The U.S. Senate loss in Georgia is devastating for the GOP and its agenda, but concurrently is a major boost for progressives hoping to ram key parts of the Biden agenda through Congress.
One positive development from the 2022 U.S. midterms is that we now have a splendid opportunity for the Republican Party to begin the process of a close and thorough introspection; one long overdue.
It would be foolhardy (and a path to political destruction) for the Republican Party to frame the disappointing results of the 2022 midterms as a referendum on Donald Trump.
Likewise, it would be helpful for the former president to take an inventory of his advisers and bid adieu to the toxic hangers-on who may have infiltrated his team.
The Republican Party must adapt to a new political landscape and ditch failing tropes.
An obsessive fealty to the priorities of mega-corporate interests who have long ago abandoned the Republican Party, the stubborn refusal of many campaigns and organizations to modernize or even invest in GOTV operations, and deploying a strategy that can fairly be described as one of thinly veiled contempt for younger voters in 2022.
It's one of the reasons why Democrats were able to defy expectations and hold-off a red wave — especially in Georgia.
Here is what the GOP must do to expand its base and attract new voters:
1.) Offer a Real Economic Development Plan for Working Class and Middle Classe Families
Prattling interminably about the wonders of the "free market," while promising to cut Social Security and Medicare does little to reassure people, expecially those who are nervous about going to the supermarket and who are also hysterical every time they visit the gas pump.
Strongly supporting cutbacks to Social Security and Medicare will earn Republicans pats on the back from a few hedge fund moguls, those cuts will not expand the party's base.
Republicans must finally embrace the common-sense proposition that free trade agreements only work if there is reciprocity; giving countries access to our markets while they tax our goods into oblivion earns lawmakers some credibility on the street with the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), yet pushes Republicans closer to the trajectory of the Whig Party.
The GOP must advocate for expanding our nation's manufacturing base.
It needs to expose how low education standards are compromising a generation of future job seekers, and how the war on domestic energy production not only increases inflation but also terminates millions of existing and new high paying jobs.
2.) GOP Must Invest in Real GOTV; Recruit Better Candidates
Stentorian chants against early voting and ballot harvesting make for great soundbites but don’t replace the need for legal teams to prevent shenanigans, and a budget for boots on the ground going door to door making sure our voters are engaged — and actually vote.
Losing elections will do nothing to increase our chances of passing laws that will combat fraud such as requiring Voter ID.
What happened in Arizona was a disgrace; it called into question the integrity of that state's election administration.
In the absence of clear evidence we should not blame and assume that cheating must have taken place — in Arizona, or other U.S. states.
Not only do we look foolish, it won’t help the GOP attract more voters.
Brace yourselves, because some of the purveyors of the 90% fundraising commission fees and a couple of the Super PAC honchos won’t be pleased to read this: better quality candidates need to be found.
It seems that in this cycle, too many GOP races featured candidates wholly unelectable.
A bad candidate running in even an unwinnable district can embarrass and often harm other Republicans running in the same region.
3.) Stop Alienating Younger Voters
The 2022 midterms saw the second highest youth voter turnout in 30 years.
Corporate RINOS are fixated with telling us that we are losing elections because of abortion. However, that’s just not true.
In 2022, the GOP mostly ignored younger voters.
The Biden student loan bailout is highly problematic and may have even been a shameless ploy, at least one conservative commentator was lauded for circulating obnoxiously insulting tweets (since deleted) accusing student loan borrowers of being the equivalent of drugs addicts, (in terms of borrwing money they can't or won't pay back.)
Selling out on abortion won’t help Republicans gain traction with younger voters; offering real solutions on improving the entry level job market, and how to make higher education more accessible and affordable are better ideas.
With respect to immigration, instead of promoting amnesty we should be discussing how our open border harms workers in entry level jobs.
While the GOP can still maintain optimism about future elections, the party cannot be hesitant about cleaning house, especially in the aftermath of Georgia, on Nov. 8 and Dec. 6 respectively.
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.
© 2023 Newsmax. All rights reserved.