Just Wait ‘Til Next Election!

Don’t count your votes before they’re cast

Year after year, fans of struggling sports teams say, “Just wait ‘til next year” with the hopes that next year those teams will get better. And as a New York Yankees fan, I’ve been saying that right now, and spring training games haven’t even started! The same can be said of Republicans right now. They’ve just had their butts handed to them by the Democrats in two straight elections, but they’re already eyeing 2010 as the year that they’ll take back Congress.

Yeah, about that…I’m not convinced yet that the Republicans will mount a successful campaign to unseat Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. It’s possible, but Republicans are going to have to get serious, and soon. If there are any members of the RNC reading this, pay close attention so you will have an idea of the pitfalls that await you if you remain complacent. And if there are any members of the DNC reading this, I’ll try to type slower.

- Don’t count on Democrats to screw up. I know Democrats making mistakes is as natural as breathing, but it’s not a guarantee. If Republicans want to regain Congress, they need to set the pace and the agenda. Waiting for Democrats to make a mistake does neither and gives Democrats a chance to spin their way out of the mistakes they’ll make. Of course, if Joe Biden sees a TV camera and a microphone, the Democrats will be spinning so much, the estate of Enrico Fermi will be suing for copyright infringement.

- Conventional wisdom sometimes isn’t. It’s become a standard of politics that the political party out of power in the White House makes gains during off-year elections. (If that’s the case, the Green Party should really clean up in 2010.) It usually happens, but it doesn’t always. Remember the 2002 elections? Democrats were crowing about how many seats they’d pick up because they just knew they’d win. Yeah, and what did that get them? Nothing. When it comes to modern politics, conventional wisdom can lead to unconventional foolishness. Like letting Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi lead anything more complex than the Pledge of Allegiance.

- The media aren’t your friends. As much fun as Sunday morning public affair/news/shouting match programs can be, Republicans have to realize that the media aren’t often going to give them a fair shake. For years, John McCain was a darling of the Sunday talk show set because he was a “maverick.” (In other words, he bashed Republicans as often as they did.) When McCain became the 2008 Republican candidate, he went from media darling to muttering doofus as the media hung on the Obamessiah’s every word. That won’t change any time soon. Get used to being bashed in the media, but be ready to strike back. Just a piece of advice: in the world of the Internet, you shouldn’t be using a telegraph to respond to attacks. And I’m saying that as controlling interest holder of the American Telegraph Company.

- You lost your fiscal credibility. Like it or not, Republicans are getting blamed for the current state of the economy. And, like it or not, there’s more than a little truth to it. I’d say you spent money like drunken sailors, but I don’t want to insult Navy personnel who need AA. (They have a reputation for being mean drunks and they have access to explosives.) You guys presided over boondoggle after boondoggle, pork-laden bill after pork-laden bill. That’s not limiting the size and scope of government; that’s making it blow up like an M-80 on the Fourth of July. Get back to your roots, and you’ll find Republicans coming out to vote for you.

- Stop letting moderates run the party. For the longest time, Republican moderates have wanted to get the reins of power to show the rest of the party how to win elections. So, in 2008, Republicans let moderates run the party…into the ground. When moderates run the party, GOP stands for “Going Outlandishly Progressive.” Listen, if I wanted to vote for a Democrat, I’d vote for a Democrat! Don’t force me to choose between a left-leaning moron who thinks global warming is manmade and a Democrat who thinks global warming is manmade.

- Running against Obama is a loser. I’m not saying Barack Obama will win in 2012. What I’m saying is running against him in 2010 will not help the GOP. At the end of the day, the press may be critical of Obama, but they will circle the wagons to save him from the evil Republicans. What they might not be so willing to do is cover for the Congressional Democrats, especially if they start undercutting the President’s agenda for personal reasons. In other words, if they act like themselves. The Republican Party should keep the focus away from Obama and put it firmly on the Congressional Democrats if they want to win in 2010.

As much as we hope our favorite teams do well, we must keep in mind that it takes work to actually get better. (And in the case of the Detroit Lions, it may take an act of God.) Elections are the same way. If you don’t put in the work, you can’t expect to win. Unless you’re Al Franken, then ACORN does the work for you, but you get the idea. For Republicans to mount a credible challenge to Democrat control of Congress in 2010, they’re going to have to figure out a strategy now to do it. And if it means not having to hear Lindsey Graham say “Just wait ‘til next election,” all the better.

And that’s the Bottom Line.

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