OPINION

Without An Agenda Republicans Will Wander

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

Zig Ziglar said, If you don’t have a destination, any road will get you there.

Yogi Berra said. “We’re lost, but we are making good progress.  

If it is difficult for those of us who pay attention, to discern a Republican agenda, imagine what it’s like for average Americans who care more about getting the kids to soccer practice. With the obfuscation delivered daily by the media, people in the middle (the ones who actually decide elections) lump both sides into the same basket. Democrats have learned that if they can scare enough of these uninformed voters into voting against these hateful Republicans they can win. You know, the Republicans who want to deny raped young women of their “choice” and plan to rob Granny of her Social Security and Medicare.

It’s no coincidence that President Biden recently used the term “hateful, angry fascists.” Leaving Republicans to defensively deny that they are. Of course the media can be counted on to be impartial referees, right?

If their playbook works, why would they change?

Seldom in the history of Western Civilization has one party done so much to undermine a booming economy, eviscerate a national border, balloon the national debt, create raging inflation, destroy our energy independence and wasted more money than the party now controlling the White House and Congress. Everything from bread to baby formula is in short supply. In spite of the unmitigated disaster that their socialist policies have wrought, polls currently suggest that they may retain control of the U.S. Senate. And GOP gains in the House look rather meager at this point. 

Let that sink in. 

How can this be?

Well, a wise man (it may have been Newt Gingrich or maybe it was me) once said, “You can’t win a fight with one hand.” It’s not enough to be simply-not them. Just because the President’s numbers are in the tank and we see him as a helpless buffoon does not necessarily mean that the voters will march to the polls and vote his team out. On one hand you must point out-again and again-how their policies have failed. On the other, it is critical that you offer Americans an agenda worth voting for. A vision of a brighter future. 

Above all, like General George Patton you must remain always on offense. Bearing in mind that with the help of Big Media and Big Tech, the other guys will be attacking you, nonstop and relentlessly. The Democrats certainly won’t defend their record. Remember also that neither they nor their allies will be slavishly bound by the facts. They want to make this election about the nasty, hateful Republicans. We need to make it about building a brighter future. 

You can’t build anything worth building without a blueprint. In politics that’s called a agenda. 

Right now Republican leaders are behaving like this election is in the bag. All they need to do is run out the clock. Big mistake! Trying to run out the clock too early almost always fails. Blaming primary voters for picking the wrong candidates doesn’t make much sense either. Coaches who blame their players or fans for losing seasons are soon called former coaches. Great coaches take responsibility. They develop a game plan that gets the most out of the talent they have. 

Establishment Republicans refuse to see why Donald Trump remains so popular with the party’s base. His prickly, in your face brand of populism doesn’t sit well. They prefer the George H. W. Bush “It wouldn’t be prudent” brand. The base loves Trump for the same reasons that the media despises him. He cannot be cornered and will not be cowed. He never plays defense. There is no reverse in his gear box. He has an agenda and it’s advance, advance, advance!

Remember when the moderator and Hillary pounced on the issue of abortion in one of their Presidential debates? Candidate Trump didn’t become defensive. He went for the jugular, attacking Hillary’s radical unrestricted abortion position. Compare that to the defensive handwringing we see from too many Republicans. 

Ronald Reagan said we must paint the differences with bold colors. The coming weeks will be critical. Not only for candidates running for office, but for the future of our nation.