Actions follow goals. Is the goal to win in November or show how terrible Kamala Harris is?
Robert Kiyosaki, at the end of his book, Rich Dad/Poor Dad, tells a very illuminating story. He was being interviewed in Asia by a local reporter about his ideas for investing and the meaning of money. When they finished the formal interview, the young interviewer said that she also does writing on the side and wants to be successful like him. What should she do? He told her to take marketing classes at a local college. The woman was flummoxed. “I am a writer, not some carnival barker!” Kiyosaki grabbed his book off of the table, flipped it around, and read what was written there, “Best SELLING author, not best writing author!” Though they fought it out, he said that her article the next day was fair and complimentary.
When one looks at two guards playing together on an NBA team, you assume that they have the same goals. But such may not be the case. Let’s say that the first guard wants to make the finals. He’s never gotten that far in his career, and his whole focus is winning enough games to get to the playoffs and progress to the end. His partner on the court has different goals. He is in the last year of his contract, and he knows that if he has a monster season, he will get a much better offer for next year. His goal is to pump up his numbers so as to get the payoff in the off-season. Having such different goals can sink a team. I remember when Michael Jordan did not have the supporting cast that he had when he won six NBA championships. Pretty much every game in which he scored 50 points, the Bulls lost. When they had more talent, his scoring went down while the winning went up.
What are the goals of the RNC? Ostensibly, the No. 1 goal is to get Donald Trump back into the White House by a big enough margin that there can be no tampering or funny business to make the election close. As a rough cut, there are probably 30 percent of the electorate that will vote for each party no matter what. On the Republican side, there are those who love Donald Trump and believe that he is the right man for the job. There are those who are not as big of fans of the former president but will vote Republican come hell or high water. The Democrats have the same and because they own most of the media we are bombarded with “White Dudes for Kamala,” “White Women for Kamala,” etc. They wouldn’t vote for Trump if he was running alone. Then there is the 40 percent or so that can be brought in to or pushed away from the party. These are the “independents” and “swing voters.” While one does not want to anger the base and drive them away, he still needs to get these people on board to win. It would be nice if the Republican base was so huge that it did not need any of them. But that is not the case. So how do you get these key voters to vote for Donald Trump and down-ballot Republican candidates from senators to dog-catchers? The first rule is don’t anger them. The second rule is to offer them something that they want.
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The first rule is important in this race because it’s so easy to trash Kamala Harris. She has made a career of failure from her positions in California all the way to the White House. She has no signature achievement, and her signature failure is the border to which she was publicly tasked to take care of. Millions entered on her watch. Cities and towns throughout the country have suffered trying to house, feed, and take care of these illegal aliens. Crime is up, American citizens have been killed, and economies have been challenged by so many people coming into the country in such a short period. Yet, while one would like to spend all day calling her weird, crazy, stupid, radical, and the like, if in doing so, one pushes away women voters and possibly male independents, then doing so is self-defeating. Maybe people away from Donald Trump can play her word salad videos or chronicle her failures. Just as pompously attacking Hilary as “likable enough” cost Obama the New Hampshire Democratic primary, attacking Harris may backfire for the party. So, one may wish to hold his tongue about the current VP, if pointing out all of her various failures and lies does not add voters to our side.
The second job is to offer things that uncommitted voters want. Below is a short list that would appeal to women voters, even Democratic ones:
*Safety. Focus on strengthening police and making neighborhoods safe again. A woman is not only worried for her own personal safety, but if she has children, their well-being is of paramount concern.
*A closed border. People throughout the country are feeling the effects of millions of illegal aliens settling in their communities. From increased crime to higher rents and lower wages, their presence is not benign. President Trump must make good on closing the border and removing illegal aliens from the country. Stories of soccer games canceled because illegal aliens live on the football field or airports having hundreds of them sleeping on the floor should be a thing of the past.
*Get prices down. Women do most of the shopping and are keenly aware of the rising prices of everything. Make energy cheaper and get the double bonus of cheaper gas and cheaper food products brought to stores via truck and rail. Lower prices mean more money for other activities like vacation and home renovation.
*Get the boys out of women’s sports. Except for extreme left-wing women, most women would consider the guys taking their daughters’ trophies and medals as being cheats. As at the national convention, make it clear that there will be a ban on guys in women’s sports. Most normal women support such a move and it can help get votes.
*Point out that Trump’s “let the states decide” abortion position is middle-of-the-road compared to Harris’ abortion until third grade. On almost every issue, Donald Trump is closer to the center than is the self-described radical Kamala Harris. Trump has to focus on the issues and also continue to give that doting grandfather vibe. A screaming Trump will lose; a smiling Trump can win. His patience and no interruptions at the debate helped sink Biden for good.
The Republicans can either work to trash a lousy opponent or show that they have a lot to offer. If they do the latter, they will sweep back into Washington come January 2025.
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