Democrats suck. That’s it, that’s the sentence.
It also seems to be the strategy of Republicans for the midterm elections. That’s all well and good – they do suck, and their policy proposals are horrible and unpopular. None of that matters. Republicans are in charge now, and voters will wonder why they aren’t doing things and blame them for everything bad; that’s how politics works.
Jimmy Carter was tossed out by voters in 1980 because his economy was a disaster. Ronald Reagan came in with coattails long enough to deliver him the Senate. He got a lot done in those first two years because of the size of his win – Democrats in the House worked WITH REAGAN, believe it or not.
But in 1982, Republicans lost the Senate back to Democrats – the Reagan recovery had started, but it wasn’t in full swing yet. Voters were frustrated – they’re fickle – and switched back.
Elections aren’t rewards for what you’ve done in the past; they are about what you’re going to do next. If you aren’t offering something new in tough times, you’re going to be tossed out.
I saw that, without concern for which party it is, it’s just how things work. Elections are won by the party that promises things, basic things, in easy-to-digest words.
One of the most frustrating things to me has always been how the lessons of the Contract with America were never replicated. Sure, there have been other “contracts” where various Republican leaders put together a laundry list of things most people didn’t care about, filled with specifics and long, rambling justifications for them. They all read like a white paper written by several committees that only communicated by carrier pigeon.
The beauty of the original Contract was just how simple it was: Elect us Republicans and we will vote on these 10 things within the first 100 days. They were concepts, not bills – term limits, balanced budget amendment, anti-crime bill, etc. – and that was it. They didn’t promise they’d become law; all they said was they’d vote on them.
The whole thing was less than a page and you didn’t need a law degree to understand it.
Think about that in the context of what Republicans are promising now. Are Republicans promising anything now?
Democrats are promising things, horrible things, if they’re elected. But Republicans aren’t bothering to make any promises fearing that voters will wonder why, if the things they want to do are so wonderful, they haven’t done them already or aren’t doing them now.
I understand the reality of the filibuster, and I support it, and I know the majority in the House is so slim that it’s impossible to get Republicans, unlike the hive mind of the Democrats, to agree on anything, but voters don’t know, nor do they care. All they want is results.
Voters will absolutely care about matters of character and “protecting children” or how Democrats hate the country, etc., etc., when they are able to meet their basic needs. But as long as gas is expensive and food prices are up, they aren’t going to care.
Much of this is self-inflicted – far too many Americans live paycheck to paycheck, not because things are expensive but because they waste money on garbage they don’t need. I know that’s not popular to say, but it is true. Politicians, however, can’t say that.
Republicans running on “Democrats suck” will work…with people who recognize that reality. As for everyone else, not so much. Pointing out how horrible the things they want to do are doesn’t matter to unengaged voters when they’re worried about other things.
Republicans need to offer clear things, basic objectives, to voters that will improve their lives. Running on past tax cuts will not work; they’ve already happened and people have adjusted to the new amount of their checks.
“We’re not Democrats” isn’t enough. Mitt Romney basically ran on not being Barack Obama, who sucked (people forget how unpopular his was in 2012) and that didn’t work because that wasn’t a reason to vote FOR him. Anger has grown, and people are more disgusted with politicians, but the concepts haven’t changed.
Republicans need to offer a clear, uncomplicated list of 3 reasons to vote for them. They can campaign all day long on how much Democrats suck, but unless they have something to offer in their favor, voters tend to vote for something else when they aren’t in a good place.
Derek Hunter is the host of the Derek Hunter Show on WMAL in Washington, DC, and has a free daily podcast (subscribe!) and author of the book, Outrage, INC., which exposes how liberals use fear and hatred to manipulate the masses, and host of the weekly “Week in F*cking Review” podcast where the news is spoken about the way it deserves to be. Follow him on Twitter at @DerekAHunter.
