“Oft expectation fails and most oft there where most it promises.” Shakespeare, All’s Well that Ends Well
What have we learned from Election 2022?
We know Donald Trump won in 2016 largely by bringing out voters who had given up on the process. That was why it was such a surprise: They were a demographic not on anyone’s radar screen. I wonder if the Roe decision brought out a similar cohort of previously-discouraged non-voters on the left to blunt the “Red Wave” and leave the GOP marooned on Loser Island.
More Crime, More Inflation, More Open Borders, More Wars, More Failure…
Meanwhile, Biden and the Democrat will stay the disastrous course and double down on their failed policies:
Joe Biden said he’ll do ‘nothing’ differently after the midterm elections because he’s ‘confident these policies are working’: ‘I’m not gonna change’
Lauren Boebert: Fallen MAGA Star
In one of her first days on the job, she voted to overturn the election results. Since then, she has picked relentless fights with her Democratic colleagues and heckled President Joe Biden during his 2022 State of the Union address.
She did not pass a single piece of legislation.
Still, Ms Boebert had been considered a shoo-in for re-election on Tuesday, presiding over an area where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by nine points.
Looks to me like voters–including conservative ones–were tired of her BS. Some people elect representatives to actually get things done.
Normie Election?
City Journal: Competence, Not Chaos
If this was a wave election, it might be considered a “normie” wave election. After a pandemic, widespread economic disruption, and years of hyper-polarized conflict in D.C., voters often rewarded candidates with political experience and a record of governing.
If “normie” voters like candidates who (legitimately) affirm the credibility of American elections, they also dislike crime and the appearance of lawlessness. In New York, growing voter anxiety about crime helped make the governor’s race far more competitive than in previous cycles; current tallies show Republican Lee Zeldin at 47 percent of the vote—the highest result for a Republican since George Pataki’s 2002 reelection. Zeldin’s strong performance also probably helped some House candidates over the finish line.
Additionally, DeSantis and Rubio spoke to normie concerns. They are experienced officials with long records in Florida politics. While quite willing to advance the ball in a populist-conservative direction (on education, for instance), DeSantis has also shown himself a skilled administrator.
The Trump years brought disruption: His own shaking up the system, as well as Democrats’ heavy-handed destruction of schools and the economy during the covid panic. Normies are looking for accomplishments and normalcy. I was nodding my head at this conclusion:
While Republicans tried to harness popular dissatisfaction with inflation and draw on grassroots anger over the excesses of the Covid regime, they also struggled to present themselves as a credible political alternative to Democrats. Notably weak and inexperienced candidates in gubernatorial and senatorial battlegrounds aggravated this problem. Even if voters weren’t happy with Biden, they were also wary of Republicans.
What say you?