the UKraine
There will be FEMA camps established to haul away all those who oppose the administration.
Anyone paying attention to what’s going on in Ukraine knows that it is acting like a catalyst and speeding up the collapse of America and the WEst . Have you not noticed just how friendly that Putin and the so called BRICS group have become with the Saudis ?
It’s clear they are forming an alternative to the WEst with another currency and it’s only a matter of time before the SAudis lose confidence in the US PeTRO DOLLAR and move to an alternative currency that will surely trigger a financial collapse in America
YOUTUBE THE DURAN……. MBS & BRICS, the most dangerous pivot in history
Anyone paying attention to what’s going on in Ukraine knows that it is acting like a catalyst and speeding up the collapse of America and the WEst . Have you not noticed just how friendly that Putin and the so called BRICS group have become with the Saudis ?
It’s clear they are forming an alternative to the WEst with another currency and it’s only a matter of time before the Saudis lose confidence in the US PETRO DOLLAR and move to an alternative currency that will surely trigger a financial collapse in America
Victor, can you please refer us to where Biden said women will die unless they get unlimited abortions? Thanks in advance.
From:
JULY 08, 2022
Remarks by President Biden on Protecting Access to Reproductive Health Care Services:
“But the Dobbs majority ignores that fact. And the Dobbs majority ignores that many laws were enacted to protect women at the time when they were dying from unsafe abortions.”
I saw an interesting article entitled “President Trump Fires Back Against Ron DeSantis, Con Inc and Coordinated Narrative Midterm Effort” at the Conservative Treehouse, about the plans that McConnell and McCarthy have for us rebellious MAGA types. The takeaway part of the article is:
(1) stop the populist movement and (2) get the Republican Party back in alignment with the multinational “corporate world.”
If the goal now is to recreate the go along-get along country club image of the Republicans, fine. Expect to be on the short end of the stick for the next generation as we slip into a Socialist Utopia run by Democrats, RINOs and the freaks in the WEF.
And if the GOP no longer wants or needs the MAGA movement it is time to get out and get away from McConnell-McCarthy Inc. and form a real conservative party. I am tired of voting for the milquetoast Washington Generals.
I can’t imagine anything more boring than going back to the pre-Trump party. I am done with the Globalist Republicans.
Trump’s candidates were a political disaster and his post election committee illustrate why he has zero future and why De Santis should be the viewed as the future of conservatives
The biggest take-away was which States/precincts had the best Election integrity. Audit everyplace where people voted for MORE crime instead of less.
“Fair and Honest” mean about as much as “Safe and Effective” today. Now we learn that in MARICOPA COUNTY, listening to last nights Bannon show- a poll worker on the Indian Reservation identified a 200 ballot error at the end of the night. The only possible answer was that these “door three” ballot boxes were PRE-POPULATED with a bunch of fake ballots when the ballot drop box was delivered. Being locked when they arrived, no one would know! They were all likely pre-stuffed around the state.
Another person interviewed by Bannon says the ballots coming out of the door three drop boxes are STILL showing a 75% win by all important REP AZ candidates. The slowing of the process is because the Left is realizing the vote was WAY bigger for Kari Lake and crew than they had estimated. Two reliable sources swear Kari is the new Governor. The news media is already attacking Kari Lake for calling out their delays and lack of information. Now, it appears the results will not be known until late next week.
Do not blame trump for the republican failures
This piece just mentions that some of Trump’s actions might not have been helpful.
Trump was 215 to 16, not a bad score. A lot of people don’t like Trump because he makes waves and fights back when he is challenged or attacked. They yearn for the days of civility and “bipartisanship”. They are the frogs who want to stay nice and warm in the boiling pot. Shh! Don’t wake them up.
It seems somehow wrong to me that individual states could corrupt their own voting processes to achieve predetermined outcomes for general elections, behaviour that would ultimately negatively affect other states whose citizens had no part in the corruption and no options to deal with it. This is very clearly what is going on. I don’t think one would want to put the legitimacy of elections into the hands of the federal government when an obviously corrupt government like the Biden administration, for example, instituted by election fraud in some states would be in control of the elections. Currently, states control their own elections, and in some cases, to the destruction of liberty for all. What is the solution? The problem would seem to be at its most fundamental, a growing lack of morality and moral code in line with human nature, a code that would, within each individual, instruct and mandate right action, a pursuit of truth, honesty and integrity. The solution to that issue would seem to reside within an impregnable fortress.
A keen observation. I would posit the “impregnable fortress” you suggest is our public education system. The first of the “here’s your participation trophy” generations is of voting age now and the “it’s all about me” mentality is finding its way to the ballot box. Any sense off an inherent moral code or valuation of truth and honesty has been consumed by “intersectionality” that calls one to “identify” as a singular unit as long as one fits into an acceptable category. In our post-modern world, it seems there is a push to upend all the standards (or constructs if you will) built on what has been “right action” for centuries. Honesty and integrity are not in the mix and they now have their own “truth” to guide them. The “impregnable fortress” has been taken over by Marxist perverts and not much will change until it is returned to an institution that deals in enlightenment instead of indoctrination.
Trump has got to Trump.
Having said that…. we are now into 6 plus years of my President saying essentially the same exact thing rally after (I’ve been to 4) rally.
Mr. President, winging it has worked but we are past that point.
Is there no one working with you to tighten up your delivery. To add meat to the bone of your rally speeches.
So much low hanging fruit to work with.
I love you Sir… be Trump but as I like to say it’s time to sharpen the pencil.
The elections in PA, NY, AZ , and NV were stolen through fraud-ridden practices of mail-in voting, early voting and more. THIS IS WHY THIS CRAP WAS NEVER ALLOWED BEFORE COVID. Conservatives better quit denying the fraud because they will never win elections again until it is STOPPED.
The election was flat out stolen again. Until everybody has the courage to say that out loud and do whatever it takes to punish the thieves, nothing will change.
I’m no Victor Davis Hanson, for sure, but here’s my takeaway. A broad swath of the American people are dumb as a sack of hair. We’ve just experienced the worst two years of governance in my lifetime and they rewarded the Democrats by not throwing them out of office. The one thing most politicians care about is getting re-elected. By not punishing them with voting them out of office, these voters have imposed no sanction on them, rewarded them, in fact, and told them to keep up the destruction. Brilliant, just brilliant.