Bob Maistros‘The Red Wave.”
If you’ve been watching Fox News and frequenting conservative websites the last few weeks (and this commentator admits he does more than his share of both), you were hearing how Republicans were going to have another one of those massive 2010-style seat pickups in the House.
Win 56 seats in the Senate.
Celebrate upsets in Michigan and even New York governors’ mansions.
Yeah, right. Fox News commentators (yeah, doing it again) in the wee hours of Wednesday morning were struggling to justify salvaging at least a “Red Ripple.”
Turned out to be a Red Puddle. Of blood.
The most heard words during the network’s coverage of this Tuesday night massacre were “Republicans were hoping” and “Republicans thought.” Hoping and thinking, nothing. More like spiking the ball before they got to the goal line.
Face it. If, as a party, you can’t run up the score against …
- the worst, fakest and possibly least-popular first-term president in the history of the United States who has burdened America with the highest inflation in decades, crippled the world’s once-dominant energy industry, embarrassed and weakened his country on the world stage and cried “all-ee all-ee in-free” at the border
- an accidental governor who insisted in a debate that she didn’t understand why crime was so important to her opponent when even an MSNBC anchor confronted her about not feeling safe on her state’s biggest city’s streets
- another hopeless governor who pursued nonsense, inconsistent and ultimately tyrannical shutdown policies on COVID and openly lied in her own debate about the extent of her lockdowns of public schools
- a Senate incumbent whose ex-wife stated on camera that he ran over her foot with a car during a domestic dispute and who was charged with covering up child sexual abuse
- utterly, completely and totally gobsmackingly, a Senate candidate so crippled by a stroke that he opened a debate by wishing the viewing audience “good night” and took both sides on fracking…
… then a) either you’ll never be able to do so b) you’re not very good at politics, for politicians or c) and this commentator’s vote, both.
With multiple omelets’ worth of eggs spread across the faces of the masters of the Grand Old Party – and especially its most recent occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue – one recalls the lament of legendary Yankee manager Casey Stengel when he was demoted to babysitting the then-expansion crosstown Mets: “Can’t anyone here play this game?”
Except … it turns out there is one guy who can.
One guy who in the face of the Great GOP Washout, pulled off a stunning, near-20-point win and turned a purple state bright scarlet in the process, pulling his party’s U.S. senator and four new Republican House members across the finish line with him on his powerful coattails.
One guy who, as has been pointed out on these pages, has demonstrated himself to be a “skillful operator of the machinery of government and political trench warrior” and “no-holds-barred, take-on-all-comers battler.” Who held off the COVID cops, fearlessly stomped the most influential business force in his realm when it questioned his positions, and has conclusively shown, as he claimed in his victory speech, that his state is “where woke comes to die.”
One guy who, in particular, had the guts to put up with nationwide vilification in pursuing the political “stunt” of transporting illegal immigrants headed to his state to a smug “sanctuary” stronghold – and was rewarded with majority approval on the part of Hispanics.
And one guy who has now, more than ever, earned the right to be entrusted with the future of his once-again stumbling, bumbling Stupid Party and just perhaps, as he has done in the Sunshine State, make it, and America, smart – and free – again.
The Donald, whose endorsed candidates led the MAGA movement to an epic faceplant, should change the subject of the planned Nov. 15 announcement he had the temerity to announce on the eve of an election in which he was not – technically – on the ballot.
He should get up, take a bow and accept the thanks of a grateful party for its new, middle-America-focused direction, and immediately get off the stage in favor of a new people’s champion.
Because after Tuesday’s bloodbath – everywhere but in his state – more than ever, the GOP is Ronald Dion DeSantis’ party now.
Bob Maistros is a messaging and communications strategist, crisis specialist, and former political speechwriter. He can be reached at bob@rpmexecutive.com.
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Using these vague “policy violations,” Google is now threatening to demonetize us. It’s part of Big Tech’s effort to silence conservative voices.
I smell TDS here. We all knew they would cheat. Now what ?
“Now what?”
Continue to suffer, that’s what. If you can’t beat a party that has destroyed the savings, safety and well-being of Americans, you can’t beat anyone.
It was a red wave here in ND, but that’s probably a given.
It looks like people voted with their feet before the election. What was left behind in the failed states was the flotsam that relies on socialism to support their sorry existence.
The GOP never fully accepted Trump. It’s DeSantis’ turn. Time for Trump to help DeSantis’ become 47. Trump’s time has passed.
I totally disagree with you. He knows his state, He has no foreign policy, no business background, no dealings with world leaders, what he does have is great knowledge of running a state, nothing mor e. He is young and in four years he will be so much more tuned into world affairs, nukes, threats to our country etc. RIght now he is good for hurricanes and weather related catastrophes to his state. IF HE STABS DJT, THE MAN WHO OUT HIM WHERE HE IS THEN HE IS A WORM, BUT I DO NOT THING HE IS THAT, I think he is an honorable man, who knows he is young and can use these four years as a learning experience.
The Republican Party is disappointed and ghosts of its leaders haunt the morgue. I am a retired pathologist and I will conduct the postmortem examination. The usual Y-shaped incision and breastplate removal exposes an arrhythmic heart no longer pulsing strongly. The lungs are devoid of inspiration. Extending the incision in a midline direction reveals a tightly knotted anxiety-ridden gut plagued by doubts about all manner of policies and electoral approaches. Removal of the skullcap shows a fevered brain with distinct signs of political Brownian Motion, that is to say, abundant criticism of Democrats that voters rejected in numbers.
The body may be shocked back to life and reinvigorated if leaders are replaced by a wiser cadre of center-right politicos. They should value election integrity, cut ties to Donald Trump and all his denying acolytes, and maintain First Amendment freedoms for a melting pot of diverse hues while rejecting mandates favoring a color-coded society with enhanced opportunities for some. While Mr. Trump’s policies are superior to the woke Democratic platform, voters in this sharply polarized electorate did not agree, relegating an anticipated red wave to a mere ripple if even that. The problem is the abusive and loud Mr. Trump who, even though a very stable genius, finds only 15% of the general electorate of like mind. If he hangs around sniping at fellow Republicans, a dominant GOP victory will never ensue.
Typical GOP loser talk. The GOP won the House, and looks to have the Senate by at least 2 seats (no thanks to Mitch McConnell, who lavished GOP money attacking a GOP Native American in Alaska). Only GOP idiots and the biased media could call wining the House and Senate a loss. Not the hoped for tsunami or red wave, but a positive outcome on the national level. Out West, Arizona and Nevada seem poised to be all red instead of blue. DeSantis was no-where to be seen in the West. Trump was out there in 2022 like Nixon in 1966 promoting candidates prior to his big comeback. Nixon was also opposed by the GOP establishment of his day. Cheney and Pence all struck out in Arizona during the primaries, and DeSantis stayed home because he is smart enough to know this is not his time to run for president. It is Trump’s party, because he helped get people elected, much like Nixon in 1966. Marco Rubio knows who’s the boss and recognizes a winner when he sees one, which is why he called in Trump rather than DeSantis for a last-minute Miami election rally.
Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Gretchen Whitmer, California’s Newsom and even cyborg Fetterman would mop the floor with DeSantis in a presidential race. A big victory as governor in a red state is meaningless. DeSantis could never win key electoral states such as Michigan or Pennsylvania or any blue states. Those states liked the lockdowns, mandatory vaxxing, etc. DeSantis’ brand of freedom is not their cup of tea. Head to head, I doubt DeSantis could beat Rubio, Cruz or Pence in a primary, much less Trump.
Trump pulled DeSantis over the line in 2018 and then Ron was smart enough to follow Trump’s trend of slamming ‘rules of the game’. I revere DeSantis, but he will belong to multinational donors. Trump won’t. A very large hat tip to DeSantis for shoring up his state’s election system among his other great feats, but I am only surprised he didn’t win by 30 points against dead-beat Crist.
Conservative media believed their own analysis and they can own it along with their state republican parties not shoring up their state elections systems; funny how the exact same areas are now dealing with ballot harvesting as in 2020.
Kari Lake, Finchem, and Masters will win in AZ, Boebert will win in CO, we now have four more seats in NY and others in CA. NV will flip red, Trump pulled Vance over the line in OH. Without Trump we are looking at 43 Senate seats, team; the Senate is actually in play.
Ron doesn’t have the money or the experience to win against the Democrat smear machine without the support of Trump supporters, and attempts to use him on the part of Never Trump RINO’s will only split the GOP and insure we lose in 2024. How about first fixing the electoral mess, then orient our party to the wants and needs of middle and working class.voters.of every hue, like DJT did? There will be plenty of time for sedan this in 2028 and 2032, and 12 years of good governance is a whole lot better than a 2024 cage match and 12 years more of “Radical Transformation”.
Yes, there were some expected problems. There were some significant irregularities in PA, AZ, and MI. Pennsylvanians elected not only a mentally infirm Senator, they also elected a dead person. Two ciphers to be replaced by people of the elite’s liking.
But there is also a demographic problem with the 18-29 crowd voting heavily D against anyone else’s interests. They aren’t concerned with inflation eroding the savings of others. They don’t know anything about the economy or its energy lifeblood. They have magical thoughts and fantasy worries that align well with a demented party.
However, there was/is plenty of good news. There were red waves in many locales. The GOP had some national gains but it is beyond apparent that lots of its leadership should now show some humility and cooperation or be shown the door. This is somewhat like 1978 in my view.