As I write it is 3:00 am eastern time. I do not yet know whether the Republicans took back the Senate or how many House seats they picked up. What I do know is that we are witnessing a massive and well-deserved Republican failure. Under current conditions anything short of a tsunami would be an embarrassment. Republicans should be embarrassed.
I am not going to edit comments, but I think that comes a little close to personal criticism. I am trying build up the comments section and I would prefer people not to discourage comments by going for the easy shot. Meanwhile, Drs, thank you for engaging.
The American people do not like the direction the country is headed. The polls all tell us that. Yet, the American electorate voted to keep many of the same people responsible for the very policies that put this country in the mess it now finds itself in. The Republican party, the party out of the White House did put forth some candidates of considerable quality that offered, dare I say it, "hope and change". Yes, there were questionable moves, such as Walker, Oz and Mastriano. I wonder how the Pennsylvania senate race would have looked had it been McCormick (R) v. Lamb (D). We will never know the outcome that "could have been" race, but I have to believe that political fight would have been an educational moment for the voters of Pennsylvania and probably the country. Instead we got the "appointment at Lakehurst" result. And I do mean "educational". More on that below.
By any political metric the mid-term election should have been a Republican rout. The issues facing the electorate were (and still are) tailored made for the Republican party to win. Inflation, illegal immigration, law and order should have carried the day for Republicans. Historically, midterm elections favor the party not controlling the White House. Instead, the Republican party can claim, to date, a slim margin in the House of Representative. That is it. Very disappointing. More "wins" like that and we won't have a Republican party.
Was it Donald Trump that caused the Republican disappointment of 2022? I say no. He is more a symptom of our dysfunctional political system, not the cause. However flawed Donald Trump may be he taps into the disappointment and frustration many Americans feel, on the right and yes some on the left. Add to that the fact his presidency was by and large a success and how utterly disappointing his loss was in 2020 only adds to his mystique. A large segment of the electorate perceive America as having lost her way. I won't waste time going over them here, but suffice to say these issues, whether real or imagined are perceived to be real and Trump capitalizes on them but he is the not the cause of them.
Was it abortion? The Democratic party has owned this issue for fifty years. Republican never really had to think about it. Yes, Republicans fought against it and some ran against it but so long as Roe, and later Casey were the law of the land, not too much intellectual capital was spent on the issue until the Dobbs decision. Suddenly, it became an issue. Now Republicans who didn't want to get their hands dirty with the issue found themself having to draft "position papers" on an issue that Democrats took the bank. Republicans poo-pooed the idea that abortion could be an issue in the 2022 election. Instead arguing economic reality, a failed foreign policy and more. But it was just enough maybe to tip the balance in a few races. Maybe.
The overwhelming cause of our "Great Disillusionment" (to borrow a phrase from H.G. Wells) is not abortion or Donald Trump but the loss of our institutions. Our press has become an arm of the democrat party. Same for our educational system and thus our culture rots from within. A society armed with a solid education can withstand the slings and arrows of a media bent on being a wing of the democratic party. Conservatives have abandoned the institutions most responsible for keeping our republic safe and secure. These institutions have been slowly ceded to the Left. It is black letter law to say a republic cannot survive absent men and women of good moral character that put country before party. Contrast the Nixon impeachment and the Trump impeachment. Republican senators went to Nixon and told him that there not enough votes to save is presidency. They saw the writing on the wall and did the right thing. Country before party. That did not occur with Trump. No democrat in either house looked at the obvious and voted no. It is also true that a republic cannot survive without an educated public. I am not here to bash schools, but the facts are the facts. Every day we are told by media that high school SAT and ACT scores are down year to year, that average math and science test scores have been declining. There was a time in our country, not too long ago, when a high school diploma was a mark of educational achievement evidencing an understanding of many subjects. In particular I am thinking of the subjects that touched upon our political system, economic system and the idea of citizenship. Our political and economic system requires an interlocking fundamental understanding of certain concepts such as natural law, the notion of citizenship, rights and responsibilities, the relationship between the individual and government, supply and demand, the basis of how a free market works, and a stable banking system (to mention a few) to make a capitalist system function properly. Reading and understanding our country's founding documents was a requirement. Reading and understanding the basic principles put forth by Adam Smith was a requirement. I doubt very much our youth who attend public schools have ever read our country's founding documents, understand their rights as enshrined in Bill of Rights or even know who Adam Smith was, much less what he wrote. How can they when gender studies, climate change and other topics of questionable utility have displaced the above. And let's not forget our churches and synagogues. Religious institutions instill a sense of right and wrong. Natural law, reason and faith were the guide posts of our culture. These have been lost to apathy or outright surrendered to the Left. With some exceptions, all too often the faithful, just before an election, receive the standard lukewarm admonishment from the pulpit to, "vote your conscious". What does that mean? Some type of nihilistic pablum that comforts those who decide "I, not God, will form the basis of what is right for me?" History paints a dark picture of what happens from that. Yet, that is what we are told in church.
And there is this problem. Our system of government and economics requires, at its core, education and a moral compass. Yes, we can talk about the intact the family unit, but I'll probably be called something horrible for mentioning this, but I digress...Without an education founded on the best ideals and values of Western Civilization such an open and free dialogue, faith, knowledge and virtue, a party such as the Republican party cannot hope to win. We used to take these values for granted. They were baked into our culture. No more. In a political campaign there isn't time to explain the above to the electorate. The Democrats have an easier time of it. Promise big government will take care of you and that's enough to win. No wonder when I side argues core democratic concepts the eyes of the audience glaze over.
Education takes time and energy. As Dr. Lawrence Arnn, President of Hillsdale College often says, "Education is hard, on everyone." Given the current state of our culture where many want instant gratification with minimal effort this task seems daunting. But if we don't take back our education system and from there our culture it doesn't matter how many elections or even which election Republicans wins.
I read the first part of this because it was linked in Barry Ritholtz’s email. While I don’t agree with much of it, what bothers me most is that it is just a bunch of blather.
Yes, Republicans had a well-deserved failure. But doesn't that failure have an overriding theme?
Nominally the GOP "ran" Walker for senate but isn't there one person who was mostly responsible for that? And now these days after the election isn't it clear that one person is responsible for much of the GOP weakness in the election. Abortion played a role in some places but the correlation between saying trump won in 20' and doing worse than likely should have - is strong. People wanted normal and Trump and media give them crazy. It sounds too simple but isn't the key for the GOP to get away from Mr Crazy ASAP? It would be good for the soul and the ballot box. Yes, issues are deeper than Trump but it seems a tangible start to toss him to the curb.
Martin A, the next time you pen a rant about how poorly educated your fellow Americans are, you might consider proofreading. As it is, you appear to be part of the problem.
Thanks for writing this. Except for the fact that I voted Libertarian in both ‘16 & ‘20 because I could never stomach the guy, agree 100%. Hopefully my former party comes to its senses - if there are any left - and nominates DeSantis ‘24 - we’ll see.
My comment is just that I am thrilled to have all these comments. Thank you for engaging!
I am not going to edit comments, but I think that comes a little close to personal criticism. I am trying build up the comments section and I would prefer people not to discourage comments by going for the easy shot. Meanwhile, Drs, thank you for engaging.
Richard,
The American people do not like the direction the country is headed. The polls all tell us that. Yet, the American electorate voted to keep many of the same people responsible for the very policies that put this country in the mess it now finds itself in. The Republican party, the party out of the White House did put forth some candidates of considerable quality that offered, dare I say it, "hope and change". Yes, there were questionable moves, such as Walker, Oz and Mastriano. I wonder how the Pennsylvania senate race would have looked had it been McCormick (R) v. Lamb (D). We will never know the outcome that "could have been" race, but I have to believe that political fight would have been an educational moment for the voters of Pennsylvania and probably the country. Instead we got the "appointment at Lakehurst" result. And I do mean "educational". More on that below.
By any political metric the mid-term election should have been a Republican rout. The issues facing the electorate were (and still are) tailored made for the Republican party to win. Inflation, illegal immigration, law and order should have carried the day for Republicans. Historically, midterm elections favor the party not controlling the White House. Instead, the Republican party can claim, to date, a slim margin in the House of Representative. That is it. Very disappointing. More "wins" like that and we won't have a Republican party.
Was it Donald Trump that caused the Republican disappointment of 2022? I say no. He is more a symptom of our dysfunctional political system, not the cause. However flawed Donald Trump may be he taps into the disappointment and frustration many Americans feel, on the right and yes some on the left. Add to that the fact his presidency was by and large a success and how utterly disappointing his loss was in 2020 only adds to his mystique. A large segment of the electorate perceive America as having lost her way. I won't waste time going over them here, but suffice to say these issues, whether real or imagined are perceived to be real and Trump capitalizes on them but he is the not the cause of them.
Was it abortion? The Democratic party has owned this issue for fifty years. Republican never really had to think about it. Yes, Republicans fought against it and some ran against it but so long as Roe, and later Casey were the law of the land, not too much intellectual capital was spent on the issue until the Dobbs decision. Suddenly, it became an issue. Now Republicans who didn't want to get their hands dirty with the issue found themself having to draft "position papers" on an issue that Democrats took the bank. Republicans poo-pooed the idea that abortion could be an issue in the 2022 election. Instead arguing economic reality, a failed foreign policy and more. But it was just enough maybe to tip the balance in a few races. Maybe.
The overwhelming cause of our "Great Disillusionment" (to borrow a phrase from H.G. Wells) is not abortion or Donald Trump but the loss of our institutions. Our press has become an arm of the democrat party. Same for our educational system and thus our culture rots from within. A society armed with a solid education can withstand the slings and arrows of a media bent on being a wing of the democratic party. Conservatives have abandoned the institutions most responsible for keeping our republic safe and secure. These institutions have been slowly ceded to the Left. It is black letter law to say a republic cannot survive absent men and women of good moral character that put country before party. Contrast the Nixon impeachment and the Trump impeachment. Republican senators went to Nixon and told him that there not enough votes to save is presidency. They saw the writing on the wall and did the right thing. Country before party. That did not occur with Trump. No democrat in either house looked at the obvious and voted no. It is also true that a republic cannot survive without an educated public. I am not here to bash schools, but the facts are the facts. Every day we are told by media that high school SAT and ACT scores are down year to year, that average math and science test scores have been declining. There was a time in our country, not too long ago, when a high school diploma was a mark of educational achievement evidencing an understanding of many subjects. In particular I am thinking of the subjects that touched upon our political system, economic system and the idea of citizenship. Our political and economic system requires an interlocking fundamental understanding of certain concepts such as natural law, the notion of citizenship, rights and responsibilities, the relationship between the individual and government, supply and demand, the basis of how a free market works, and a stable banking system (to mention a few) to make a capitalist system function properly. Reading and understanding our country's founding documents was a requirement. Reading and understanding the basic principles put forth by Adam Smith was a requirement. I doubt very much our youth who attend public schools have ever read our country's founding documents, understand their rights as enshrined in Bill of Rights or even know who Adam Smith was, much less what he wrote. How can they when gender studies, climate change and other topics of questionable utility have displaced the above. And let's not forget our churches and synagogues. Religious institutions instill a sense of right and wrong. Natural law, reason and faith were the guide posts of our culture. These have been lost to apathy or outright surrendered to the Left. With some exceptions, all too often the faithful, just before an election, receive the standard lukewarm admonishment from the pulpit to, "vote your conscious". What does that mean? Some type of nihilistic pablum that comforts those who decide "I, not God, will form the basis of what is right for me?" History paints a dark picture of what happens from that. Yet, that is what we are told in church.
And there is this problem. Our system of government and economics requires, at its core, education and a moral compass. Yes, we can talk about the intact the family unit, but I'll probably be called something horrible for mentioning this, but I digress...Without an education founded on the best ideals and values of Western Civilization such an open and free dialogue, faith, knowledge and virtue, a party such as the Republican party cannot hope to win. We used to take these values for granted. They were baked into our culture. No more. In a political campaign there isn't time to explain the above to the electorate. The Democrats have an easier time of it. Promise big government will take care of you and that's enough to win. No wonder when I side argues core democratic concepts the eyes of the audience glaze over.
Education takes time and energy. As Dr. Lawrence Arnn, President of Hillsdale College often says, "Education is hard, on everyone." Given the current state of our culture where many want instant gratification with minimal effort this task seems daunting. But if we don't take back our education system and from there our culture it doesn't matter how many elections or even which election Republicans wins.
I read the first part of this because it was linked in Barry Ritholtz’s email. While I don’t agree with much of it, what bothers me most is that it is just a bunch of blather.
The last thing pro life republicans wanted was Roe overturned it was a cash cow for them.
Solid piece as ever.
Yes, Republicans had a well-deserved failure. But doesn't that failure have an overriding theme?
Nominally the GOP "ran" Walker for senate but isn't there one person who was mostly responsible for that? And now these days after the election isn't it clear that one person is responsible for much of the GOP weakness in the election. Abortion played a role in some places but the correlation between saying trump won in 20' and doing worse than likely should have - is strong. People wanted normal and Trump and media give them crazy. It sounds too simple but isn't the key for the GOP to get away from Mr Crazy ASAP? It would be good for the soul and the ballot box. Yes, issues are deeper than Trump but it seems a tangible start to toss him to the curb.
Martin A, the next time you pen a rant about how poorly educated your fellow Americans are, you might consider proofreading. As it is, you appear to be part of the problem.
Oh my. What a MESS.
Thanks for writing this. Except for the fact that I voted Libertarian in both ‘16 & ‘20 because I could never stomach the guy, agree 100%. Hopefully my former party comes to its senses - if there are any left - and nominates DeSantis ‘24 - we’ll see.