"I can’t believe Nixon won. I don’t know anyone who voted for him."
This quote (and various reiterations of it) is attributed to New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael.
That reactive observation, rooted in incredulity, was made over 50 years ago in the wake of a landslide victory by Richard Nixon in the 1972 Presidential election.
I personally experienced hearing newer renditions of this statement in often stunned reaction to the 2017 landslide victory of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
For many Republicans, there is a disposition — eerily similar to 2022 — that a big GOP victory in 2024 is inevitable.
Alas, this attitude belies the misperception that voters will automatically punish the Democrats for failings on the economy, foreign policy, and of course the border.
The attribution of blame or credit among voters isn’t nearly as simple as it may seem.
The GOP risks a shocking and devastating loss to Joe Biden in 2024.
Additionally, the Republican House majority could evaporate, and the GOP could lose more seats in the Senate.
Supporting the decision in the U.S. Supreme Court Case of Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health Organization [which overturned Roe v. Wade 410 U.S. 113 (1973)] or opposing the repeal of the Second Amendment, is the least of conservatives' worries.
The real problem for the future of the Republican Party is that Country Club Republicans are firmly at the wheel. And while they are "driving this bus," they are concurrently cocksure, foolhardy, bursting at the seams with confidence as what they do, in reality, is to drive the party off a steep political cliff.
The obdurate legislative hegemony of out of touch Republicans like Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who operate as if the minimum voting age was 55 instead of 18, must give way to a more perceptive, and politically attuned Republican Party.
That must happen now.
It's foolish to let Chamber of Commerce lobbyists play an outsized role in shaping the Republican legislative agenda, and madness on the part of Republican leaders clinging to the fallacy that working and middle class families will vote Republican even if it’s against their financial interests — so long as no Republican candidate talks about being anti-abortion or against repealing the Second Amendment.
The obstacles to a resounding GOP victory in 2024 are onerous but straightforward.
It’s really not that complicated.
Any Republican advocating for cuts to the funding of social security should be met with far more disapproval than someone demanding the elimination of funding for library or school drag queen story hour.
If Republicans are serious about making gains in 2024, any proposed bill that would cause lower income Americans to lose their healthcare coverage should be treated like poison ivy.
Republicans must come up with their own proposal to handle skyrocketing student loan debt. Here's a hint: a solution has nothing to do with retweeting cheeky memes mocking borrowers while asking for political contributions.
Student loan debt is second only to mortgage debt in this country and a staggering $640 billion more than credit card debt.
There was a time in our country where a high school degree could avail one to endless career possibilities, and while we can discuss the quality of education and the need for vocational schools, as well as alternatives to four-year degree programs, an applicant with a bachelors degree has an overwhelmingly better chance of getting hired, is far less likely to be unemployed, and on average earns far more during the course of their lifetime.
This hardly seems fair, and it isn’t.
We all know people with modest educational backgrounds who are far more successful than many with postgraduate degrees.
Yet, Republicans insist on committing political suicide by discouraging families from sending their children to college or displaying indifference to gifted students who aren’t able to attend college due to its costs.
A massive influx of migrants has overburdened municipalities across the country.
The disappearance of any semblance of a southern border and the myriad of devastating consequences must be attributed to the policies of the Biden administration, which can only be described as imbecilic.
Both Republicans and Democrats overwhelmingly favor border security according to a Pew Research survey taken this past summer.
The GOP must highlight the catastrophic humanitarian disaster caused by an open border.
This involves a lot more than emails talking about "an invasion."
The country that Ronald Reagan famously referred to as a shining city on a hill, is now looking the other way as companies brutally exploit young migrant children illegally working in factories under horrific conditions.
Hopefully, most of us are aware of the fentanyl tragedy, courtesy of Mexican drug smugglers. We should also be terrified about how many young children are smuggled into the country for sex trafficking.
If Republicans hope to make significant progress in the 2024 elections, they can no longer ignore urban voters.
It's not enough to throw up some commercials about crime and school choice and hope for the best. The GOP must work on building a political infrastructure in big cities, starting with recruiting good candidates who will actively campaign, and also by firmly disavowing the loser mentality currently predominating many local party organizations.
National Republicans traditionally come to New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago for races in other parts of the country. We now must invest in Republicans running in those cities.
The GOP winning in 2024 means abandoning hackneyed phrases, ideas, slogans, and even some of the conventional "wisdom" of the past. At the same time Republicans must have the courage to embrace bold, new future trends — but while doing so, retain the essence of hard work innovation, drive, sound spiritual values, and the refusal to accept pervasive, insidious sloth.
Nicholas Chamberas has advised good government advocacy groups, elected officials and political candidates on public policy matters as well as having served as a senior adviser on several prominent New York City campaigns. He holds a degree in Political Science and a Juris Doctor. Read Nicholas Chamberas' Reports — More Here
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