Senate Republicans recently blocked the heavily Democrat-backed commission for January 6th Capitol Hill Riots and for a good reason. It is glaringly obvious that it is nothing but a feather in the political scheme of the Democrats to improve and increase their electoral odds in 2022 after a poor performance in the 2020 election. After underperforming their own expectations regarding the house and senate seats, Democrats have once again refocused their attention towards President Trump. A 52-page DCCC autopsy report highlights the failures of the Democratic Party in 2020 and outlines the reasons why Democrats lost so many seats. Per the report, much of the loss is in part due to over-reliance on polls and undervaluing the Republicans’ ability to turn out voters, particularly those frequently known as “Trump voters,” because of their affinity and loyalty to the former president. These are voters who recently engaged in politics because of their affinity for the former president.
Trump’s ability to energize Republican voters is unprecedented and Republican officials would do well to understand that and know that they will need those voters to help win more seats in the House and to preserve their standing in the Senate. There are 14 Democrats up for re-election in 2022 and 20 Senate Republicans. In order to maintain their current positions, Republicans must be smart enough to outmaneuver the increasingly strategic Democrats especially if they want to win more seats in the House and potentially retake the United States Senate. If Republicans can retake the Senate and increase their standing in the House, they will truly be able to stop the extreme left wing of the Democrat Party, which appears to be a growing percentage of the party, from forcing their socialist agenda onto the American people. Despite what the fringe left and the MSN would have you believe, most Americans don’t actually want more taxes or unsafe neighborhoods, but that’s exactly what Democrats are offering.
This is par the course in politics, especially when the political actors involved don’t have good intentions. They strategically and often successfully utilize various issues as a catalyst for attacking their opponents to incite an emotional rise out of voters to their own benefit. If Democrats were truly concerned about the state and condition of this country, they would reach across the aisle and work with Republicans in a bipartisan way. Afterall, politics is all about compromise, and neither side is entitled to having everything their way; it’s just not the way the Founding Fathers created this country, but to Democrats, if you don’t agree with them or see things from their perspective, you are wrong, and that plays more into partisanship and tribalism than anything else.
According to their autopsy report, Democrats didn’t estimate ardent Trump voters, nor did they anticipate that even if Trump didn’t win the presidential election; Republican voters who voted against Trump and for Biden still voted more for Republicans down-ballot than Democrats, which, in their defense, is unusual. However, even to those voters who didn’t like Trump; their disdain for him was not reflected down ballot as they were clearly cautious against giving Democrats too much power and control, particularly as they advocated for extreme policies such as defunding the police and increasing taxes.
Democrats have proposed a set of policies that frankly do not register with the majority of the American people, Republican or Democrat. Despite this obvious fact, the Democrats continue to move leftward; which presents a better opportunity for Republicans to challenge Democrats and increase their standing with suburban voters, women who are concerned about the safety of their families and business-minded voters who are concerned that increased taxes will be a burden on their businesses.
Joe Biden ran on the idea that he would unite the country by bringing Democrats and Republicans together, he assured the American people that he and his Democrat Party, if given power would rise above partisan bickering and tribalism, but that’s exactly the opposite of what we have seen from Democrats thus far. Instead, Democrats have continued to focus on former president Donald Trump because it seems to be the only way they believe they can remain in power, by constantly reminding voters of how much they dislike Trump because they know running on their agenda alone is not enough.
History is on the side of Republicans as the party in the minority usually sees gains when the party of the opposite party controls the White House. Republicans must maintain their focus on attacking the fringe policies of Democrats and putting forth their plans for moving the country forward. If Republicans don’t see gains, it’s because they became distracted and weren’t focused.
Armstrong Williams (@ARightSide) is the owner and manager of Howard Stirk Holdings I & II Broadcast Television Stations and the 2016 Multicultural Media Broadcast Owner of the Year. He is the author of “Reawakening Virtues.”