Bringing Home Dinner

Years ago, I used to hunt birds. Some were easy, partridge and pheasant, but not quail. They are slippery little dinners, fly-by-wire things, up, out, gone – fun but frustrating. The trick is to focus.

Truth is, much of life is about focus. How did Trump win? He studied the electoral map, focused on radiating circles of impact, pushed what mattered most, and went to places few Republicans since Reagan tried, with focus.

With focus, he hit the seven swing states, then radiated outward, kept situational awareness, and took nothing for granted. Gradually, as he got results in red states and purple states, he looked to blue states. He stayed focused and, in time, brought down – or brought in – all seven swing states.

At the state level, focus is also needed. Candidates this year – and state Republican parties – showed discipline and focus. Coming out of 2024, results were more positive than understood.

Republicans, who had earlier flipped legislatures like Kentucky, flipped Michigan’s legislature in 2024, secured a tie in the Minnesota House – Minnesota! More broadly, Democrats controlled 39 chambers after the elections, Republicans 51. Net-net, focus mattered.

In many states, like Maine, a sea change occurred. Republicans made marked gains in the House and Senate, even if they did not gain the majority this cycle. Big media ignored the gains. After years of Democrat dominance and demoralization among Republicans, 2024 reversed the tide.

What lies before us – all Americans – no matter your state, is a critical moment. We must bring home dinner. The next two years are pivotal, either proving we can do what we set out to or not.

We will either teach – at federal and state levels – that promises can be kept, public trust can be restored, and that there are, thankfully, still adults who restore order or not.

What all this really means is something we forget too easily. When you win an election, you win the chance to prove your promises are good, a chance to create outcomes promised.

Focus is a talent needed to win elections. It is also a commitment that goes beyond the election, one to abide by and apply for the public good on attaining office. The real test for Republicans, federally and at the state level, is fulfilling those promises – staying focused on results.

If focus produces results, sustained focus produces profound, lasting, memorable, meaningful results. Put differently, we focus to win the chance to focus harder and deliver the results.

Many years ago, hunting quail with a friend, I had a day when my focus slipped. I was a safe hunter, trained, and happy at my task, but for whatever reason, could not hit a quail when flushed.

The day got frustrating. I would be ready, and walked with confidence, but when the German Shorthair pointed, if it was a quail he flushed, I missed it. The thing got out of range in a blink.

Finally, I said to myself – and to my friend – this will not happen again. I am going to focus, and get the outcome I want. He said, okay. So, I focused. In time, the dog again pointed.

Now, I was ready and focused. I was determined – as we are at our best – to produce the outcome I wanted. I would make it happen. I would not let that bird getaway.

Up came the bird. But instead of flying away, this clever quail came straight at me. I did not flinch but was never expecting that. Still, my focus held. If you focus, you will win.

On he came. My friend just watched it. I did not shoot. Finally, focus full, when he darted, juked ten feet away, I brought him down. The effect was impressive, like a pillow of goose down bursting, feathers everywhere, an explosion of sorts, then just silence.

My friend came over, looked for the vaporized bird, looked at me, and offered wisdom. “Well, you sure got focus, but remember the goal is dinner. We’ll leave the feathers for the fox.” After you get focus and win, converting that to victory can be hard. The next step is … bringing home dinner.

Trump – and many state Republican parties – have done an incredible job, they have won. They have made advances from Maine to Michigan. Next is bringing home dinner, which can be harder than it looks.

Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, attorney, and naval intelligence officer (USNR). He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (2018), and is National Spokesman for AMAC. Robert Charles has also just released an uplifting new book, “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness” (Tower Publishing, 2024).