By Jeffrey A. Rendall
What makes perfect sense to the “big picture” crowd is alien to narrow single issue people
Don’t you see it?
Hold up a picture to friends you know and ask them to describe what they see and chances are they’ll provide just about as many different responses as there are people in the room. In other words, what might be obvious to you may not register with someone else.
Such is the case with the Donald Trump-led Republican party of late, the current majority faction acting as though the issue picture they’re displaying to the general public matches what’s on the minds of citizens “out there” regarding the political state of being.
Need an example? I filled up my gas tank at Costco the other day and took note, as I always do, of how much the box store retailer demanded for a gallon of fuel. The little window indicated a few cents less than four bucks, which is more than what it was when I last filled up – and significantly lower than the asking price in much of the country. So yeah, gas is expensive and causing pain to lots of buyers.
That’s bad news for the sound economics-touting Republicans. I’m not sure how else you’d slice it. But there are those who believe that basic common sense, along with the sorry example of Democrat rule in notable places, will make the difference when Americans go to vote in the coming weeks. Or on Election Day.
In an opinion piece titled, “Midterm elections no longer GOP v. Dems, but common sense v. chaos”, insightful political observer Joe Concha wrote at the Washington Examiner this week:
“[W]ith New York as a preview of things to come if Democrats gain back power, and with previous macro examples of failed states from the Soviet Union to Cuba to Venezuela to the aforementioned North Korea, the argument should be a relatively easy one for Republicans to make.
“The problem for the Red Team is that the current state of the economy is a mixed bag, with its most glaring problem advertised on every street corner with a gas station. The cost of gas sits at about $4.50 per gallon.
“Democrats have seized on the issue, arguing that they know how to make everything, including gas, more affordable despite inflation sitting above 9% during Biden’s second year while Democrats controlled the House and Senate. And if we’re talking about the Democratic Socialists of America platform, it calls for all fossil fuel production to be eliminated, along with all offshore drilling — not exactly the proper remedy for bringing down gas prices.”
No, it’s not. Americans who pay attention to news and events readily remember what it was like when Democrats were in control of things, and these voters wouldn’t dream of making the same mistake again. Common sense is our ally.
But 9 percent inflation in 2022 might as well be a century ago in elections/campaign terms.
And I hate to point this out – again — but with consumer prices the way they are these days, I’m not sure if “common sense” could supplant the sense of dread marginal voters confront when pondering electing Democrats in their districts.
Why? It’s common sense, really. With gasoline and diesel levies remaining where they’ve been for months – or worse – there’s no way to alleviate the pressure folks feel in their daily budgets. This is what they see. Democrats don’t offer solutions. All they do is criticize. But with the pessimistic attitude Americans already harbor towards politicians, together with the persistent drumbeat of high costs — it doesn’t take a whole lot to send the negativity train well on its way down the tracks with an election pending.
It’s the main reason I’ve suggested Republicans might help themselves by improving the way they frame issues. It’s a bit redundant to restate it, but President Trump’s braggadocio regarding his accomplishments isn’t helping change the subject to more forward-thinking topics where Republicans feel better about things.
Trump continues insisting that Iran’s capability of holding out is in its final stages, but there are few discernible signs – at least to American voters – that the end to the impasse is near in the Middle East.
Awful elf-like Arizona Democrat Senator Mark Kelly said the other day that there’s no “exit strategy” in Iran. Kelly threw in Trump’s tariffs as the reason for consumers paying more at the checkout line.
Does it matter? Americans don’t listen to the predictable Democrats. What the whiners say doesn’t really matter a whole lot. It’s just a chorus of white noise that fades into the background almost before the words are spoken. But they do listen to Trump. The president’s persona and unavoidable personality won’t allow folks to just tune him out.
Not that they should. With Congress failing to pass a host of meaningful improvements for Americans, President Trump is the only one who appears to be doing something to move the proverbial needle in ways Americans can see. Senate Republicans have squandered numerous chances to make headway on the SAVE America Act, etc. They haven’t fulfilled their mission.
“Throw me a bone!” — conservatives have proverbially shouted. Can’t you pass something the people want? It’d help immensely for Republican candidates to be able to make the case that the future looks brighter in some important and meaningful ways. Conservatives and MAGA-backers are onboard with Trump and the GOP, but Independents demand something more.
The fact Republicans have decided to go all-in with making this year’s vote all about Trump’s accomplishments and promises of more and more “winning” is riskier and riskier, particularly if surveys show non-Trump supporters and a healthy percentage of establishment Republicans aren’t buying the “more of the same” pitch of the pro-Trump enthusiasts.
President Trump is the consummate eternal optimist and his supporting cast of spokespeople and cabinet members have been well-schooled in the Trump-ian “sun is always shining, never retreat” mode of issue shaping, but the message isn’t hitting home with practical people who weigh the facts and figures of their own situations and don’t automatically defer to the cheerful side of the equation.
It doesn’t mean they’ll elect Democrats. Democrats are beyond redemption. They’re leaderless, petulant obstructionists who defer to their de facto “It’s Trump’s fault” argument for everything that goes wrong. It’s not encouraging when Democrats’ best case for giving them a majority is their “We’re not Trump” method of campaigning.
Nor does it make sense to side with the “just clam up and vote” faction of anti-quitters who settle on the “Democrats are so heinous that people should just get over themselves.”
Looking at the big picture, one wonders if Trump might have folded on the notion of keeping the majority after the midterms and instead is focusing on the 2028 presidential race. Not to entertain the idea that he’d run again, but to put Republicans in the best possible position to sustain the MAGA movement he started in 2016 after he’s left office.
Trump is no fool, but he must realize the chances of keeping every iota of political power in the current environment is a longshot at best.
The president must realize that the second half of his second term agenda will face many of the same political obstacles that it now encounters. Even if Republicans managed to maintain total control of Congress, major initiatives will most certainly be blocked by the close-to-even Democrat numbers in the House and Senate.
Republicans would still not have the power to ditch the filibuster in Trump’s final two years, and the advisability of doing so diminishes when the chances of getting everything they asked for goes down accordingly.
Of course, the newfound House Democrat majority would overreach, as they always do. The more they pile on Trump for his personal weaknesses (if there are any), the less effective they’ll be in assailing his issue positions.
Further, by relentlessly attacking Trump personally, Democrats will have provided him the perfect foil to set a contrast for 2028. Since control of Congress will likely swing back and forth with the political winds, the medium-term future is important for Trump’s legacy, maybe even more so than guaranteeing another two years of gridlock under the current scenario.
Is it common sense? Perhaps not, but the political winds seem to be blowing against Republicans in 2026 and there isn’t much they can do to reverse them. The time for countering the deranged Democrats has dwindled and it’s all we can do to find a silver lining among the darker parts of the cloud. Trump’s “bring out the base” strategy is set. Will it prevail?
Jeff Rendall is editor and publisher of GolfintheUSA.com and has written about golf and politics for over a quarter of a century. A non-practicing attorney from California, he moved to the east coast three decades ago to pursue and combine his interests in all things American history and culture. Jeff has worked as an intern on Capitol Hill and in various capacities in grassroots organizing and conservative organizations and publications, including a nearly two-decade stint at ConservativeHQ.com. Column republishing or other inquiries: Rendall@msn.com .