Clearly, the Republicans got trounced in yesterday’s mid-term election. Which means, of course, that the big winner was the Democrat Party. Right? Wrong! At least, I don’t think so.
Truth be told, the Democrat Party is as fragmented today as it was on Monday, maybe even moreso. Why? Because the big winner yesterday were the Socialists. Yes, I know they call themselves “Democratic Socialists.” Let’ be clear: the only difference between Socialism and Democratic Socialism is that, in Democratic Socialism, the Socialists are initially elected to office by the voters. After that, it’s just Socialism, and there’s nothing democratic about it.
At all levels of government, even including school board elections, the Democratic Socialists of America are claiming 87 victories. Eighty-seven! Now, they’re cheating a little bit because they count Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib as DSA winners when all their political lives they’ve been Democrats and I’m not aware that they’ve changed allegiances. I noticed that they don’t count Ilhan Omar among their victories. I suspect they want to distance themselves from her, though her constitutents in Minnesota don’t, because they were only too happy to re-elect her, corruption and scandals and all!
Five DSA members won new seats in the House of Representatives. What will they be able to accomplish? Not much for the country, of course. There’s only five of them and, while they’ll certainly get a lot of press, they won’t have much of an actual impact. Sort of like AOC herself. She gets a lot of press, but hasn’t really contributed much, at least in terms of innovative legislation. In her years in office so far, she’s not authored a single standalone bill that has been adopted by Congress, though she’s co-sponsored plenty.
What the DSA can manage, and likely will, is the continued push to the left of the Democrat Party. The DSA is now a force to be reckoned with, in the House of Representatives, at least. And the media seems intent on making the Socialists the face of the party. Doubtless, the DSA members in the House will, like AOC herself, receive attention by the press that far outweighs their influence. But people will constantly see their faces on television and, if they’re not thinking, conclude that how often you’re on TV is a factor of how powerful you are in the halls of Congress. And, just like everyone is convinced we’re in the worst economy ever because they keep being told that, people will come to conclude that these fresh young faces must be the future of the Democrat Party. Otherwise, why give them all ths attention? It’s a classic case of asking: are you famous because your on TV, or are you on TV because you’re famous? People will see these boobs on their boob tube and conclude, “Well, they must be doing something influential to get all this attention!”
In what direction will the Democrat Party now move? One thing is for sure: the days of blaming Trump for everything that goes wrong are over. Now that the American voter has voted them into office, they’ll expect results and, if this election is anything like the last election, will switch back to the Republicans faster than you can say, “How come prices aren’t coming down?” Now that they’ll be in control of both houses of Congress, the Democrats can’t just run an “Orange Man Bad!” campaign, anymore. Now they have to do something!
What will they do? I haven’t the foggiest notion. And, honestly, I’m not sure they do, either.
The other big winner from last night’s election? Antisemitism. When a man who refused to condemn the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp, a para-military group that commits acts of terror and murder against Jews and against protesters in Iran, gets elected to the U.S. Senate by such a wide margin, what inspiration will the colleges and universities have to act against the rise of antisemitism on their campuses. They may reasonably surmise that Trump is defanged when it comes to his power to act against these institutions. Those protesting in the streets in favor of Hamas surely found comfort in the results of the senatorial election in Michigan. The DSA is rabidly antisemitic, and last night proved they could win big, at least in heavily Democrat districts. That ought to make Democrats, and Jews, think a little.
Harold Ford Jr and my sister, Kathy, both of whom I respect, say the Republicans lost because Trump made two promises he failed to keep: to reduce the cost of living, and keep us out of war. Maybe they’re right. J.D. Vance says the war with Iran is the reason we lost. Interesting, because we’ve lost very few servicemen in the war. The main complaint about the war is that it’s the reason gas prices are so high. So, basically, the American people are such spoiled brats that they’re willing to tolerate a world where Iran has a nuclear weapon if it means keeping gas price below $3.00/gallon. Yep. That’s where we are as a nation.
The reality is, our economy is in good shape. But people who watch the mainstream media are constantly being told that the economy is horrible. GDP growth last quarter was a more than respectable 3.4%. The cost of a new home has stabilized. Some groceries are more expensive, some are less so. The unemployment rate is 4.2%, which is considered full employment. Weekly and hourly wages have increased 3.1% to 3.6% over the last year, while inflation has risen 3.7%. So, higher than wage the increase, but no where close to the 4.95% average during the Biden years, never mind the 9.1% rate of 2022 (just four years ago, remember?). That’s a 0.1% to 0.6% gap between wage increase and inflation. In 2022, the gap was 4.3%. We’re doing okay, people.
My biggest disappointment with Trump is on immigration. He said he was going to deport the gangbangers, the cartel members, the violent criminals and those who are here to game the system. That’s where his focus was going to be. Instead, he’s cast a wide net that, in my view, takes resources away from focusing on the “bad hombres,” as FOX loves to call them, and puts too many resources into catching and deporting people who came here to improve their lives and have no intention of participating in gangs, drugs, or violence. Apparently, a lot of other people felt the same way. We don’t have to choose between open borders and arresting nuns on the street as they walk to Mass. We can have a sensible immigration policy where we get rid of the criminals and create a path to legalization for those who came here for a better life. Trump failed on that, too. Personally, I don’t think the cost of living is so exorbitant that it merited the Republicans getting such a beating, and I think paying a bit more at the pump is worth a world where Iran doesn’t have a nuclear weapon. But Trump’s support for IVF and his out of control immigration policy is where I draw my line.
My sister, Kathy, again, had an interesting observation. Many of the younger people who are voting for the first time may be intrigued by those who call themselves Democratic Socialists. Why? Because they grew up, not in a nation with a socialist economy, but in homes that practiced a socialist economy. Consider how many entitled young people there are out there who think the government should pay for evertything from college tuition at the best Ivy League school and put food on their table. Why? Because their parents did. Rather than making them earn their allowance, they were given their allowance. Rather than having to get a job and pay for their own car, insurance, and gas, many were supported in these items by their parents. Many lived at home rent free. Do you see why so many young people are so enamored of socialism? Because those are the economic conditions they grew up under in their own mommies and daddies. They think socialism will work because they believer the government is evrerbody’s daddy.
Something has to give. We cannot go on every two years expressing our fickle dissatisfaction with whichever party is in power, only to be dissappointed again two years later at the party we just elected into power. That center won’t hold. The politicians, Republicans and Democrats, need to focus on getting things done rather than on attempts to destroy the other party when they get into power. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) has not learned that lesson. On the day after the election, he’s promising to issue so many subpeonas to high tech strongmen that the country will have to grow a new forest for all the paper they use up. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) has told Trump and those in his administration to “lawyer up!” because they plan to practice lawfair against the Republicans after their victory – because that’s exactly why Americans voted for them!
With that attitude, I can’t see how we will fail to see another major dustup in 2028 – for the Republicans.
Be Christ for all. Bring Christ to all. See Christ in all.
