The media is filled with stories about PA - 18 and the apparent victory by Democrat Lamb. Depending on which column you read, the election on Tuesday was either the most consequential moment in the history of the USA or no big deal. Both views are wrong. The reality is something else.
Tuesday, the electorate chose a local winner, not a national winner. They chose a Democrat who campaigned as pro-life, pro-gun and anti-Nancy Pelosi. There aren't too many Democrat candidates who can carry off that message. Nevertheless, that message won in PA - 18 among steel workers, coal miners and a suburban/rural crowd that is hardly sympathetic to the national Democrat stance on most issues.
So let's put aside all the nonsense that the pundits are pumping out and consider how the GOP ought to run in November to prevent more such losses. Here's my view: it's time to nationalize the races across the country. GOP congressional candidates should run on a few national issues. Here are some examples:
1. The GOP ought to run as the party of economic growth while painting the Democrats as the party of economic stagnation. There's a real record for doing this. Under Obama, the economy averaged under 2% growth during eight years. Under Trump, we have seen a number of quarters where growth exceeded 3%. The tax cuts ought to keep that faster pace of growth coming. Republican candidates ought to hammer home the fact that the Democrats voted in unison against the tax cuts and now are calling for massive tax increases. Those are moves that will stop any economic growth and push us back into stagnation. This is a simple but extremely powerful point.
2. The GOP ought to run as the party that can stop terrorism. Under Obama, America pulled back from Iraq and made the terrible Iran nuclear deal. The result was the creation of ISIS (which filled the vacuum left by the American withdrawal). The world had to endure and fight another terror group because Obama couldn't assert American authority for good, but rather cut and ran. Trump presided over the destruction of ISIS. The GOP ought to run as the party that will keep America involved to the extent needed to prevent the reappearance of more terrorists. The Democrats are the ones who want to flee from any confrontation and to let the nascent terror movements develop into future major threats.
3. The GOP ought to run as the party of energy self-sufficiency. So far, Trump has released the oil, gas and coal industries from the restrictions that the Obamacrats needlessly placed on them in order to hamper production. As a result, US oil, gas and coal production is soaring, jobs in those industries are also soaring and the USA is no longer dependent on oil suppliers in countries that are very hostile to the USA. We are freer to act since we are no longer slaves to the need for oil imports from anti-American regimes. Paint the Democrats as the ones who want us to be slaves on the plantations run by the big Middle Eastern oil producers.
4. The GOP should run as the party that wants to stop illegal immigration and to focus on helping Americans rather than those here illegally. Let the Democrats be the party of sanctuary cities. Let the Democrats push to give illegals all manner of benefits. In debates, ask the Democrat whether or not he or she wants to give welfare, free college tuition, etc. to those here illegally. There is a constituency for helping illegals, but it is small compared to those who want to help Americans first.
5.The GOP should run as the party which wants to get the federal bureaucracy under control. The GOP should push for a law that allows the executive to fire federal workers much more easily for incompetence. Let the Democrats stand up for their buddies in the bureaucracy. Let the Democrats explain why government workers who do terrible things never seem to get fired. That's a losing position.
There may be other points, but the examples above should make clear what the GOP needs to do. The candidates of the GOP should tie Democrat candidates to the positions held by the national Democrat party. If they can successfully do this, there's just no way the Democrats can win.
Tuesday, the electorate chose a local winner, not a national winner. They chose a Democrat who campaigned as pro-life, pro-gun and anti-Nancy Pelosi. There aren't too many Democrat candidates who can carry off that message. Nevertheless, that message won in PA - 18 among steel workers, coal miners and a suburban/rural crowd that is hardly sympathetic to the national Democrat stance on most issues.
So let's put aside all the nonsense that the pundits are pumping out and consider how the GOP ought to run in November to prevent more such losses. Here's my view: it's time to nationalize the races across the country. GOP congressional candidates should run on a few national issues. Here are some examples:
1. The GOP ought to run as the party of economic growth while painting the Democrats as the party of economic stagnation. There's a real record for doing this. Under Obama, the economy averaged under 2% growth during eight years. Under Trump, we have seen a number of quarters where growth exceeded 3%. The tax cuts ought to keep that faster pace of growth coming. Republican candidates ought to hammer home the fact that the Democrats voted in unison against the tax cuts and now are calling for massive tax increases. Those are moves that will stop any economic growth and push us back into stagnation. This is a simple but extremely powerful point.
2. The GOP ought to run as the party that can stop terrorism. Under Obama, America pulled back from Iraq and made the terrible Iran nuclear deal. The result was the creation of ISIS (which filled the vacuum left by the American withdrawal). The world had to endure and fight another terror group because Obama couldn't assert American authority for good, but rather cut and ran. Trump presided over the destruction of ISIS. The GOP ought to run as the party that will keep America involved to the extent needed to prevent the reappearance of more terrorists. The Democrats are the ones who want to flee from any confrontation and to let the nascent terror movements develop into future major threats.
3. The GOP ought to run as the party of energy self-sufficiency. So far, Trump has released the oil, gas and coal industries from the restrictions that the Obamacrats needlessly placed on them in order to hamper production. As a result, US oil, gas and coal production is soaring, jobs in those industries are also soaring and the USA is no longer dependent on oil suppliers in countries that are very hostile to the USA. We are freer to act since we are no longer slaves to the need for oil imports from anti-American regimes. Paint the Democrats as the ones who want us to be slaves on the plantations run by the big Middle Eastern oil producers.
4. The GOP should run as the party that wants to stop illegal immigration and to focus on helping Americans rather than those here illegally. Let the Democrats be the party of sanctuary cities. Let the Democrats push to give illegals all manner of benefits. In debates, ask the Democrat whether or not he or she wants to give welfare, free college tuition, etc. to those here illegally. There is a constituency for helping illegals, but it is small compared to those who want to help Americans first.
5.The GOP should run as the party which wants to get the federal bureaucracy under control. The GOP should push for a law that allows the executive to fire federal workers much more easily for incompetence. Let the Democrats stand up for their buddies in the bureaucracy. Let the Democrats explain why government workers who do terrible things never seem to get fired. That's a losing position.
There may be other points, but the examples above should make clear what the GOP needs to do. The candidates of the GOP should tie Democrat candidates to the positions held by the national Democrat party. If they can successfully do this, there's just no way the Democrats can win.
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