OPINION:
It has been a week since the midterm election debacle that has put Democrats in charge of Congress and many governorships and state legislatures, but questions about how it happened will likely persist for some time.
If the elections had been solely about the many achievements of the Trump administration — including closing the border, deporting criminals and cutting taxes — then Republicans would likely have won. Instead, Republicans fielded weak candidates, picked mostly by President Trump to satisfy his corrosive personality and need to be worshipped.
These candidates turned off many voters, who were more concerned with gas and food prices and the president’s vacillation on Iran.
People were interested in these podcasts
Chief among the reasons Republicans lost, I think, was their failure to recall a line from British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher: “First you win the argument, then you win the vote.”
The problem for Republicans this cycle was that they not only failed to win the argument but also never made the argument and thus lost the vote.
Odious Republican TV ads that ran back to back with equally obnoxious Democratic ads mentioned little about issues at the top of voters’ minds. Candidates mostly attacked their opponents and made promises voters knew they could not keep.
Each candidate called the other everything but an American. Our real enemies are not subject to such vile words.
My reaction to these ads was to hit the mute button and look away. I suspect I was not alone.
According to OpenSecrets, nearly $12 billion was spent on this campaign, including a $445 million donation from Elon Musk. In Texas, more than half a billion dollars was spent overall, with Mr. Musk contributing heavily through aligned outside spending groups. That $12 billion total exceeds the annual discretionary budget authority of several individual Cabinet-level federal departments combined.
No amount of money can replace good ideas and good character. This year’s election should finally prove that. The consultants who claim that negative ads win should not be hired for the 2028 contest, but will likely be, unfortunately.
Back to Thatcher, who believed that lasting political change could not be achieved solely through short-term maneuvering or superficial public relations. She embraced ideological clarity and deep preparation over consensus-driven, or reactive, politics.
In the past, whether a candidate was “soft on communism” was sometimes a winning issue for Republicans. Still, the past — even the recent past — is not enough.
Young people today did not experience the Cold War, Soviet communism or the threat of nuclear annihilation. Think of this: A new generation has grown up since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Students are being taught things, especially at liberal universities, contrary to the economic, political, social and moral standards that have sustained this country through what my parents’ generation called “thick and thin.”
Reaching younger people was what Charlie Kirk was doing with great success until he was murdered. Kirk visited college campuses with his “Prove Me Wrong” tour. Through rational argument and deconstructing the false beliefs students had been taught, Kirk was changing minds. That contributed to the intense hostility toward him from some on the left who worried that he might peel away a significant part of their base.
Republicans cannot take for granted that the ideas of previous generations will automatically be accepted by younger people. These individuals get their “news” mostly from TikTok and other social media platforms. Many also seem to succumb to pressure from friends to conform to a secular-progressive ideology.
A TV ad for Progressive Insurance has the tagline: “Progressive can’t protect you from becoming your parents.”
Given that my parents and grandparents lived by different standards than those of today’s entitlement generation, becoming like those people is looking better all the time.
First, however, Republicans must make and then win the argument.
• Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book, “A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America” (Humanix Books).
Follow the author
Please read our comment policy before commenting.