Nearly 11pm Pacific on the 9th and we still don’t know the NV and AZ results! Why? Because Democrats are in charge and they’re trying to figure out if it’ll be close enough to “find” just enough votes to push them over the top. Don’t fret too much about this – it has to be less than a thousand or so at this point for that to work. I don’t think it will be – but, yes, both States could disappoint.
As of now (or, at least, a couple hours ago when they last updated) Lake’s people are abundantly confident as are Laxalt’s (though I have my doubts about Laxalt – he is seriously underperforming vs Lombardo). Can’t find anything directly from Masters’ or Lombardo’s people. For AZ, it is all Maricopa, for NV it is the drop-off votes in Clark and Washoe counties. And in NV, it is a matter of whether those remaining Clark and Washoe votes will cancel out the incandescent Red vote in the rest of the State? We’ll find out – but it may still be days away. As for me, if we do end up winning NV and AZ, I’ll call 2022 a victory. Not nearly as much as I would have liked, but a W is a W, right?
As of this moment in time, the GOP also leads in the overall House popular vote by 6 percentage points. That will likely shrink a bit as more of California is counted, but we are on track to win the popular vote for the House. This is meaningless because each district is first past the post, but the bottom line is, guys, we came close. How close? Well, in NV-01 the Democrat won by 28 points in 2020…looks like it’ll be 3 or 4 after all the votes are counted. Think about that shift! And it was like that pretty much all over the country – we lost narrowly. Even in Blue New York, Zeldin came so close that it looks like he carried the GOP to 4 House seat flips and ended the Democrats supermajority in the State Senate.
So, that helps – also hurts. We came that close and then didn’t get nearly what we wanted. Lots of reasons are being offered for it: lingering mistrust of Trump by Indies, abortion motivating single females (in the demographics of married men and women and unmarried men, the GOP won – but we got blasted to oblivion by single females), poor candidates in some area, the GOP misdirecting resources (even if Masters wins in AZ, it is now clear that McConnell was wrong – to the point of wickedness – in pulling RNC funds from his race), excellent Democrat effort to rake in early votes…on and on and on. Nobody is going to find the One Cause and anyone who claims they have is blowing smoke. It was everything. It was a team fail. The actual votes show we could easily have got to a Red Tsunami. We didn’t do it right.
My big takeaways are these:
First: Zeldin showed that “out of reach” is a relative thing. Honestly, he probably lost because of the number of GOP votes which fled NY for the South over the past two years. But that he still came close – and there were GOP turnout fails in many NY counties – shows that we should have been pressing NY all along. To be sure, we’re not going to win San Francisco, but we simply must start thinking in terms of fighting all over the country. Find the candidates. Find the issues that matter to the locals. Tailor the message to those issues. Sure, in Blue areas we won’t prevail often…but that the GOP is likely to have a House majority is due to Zeldin’s glorious failure. How many House seats did we leave on the table Tuesday because we simply didn’t try in certain “out of reach” States?
Second: I’ve hit on this before but we’re way past the time when we can win majorities by quoting Madison. Especially to the young who almost certainly weren’t told anything relevant or true about him in school. The plain fact of the matter is that youth is against us and if we wait for them to age and move right (as they always do) then it might be too late. We have to grab, say, 40% of them right now. We have to find the plan for student debt (at least make it dischargable in bankruptcy), speak to their concerns, start finding some Right-minded (though likely more anarchist-libertarian) Tik-Tok types who are wiling to talk up that we’re for freedom. We must cease thinking of the Welfare State as something we can dismantle overnight. It won’t happen that way. And as we can’t immediately get rid of it and the money will continue to be spent, we should work out ways where we spend it better than the Democrats do. Promise the goodies; gain the power; insert the MAGA reforms which will eventually negate the need for the goodies. But don’t talk “cuts”! Talk “corruption” and “wasted money”. I’ll bet you any money that half the Department of Education budget can be shown to be waste…tell the kiddies about it, promise that if they vote for us, there will be even more money for them…get the power, fire the Commie bureaucrats and start pressing colleges to become intellectually diverse. See where I’m going?
I have to say that I am disappointed but encouraged as well. We clearly have things to work out. Probably best at the moment we didn’t win because I don’t think we’re fit to govern: we have to figure out ourselves first. Also: things are going to go from bad to worse over the next 18 months and I don’t want our fingerprints on it. Let Pudding Brain and the Democrats have it.
Blogs For Victory 
How many times have we all said that GOP candidates need to campaign in uncomfortable areas?? The conservative message needs to be heard in deep urban areas and we need the right messenger to do that … but I think we have that now. I am very happy with the new young conservative talent out there from Maya Flores to John James to Winsome Sears, to Kari Lake, conservatives have the best young talent and we need to show it off.
The steal is definitely on in NV and AZ but I don’t think they can pull it off. They are all being watched very closely and in AZ, the outstanding remaining ballots will break heavily for Lake and Masters so I am confident about AZ.
We have to reach a broader newer audience, so let’s be the first party to jettison the octogenarians – McConnell, Grassley, Romney, Collins, etc., etc. all have to go. Now. Bring up Hawley, Rubio, Cruz, MTG, into leadership and let’s go young. The Democrats have no bench and are still a party dominated by the Clinton’s, Pelosi’s, Biden’s, Schumer’s etc. Let’s make the Democrat Party old and outdated. Also let’s make conservatism fun and even sexy. Democrats are the party of misery – every issue they harp on is negative and depressing – climate change, abortion, minimum wage, gender fluidity, foreign wars, etc. EVERY ISSUE Democrats preach is depressing and “buzzkills” – Let’s turn this around because conservatism is LIFE and JOY. We are the party that can bring happiness through more individual freedoms, small business/free market economies, entrepreneurism, high wages, secure border, no wars, low crime, low cost of living, etc., etc..
This has to stop …. Trump didn’t sabotage anything – that’s simply a ruling class narrative that we have to stop playing. Trump is just one mortal man who did some amazing things for this country and awakened a movement. Let’s celebrate that. If anyone is to blame – it’s McConnell.
‘We’ve got a Trump problem’: Senior GOP figures line up to knife ex-President for ‘sabotaging’ GOP’s expected ‘red wave’ by backing ‘hardcore MAGA candidates’ over traditional Republicans
And that’s a hard NO to “traditional Republicans” – we need America first candidates ONLY. And we need term limits which should allow enough time for someone to learn the process, gain influence, and make a difference, but no more “career politicians”
The fact is, unfair as it is, that anti-Trump sentiment can still be played to shift votes.
He is a good man who was a great president, but the combination of his threat level to the Left and his quirks combined to make it possible for the most vile, vicious and unprincipled personal attack in history to be effective. I hate it, but that’s what we have to deal with. And the best way to deal with it is to have him go away.
Not meekly—-I’d love to see him give a national barn-burner speech saying that he has been the target of the most savage and unprincipled attack on an individual in our history, and that sadly this has influenced a lot of people to vote against their own best interests because they thought they were voting against him. To say that very few people actually voted FOR Joe Biden, but enough people voted against HIM to plunge this nation into crippling inflation, dangerously diminished national security and damage to our economy that will take years if not decades to repair. Not play the victim card but say how shameful it is that some people put getting rid of him ahead of the welfare of this country. Not act like he was the savior of the nation, but point out the damage done to our society by creating so much hatred and divisiveness—and come right back to the fact that this resulted in the nation getting the most dangerous and inept president in its history, who has to be led around like a child because he can’t even find his way off a podium.
He could take the high ground and say that after seeing what anti-Trump hatred has done to this country he realizes that his love for the country tells him he should step aside and deprive the rabid haters of the target they have used so successfully to convince people to stop thinking of the best way to govern the nation because they were thinking of the best way to thwart one man.
He could rip the Left and maybe even embarrass a lot of anti-Trump voters. He could say that an emotional reaction against him, fed by the Agenda Media, saddled this country with a senile and disreputable leader who has put us on the brink of failure in many areas. He could name names—“Did the people of Pennsylvania really want a Senator who can’t process information or communicate clearly, or did they just want to show that they would not vote for someone I supported? If they trivialized their vote this way then shame on them, but I won’t be part of this kind of thinking any more.”
As we say out here, I’d tell them how the cow ate the cabbage, pulling no punches but not whining or playing victim. He could point out that this is a perfect example of the dangers of collusion between the State and the Media. There’s a lot of brutal truth that can be said best by someone on his way out the door. State-run media, weaponization of federal agencies, abuses of power, corruption at the highest levels including the former Vice President, etc.
He could say that he will not endorse Ron DeSantis, because he will not saddle this fine leader with anything that can be used against him, but that he is happy to know that the nation has someone like this as its future leader.
What has been done to Trump is shameful, and it will someday be the subject of studies on the effectiveness of the Politics of Personal Destruction. But it is what it is, the consequences are clear, and we have to deal with it.
I think a “burn the bridges” speech is in order and I would love to see that. One of my favorite sayings from my Mom was “know which bridges to cross, and which ones to burn”. That being said, I think he announces another run on Tuesday.
Update: Arizona is practicing how to count today. And they’re using all fingers and toes, so expect big progress.
I understand your position and to some extent even agree with it. But to me the most direct, least emotionally charged, path to the White House is to eliminate as many distractions as possible—and I would not even consider this if I didn’t have such a strong conviction that DeSantis can do what Trump would do
It’s so childish that people obsess over one man
The only thing we’re currently stuck with is a demented pedophile, and it’s already ugly.
My prediction is that in just a few more days of counting, Democrats will control the Senate. See how that works?
Have you ever heard of Mitch McConnell? Your binary political thinking is cartoonish.
Republicans will miss an opportunity if they don’t start promoting a Kamala Harris/John Fetterman 2024 ticket. Those two are the best and brightest of Democrats and should be the leaders of their party.
😂😂
AZ & NV are proving the saying – it doesn’t matter who votes, it matters who counts
I’m in Florida…..caught between two hurricanes—and it has been interesting to see the reactions to the election. That is, calm and not surprised to see DeSantis win so big. He is really popular here on the Gulf Coast, and I get the impression that the Left in this state is mostly in Tampa and Miami.
There were lots of street corner demonstrations with people waving flags, mostly DeSantis but a lot of Trump supporters, and lots of pickups driving around with big flags on the back. My Colorado friends and neighbors are disgusted. The feeling is that it hasn’t hit bottom yet, but then to the Dems there is no bottom, nothing that will scare them into pulling their heads out.
There’s a lot to be said about dividing my time between the two sanest states in the country, Wyoming and Florida.
For those who are concerned that this election did not go as hopes, that the country is going in the wrong direction. I read the following quote today and think it gives some perspective.
Do you not think that I can inject goodness at this time that will overcome evil? Do you not see that I can inject truth that shall outweigh the lies? Therefore I say, Do not put your hopes in just a day. For I am not limited to man’s time or to man’s day. I have said, and I say it to you so you will not be moved, this is my terms. This is my turning and believe me,” say the Lord, “you will see that darkness will not prevail. You will see my light will overcome and my truth will have its way and its voice in this day,” says the Lord.
Spook and I often quote Kurt Schlichter, and I’ll do it again. After Trump’s speech yesterday and his second attack on De Santis, Kurt said:
Some might argue that Trump is in an all out war against his electability. I mean what the hell was that today?
It’s starting to look like a president with dementia being challenged by a man with dementia.
My Trump fatigue is growing.
Winsome Sears said it well. After going through Trump’s successes, she said: …a true leader understands when they have become a liability. A true leader understands that it’s time to step off the stage. And the voters have given us that very clear message. Because this is about America.”
My allegiance to Trump has never been based on him as a man, but on him as a leader. And his big mouth and ego are wearing that down pretty quickly
Trump can’t get out of his own way. “What in the hell” was that against DeSantis is exactly right. Completely uncalled for … plus Trump will be another octogenarian soon so that too is another strike.
I still think the best thing the GOP can do is go young, and show a sharp contrast against the Biden’s and Schumer’s etc. and the GOP has a long deep bench of young and up coming talent.
Time to thank Trump for what he did, put him in an advisory role and move on.
Exactly! I’ve been thinking a DeSantis/Noem ticket might be good—two young, dynamic, successful governors with executive experience who don’t take no crap from nobody
Remember, January 6 was a self-inflicted wound caused by a massive ego that just had to have one more big adoring rally to show the world how many people love him. It was clearly a terrible idea—he might as well have advertised for Antifa and every professional rioter and anti-Trump group in the country to come create chaos in his name.
And look at the outcome—-months spent trashing Trump supporters, millions of dollars wasted and Congress providing an anti-Republican venue for nonstop smearing.
J6 was a deep state/media led narrative that Trump walked right into – you’re right about that. Trump should have the awareness to understand what a lightning rod he has become and how that can now have negative impacts on the movement. He stirred up the hornets nest and exposed the unhealthy collusion of the DNC, the Deep State and the Media so he should rejoice in that and hand the baton off to those who will follow in his foot steps .. with a little more decorum.
he should rejoice in that and hand the baton off to those who will follow in his foot steps .. with a little more decorum.
I’m beginning to think he’s not capable of that.
A commenter at Coffee & Covid suggested that Republicans keep the J6th committee, appoint minority members (just as Pelosi did) and appoint GOP members who will try to uncover the truth. I tend to agree.
I tend to agree.
And so do I. They have created a whole narrative of January 6, so we should correct the record.
About student loan money—what about merely making it a requirement that every educational institution has to fund its own student loan programs?
This will mean fewer loans are handed out, as schools will be less inclined to just give money to anyone, and the debtors will have to answer to the schools, not banks or the government.
Right now the schools are basically gambling with our money. We keep handing it out, so anyone can go to school no matter how unqualified, the schools lower their standards to keep the students/money flowing in, then they raise their costs to pad the payrolls of the teachers and administrators, and it’s all a big scam with the taxpayer paying the bill.
Let’s just marinate in the hypocrisy
FOUR HUNDRED private jets arrived in Egypt during COP27 as climate delegates are accused of ‘hypocrisy’
They all live in ocean side mansions and fly privately around the world all the while asking the proletariat to “not keep their homes at 72 degrees and drive our SUV’s”
And people like fielding and casper actually believe this shit.
And people like fielding and casper actually believe this shit.
Sometimes I wonder if they actually do believe it, or if they don’t care if it is true or not because truth and facts don’t play much of a role in their simpleminded ideology of “Dem=good, Republican=bad”.
It’s all a game to them, opportunities to get points by making the snarkiest comments.
As I just quoted from Stilton: Americans had a chance to vote against inflation, skyrocketing energy prices, failing school systems, galloping sexual deviancy, discrimination by skin color, child mutilation, child murder, unsustainable spending, critical race theory (“White people are bad and should go into shallow graves right after they give us their wealth”), collapsing infrastructure, wide open borders, the destruction of personal responsibility, and so very much more – but instead, a preponderance was convinced by celebrities to, um, “vote Blue.” Because they’re morons.
So they voted for high gas prices, inflation, teaching sexual deviancy to children, etc. Because they like and want to encourage these things? Maybe. But given what we have seen of their intellect it is just as likely that they voted for it because the Republicans didn’t. The more I see of them, the more I believe this is the true measure of their political acumen. Or interest.
There Is Something We Don’t Know
Great article
Are people too stupid to know what they are voting for?
YES. It is a branding problem because most people don’t think past the headlines. Take Casper for example, he recently stated his reasons for being a Democrat which boiled down to the same false surface narratives we have heard for decades, and they never change. There is zero objective thought in their emotional reflexes and they never hold anyone accountable. Like you say often, it makes them feel good so they roll with it. That’s all that matters.
Current Americans are half as intelligent and half as courageous as those Americans who came before us and the American concept is in peril because of it.
So the election results are in, sort of, in some places, allegedly, and the Big Red Wave that so many were predicting turned out to be just the same old crimson trickle of blood dripping from Planned Parenthood’s dumpsters.
Americans had a chance to vote against inflation, skyrocketing energy prices, failing school systems, galloping sexual deviancy, discrimination by skin color, child mutilation, child murder, unsustainable spending, critical race theory (“White people are bad and should go into shallow graves right after they give us their wealth”), collapsing infrastructure, wide open borders, the destruction of personal responsibility, and so very much more – but instead, a preponderance was convinced by celebrities to, um, “vote Blue.” Because they’re morons.
None of this was a great shock. I never thought there would be a red wave because it required a willing suspension of disbelief that I just can’t conjure anymore. Was there anything – anything – in our culture, media, or the national moment to suggest that great masses of people would suddenly become less ignorant, selfish, debauched, and debased? Nope! And so “more of the same” was obviously what was coming and, sadly, what is coming for the foreseeable future. And no, Trump can’t change the equation no matter where he grabs it.
It became very starkly clear to me on Election Night that we have to find a way to get people with the intellect of a turnip to vote for us. Democrats do it with very dumbed down lies…we need to do it with dumbed down truth. The least informed decide who wins. It is sad, but there it is – this was, after all, the argument against Democracy and it was correct in that sense.
That is the entire Democrat message – plus, their message is a bald faced lie. We’re going to adjust our true message to the intellectual level of the Swing Voter…we’ll get the Tik Tokers.
Now I’m beginning to wonder if Trump has joined the dark Democrat forces. After all, the Democrat party is the party of billionaires
Trump now goes after Glenn Youngkin: Says Virginia Republican Governor’s last name ‘sounds Chinese’ and insists he couldn’t have ‘come close to winning’ in 2021 without his endorsement – as he ups attacks on GOP and potential 2024 rivals
Melania needs to hit the mute button
He’s making a fool out of himself – not sure what his line of thinking on this is. But if he doesn’t get back on track then it won’t be much of a fight in the primaries, after all.
One under reported fact of the mid terms, the GOP won the popular vote.
Our recent conversations have been on the unfortunate lack of intelligence most Americans suffer from and every time, Fielding chimes in and confirms our opinions. In real time. It’s awesome.
And again … you never disappoint. Your emotional incontinence is surpassed only by your subservient devotion to the binary ruling class narrative. It’s comical.
And I should probably dumb that down for you. It means you’re a useless idiot.
The majority of counties in every State are Red. It’s just the large concentration of urban idiots and college graduates that make those areas blue … and miserable.
Yep – and as I’ve been saying, we have to go in there. No, we’re not going to win NYC or Los Angeles…but if we can get to even 35% in those places, we have a shot State-wide. Message and Messenger: I’ve seen even trans people who lean Right (albeit more in a Libertarian-Anarchist sense). We can find people who will appeal to every single demographic and every area. It is Freedom vs Tyranny…anyone – and I do mean anyone – who is in favor of Freedom is on my side.
A message we never even try to convey is that almost every issue can be addressed within the framework of Constitutional (ie: Republican) governance. What we let the Left do is establish an either/or—–“you get something that matters to you OR you get Republicans”.
Serious people will find a way to accomplish their goals within the framework of the Constitution. Basically it comes down to finding solutions that don’t depend on the federal government. This would start with the messaging that the federal government is not here to take care of people, but to establish protections within which people can take care of themselves. Hammer the message “If the government gives it to you, that means the government is in control”.
One example: Student loan debt? (1) Kick student loans to the schools. They have billions in endowments and they can decide which students are good risks. This would mean they would probably voluntarily abandon the silly nothing courses that now only bring in revenue, but that would be a good thing, and step away from encouraging frivolous or lazy students to opt for meaningless degrees. (2) Encourage states to develop college alternatives that actually prepare people for the workplace. (3) Let states choose to subsidize college loans if they want to. This should not be a federal problem.
DeSantis and team seem to have found the talisman and – Trump feuds aside – that is what puts him in the 2024 driver’s seat: you just know that all serious political players are heading to Florida to see just what it is they did and how it can be applied in other States. In almost all other States, the GOP was simply out hustled…not in Florida. And as DeSantis did take Constitutional stands, it clearly can be done even in a large and very diverse population.