The Republican Party has now arrived at a moment when it must grasp the big political picture, or else devolve into an organization of squabblers and self-destruction which throws away a historic opportunity to recover the confidence of voters and govern the nation through its current crisis.
The vote in the Republican caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives to fire its previously chosen leader, Speaker Kevin McCarthy, has precipitated this crucial moment, months away from the key 2024 national and presidential elections.
The big picture that Republicans must not lose sight of is that they have an opportunity to return a Republican to the White House and seat a conservative majority in Congress beginning in January 2025.
Such a perspective does not necessarily yet require only one possible choice for president, or the immediate implementation of any one policy. In fact, it is the notion of “my way or no way” that is the greatest obstacle to the realization of the big picture for the GOP and the conservatives who make up its electorate.
The simple reality today is that radical progressives control the executive branch, and their political party organization controls the U.S. Senate. Conservatives are currently relegated to blocking some, but not all, of the left’s agenda, and through various U.S. House committees drawing attention to and exposing the overreaches and excesses of their political opponents.
Giving one member of Congress and/or a tiny number of them veto power over each and every policy issue works directly against the goals of the big picture because it inevitably results in bitterness and stalemate — conditions guaranteed not to inspire confidence from a majority of voters.
As a case in point, the issues of public debt, huge deficits, and endless growth of government spending are central and key policy issues for conservatives. In order to win in 2024, the Republican Party must stand against deficits and increased spending and be prepared to make reducing the debt and lowering government spending among their highest priorities.
But they cannot make these changes unless they win the elections which will enable them to do so. Right now, Democrats have the power to prevent these reforms, and further, to make economic conditions worse. They control the executive branch and one body of the legislative branch.
Demands of one GOP elected official, or a small group of them, for immediate legislative satisfaction are political fantasies, counterproductive to electoral success because they do not motivate voters to turn out for a political cause to be realized after an election.
If, however, after a successful election, conservatives fail to deliver on their promises to the voters, then that is the proper time to hold leaders accountable, and to insist on practical conservative policies.
The big picture now is for the Republican Party to complete its recruitment of candidates for governor, state legislatures, U.S. Senate and House contests, and to nominate a candidate for president.
Every political party has legitimate factions with varying differences of basic principles. These differences can and ought to be debated in full view. Through the local and national nominating process, candidates with these differences compete, and nominees are ultimately selected to be on the ballot under their party name.
If the party is true to those principles, party voters should unite at election time. This isn’t always easy after hard-fought primaries and conventions, but if the big picture is to be realized, it is clearly necessary.
In competitive districts, states, and any presidential election, neither major party has enough votes of its own to win most elections in November. The number of independent or non-aligned voters today means that party-nominated candidates must also attract these votes in order to win. A divided, squabbling party and flawed nominee are not likely to attract independents in the voting booth.
The 2024 election is complicated by recent changes in the voting process, most of them initiated by Democrats, and including expanded voting periods for in-person and mail-in ballots, ballot harvesting, and relaxed voter ID requirements.
Republicans have opposed many of these changes, and often ignored them. But they now exist, and thus they are also part of their big picture in 2024. Republicans must take full advantage of these changes and not cede effective tactics to their opponents. Republicans must also, at every level, insist on voting integrity in the casting and counting of ballots.
The time for personal vendettas, bitter disputes, and recriminations among Republicans has no more shelf life left. Debates and party contests are ahead, and then an election that will determine the direction of the nation for at least a generation. That is the true big picture. Anything else leads to distraction and defeat.
Either the Party stands for the values it preaches or its a complete fraud like the Democrat Party. These thinly-veiled articles pushing “Now is NOT the time to fight for anything” but just shut-up, sit down and “go along to get along” like the Party has sadly done for decades does no one any real service. Should this be resolved faster? Sure. There is no reason Patrick Henry can’t keep the House Republicans in D.C. until the matter is settled. This notion of adhering to the normal 3-day work week can be suspended at any time by him. In the real-world, senior management, which is kind of what Congress is in terms of government, would be working around the clock until the situation was resolved. I guarantee you, this would have been wrapped by last Monday instead of dragging on.
This article reads like a flight of ideas with no particular point. The Republicans have the right ideas for our nation they just lack the guts to push them forward. They need to be as determined as DJT , who many of those republicans worked to undermine during his presidency. The Republicans are their own worst enemy, making us their victims.
GOP=more inclusivity than Democrats. They try to include everything into one candidate- one leader and make everybody happy. You can’t please everyone. GOP has a leader- Donald J Trump- like it or not that’s the guy. The globalists like the Bush’s- McConnells, Romney’s,- the Old Guard like Cornyn and Pence and the never Trumpers like the wishy washy RINO’s- are no different than the Democrats and their myriad of coalitions- presently being ramrodded by the FAR FAR Left Communists- GOP just cannot come together and say ok- this guy is in the lead- he can win and put us in POWER. Nope. they cannot do it. “I have to vote my conscience”- well, sorry, your conscience is clouded by your drinking and your need for getting your picture in the news. It’s like talking to a guy I know from Cuba. Bless his heart. He finds his personal fave in the primaries and will die on that hill while his guy get2% of the votes. He will then vote a write-in at the election. Might as well have voted for the Democrat. Politics has NO conscience. Politics has morals or altruistic ideals, Politics has POWER or no power. make up your mind GOP. You’ve thrown away opportunity after opportunity to protect America. This looks like the last time before the Democrats makes us into a failed Socialist mud hole like Venezuela.
This opinion piece is pure garbage. It is ingenuously attacking Matt Gaetz and the Freedom Caucus for doing what should have been done when the budget was first shepherded through by that loser McCarthy in the first place, giving the Communists a blank check to continue their evil spree of propaganda dissemination, mutilation of our children and dismantling of our economy and society. In case people have been living under a rock for the last 2.5 years; WE ARE IN A WAR for the soul and the future of this country. The time for compromise is long over. Whoever penned this “article” is either an idiot or a collaborator, perhaps both.
AMAC, shame on you. This is the kind of tripe that episodically surfaces on your platform that leads me to question my membership.
50 Years ago, I left the Demonrat party along with my wife and parents, I was sick and tired then with the left leaning slime-balls wanting to control my every existence and destroy the Constitution, and I became a proud Republican, I even held public office for over 12 years as a Republican. Over the last 20 years I have watched the RINO’s grow and fester and bring the Party to the edge of ruin, the RINO’s have caused once compromise members to become more hard line, and I am just about feed up with infighting, we as Republicans are setting on the edge of an historic victory because of the incompetency of the lying Joe Biden and the Democrats that are destroying America and the Constitution. Here is my advice to the members of the House of Rep. get off your butts and if it takes the next 24 and get a new speaker and do it now and stop this petty infighting and show you can lead and make life better for the American people, you don’t see the Democrats with internal strife, they have a plan and they are implementing their destructive plan while you people set on your hands. Here is my advice to the Senate, if with your incompetence you are lucky enough to take the Senate back, you too should show you can lead by not, I repeat do not put Mitch McConnell in as Majority leader, because if you do, I will leave the party.
I have tried to relay these thought to the RNC, but that Organization is riddled with incompetent people who think they know it all.
God Bless America, Long Live Freedom
All they do is “talk talk talk” … only Trump does something about “IT” (damacrats) … unbelievable!
The only thing standing between the destruction of our nation and restoration of our liberty is a united, effective Republican party. We don’t have that yet.
The entire system of our government, all three branches has become so huge and convoluted that it needs a complete makeover and I’m not suggesting a concon, but a close look at what all doesn’t even have a Constitutional right to exist and phase out those entities. Another way to trim the fat would be downsizing where ever possible, like in the number of judges in the federal system which must number more than a thousand or more today, who rule and counter rule over each other many times not in an unbiased way. The number of laws, rules, regulations and mandates would bog down any and all socialistic governments in the world, so guess how well America is functioning under the strain.
The political party system is flawed too. How well do you think you are being represented in Washington where the leadership of each party in Congress holds more say over how YOUR elected representative or senator votes on issues than the folks back home who elected them? “Arm twisting” is an old and even more used tactic by the leadership now than ever before to get the other members to “toe the party line” which may not be in the best interest of the country or the people back home. OH, Lets not forget the rampant corruption throughout every corner of elected and unelected positions of the federal government as well that ranges from minor thief to outright treason.
I’m curious as to what Mr. Casselman thinks is happening now in DC. He complains about a small group having veto power over what he sees as the “big picture”. What a load of crap. The “squad has been running the House for years. Pelosi cut a deal with them and stuck to the deal. McCarthy cut a deal with the conservatives led by Gaetz but didn’t stick to it. What is happening now needed to happen. What is wrong with an itemized budget. Absolutely nothing. We’re tired of the “kick the can down the road” Republican attitude. We want some fiscal responsibility now, and removing McCarthy was the first step. I agree that we need to find an appropriate replacement, which obviously isn’t easy because most republicans are pretty deep in the Washington mire, but there has to be someone who can unite the entire republican contingent and still stick to the idea that uncontrolled deficit spending won’t be tolerated. Gaetz and his group of true conservatives were elected to bring sanity back to government. They are representing their electorate. That’s what they are supposed to do. I applaud them for trying.
If the GOP fought the DNC as much as they fight amongst themselves, this country would be in a lot better place than it is now. They’ve watch the Dems stick together and slowly eat away at this country for a hundred years now and they still have learned nothing. Meanwhile, over that 100 years, the Dems have slowly bit by bit dragged America closer and closer to being another 3rd world socialist s—hole. There’s an old saying. “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” The Dems have been doing that for a long time and have been so successful because the GOP can’t ever get their act together for more than a few years at a time. It would probably take another 100 years to undo the damage done to this point but that will never happen unless the GOP finally figures out that they’ve been played like a fiddle for the past 100 years.
1) Disgraceful article originating with AMAC!!! Is AMAC abandoning conservative interests? Fire whoever approved publishing it!
2) Too many rino’s
3) Too much orientation to trying to woo centrists
4) Too much dedication to “reaching across the aisle” instead of standing firm on conservative principles
The GOP needs some “house keeping” too as it is no shining beacon on the hill when it comes to being clear of globalist dominating it’s policies. The establishment IS deeply entrenched within the GOP. That’s why I often make the comparison of the GOP and Dem parties to selecting which Edsel we have a choice of, a red one or a blue one – both lemons.
This is a very good articleAnd if we don’t get rid of all the infighting in the republican party we will never have a Republican President. And my preferred party because they stand for what is right for America and the American people, this Country is doomed. Then both parties become the Lying parties who don’t give a damn about this country or it’s people.Because they only want what they want like a bunch of infiintile Children that they are and our Fore Fathers are rolling over in their graves. And we will no longer be a super power and we should start living in Caves like it says in the Bible. Because everything that we hold near and dear to Us in this country will be gone, Because of our Stupid ,Selfish, Self-Centered, Greedy, Lying,Politicians and Media. Because the way they think it is Better to LIE than to TELL THE TRUTH and not their truth But the Pure Unadulterated TRUTH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GOP got like this via:
RNC Estd
DC Estd
Never Trumpers
OR wed be someplace Now
The Democrats have used dirty tricks for decades and the Republican party doesn’t seem to know how to effectively fight back. They must learn to fight and keep the pressure on. The Democrat party used to stand for the common folks, but since Clinton, they are out for themselves. They are all about their party more than for America in general.
I recently re-joined AMAC. I hope I don’t come to regret it after reading this article. Someone in AMAC approved its inclusion
DEPORT ALL liberals, illegals AND THE ONCE HONORABLES, fbi, cia, doj, secret service TO THE NEW AUSCHWITZ FOR ROAS… TO MAGA
Excellent article. (The main reason I probably like it because I agree with it.)
I would hope and pray that should Republicans finally win back the WH they deserved in 2020, they revisit and get rid of the election changes the Dems made to seize power in 2020 with Covid as their excuse. No voting earlier than 10 days before Election Day and . no unsecured drop boxes, definitely require voter I.D., cleaned up voter rolls, voting in home precinct only, etc. Voting is a right and privilege not the free for all the Democrats made it in 2020.
Firing a leader who did not adhere to the promise to cut spending was the right move. No person, business or nation is immune to bankruptcy and our government is spending as if debt does not exist or will never be too large. Now that the machinery has been stopped, it is time to take the power the Democrats have always used. That means they stick together no matter how despicable, corrupt, or evil their ideas are; they stand up for one another and vote as one. Now is the time for the GOP to UNITE behind Mr. Jordan or another like minded leader, and get busy steering this country out of the problems the Democrats have caused.
Interesting article.
President Trump is bringing voters closer to the Republican Party. True, this is the moment for Republicans to use the same tactics as Socialist democrats.
Remember that democrats called themselves democrats till they ruined that word and then they were liberals till they ruined that word and now they call themselves progressives. Seems to me that there is more infighting with democrats/progressives who have changed again to calling themselves Socialist democrats.
What’s wrong with this picture?
In other words, look for a candidate with integrity that the main stream will support. Not Trump. The sooner Republicans dump Trump and imbrace the republican beliefs of individual responsibility the sooner we can move on.
If only Republicans could square their shoulders and stand up tall like one man
Unfortunately, the personal vendettas and recriminations have not stopped, today’s news continues to demonstrate the abjectly uselessness of the current republican congress!! So much needs to get done, and yet they continue bickering amongst themselves. They should all get thrown out!!
WITH the DEMOCRAT Party is a SOCIALISM or MARXISM Party…REMEMBER YOU will OWN NOTHING and eat BUGS and BE HAPPY…2024 MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION EVER…REPUBLICANS PRESIDENT Trump IS ONLY WAY to PRESERVE FREEDOM and LIBERTY
The MAGA republicans probably think it was a bad idea to get behind the ejection of the House Speaker. I think it shows a divide in the party. At no time in history is it more important than right now for republicans to stick together. of course we saw no Red Wave in 2022 like so many thought was coming. The Republican Party reminds me of Barny shooting his gun every time he tried to draw it out of his holster. The democrats should be easy to beat, but I’m not sure the cats and jammers crowd will be able to pull it off. God help us all.
I believe our feeble Potus is too senile to do much of anything significant AND DIRTY DEMS will not permit him to anything good for America!
If republicans don’t hang together, they will hang separately (and lose).
Don’t like what Democrats did? Exploit it just like they do! Vote often and, if a family member dies, make sure they vote often as well! Time to stop taking thehigh road; use the same low dirt shortcut the Democrats use instead,
A United Republican Party would go a long way to win the next election but the ultra right have not gotten the memo. 8 people are holding the party hostage just at a time when they could shine.
This whole debacle is the death knell for the Republican Party next year. The dems are congratulating themselves how the reps have shot themselves in the foot. And ole Joe can stay in the basement in the White House for he has been re-elected already. Sorry America!!!
Rep Gaetz was so wrong to oust McCarthy.
trump is a bully and his church is full of bullies
I’ll make this as simple as possible. Matt Gaetz and the gang of eight are idiots. I truly don’t have an issue if there are members of the caucus that have differences of opinion, that’s what this country is all about. However, for Gaetz to drag his personal vendetta into the mix at this point in time is nothing short of destructive. It sets party’s long-term goal of becoming the new home of middle-class working people on its ear. There is a time and a place to have this discussion on McCarthy and this wasn’t it. That time would have been after the next election. The Republicans were starting to look like the adults in the room and stood a good chance of sweeping the two legislative branches along with the executive. Gaetz hates McCarthy and realized that if that were the situation come January 2025, he would have little chance of removing McCarthy then. So, like the spoiled little Bratt that he is, he decided to go for the nuclear option now and blow it all up. Now here we are days later, and the Republicans are still fighting among themselves. You should be proud of yourself, Matt. History 101’s comment is reflective of the lunacy that continues to fuel the destruction of party. While I may agree with what he’s saying regarding spending and the war we are in for the soul and future of the country, fighting amongst ourselves certainly isn’t the key to victory. Like it or not the members of the party come from different areas of the country with different issues that are important to their constituents. Until such time that we have a larger majority any speaker is going to have to walk a tight rope to move any legislation along. We need look no further back than the last congress to see an example of how to herd the cats. I am certainly no fan of Nancy Pelosi, but you have to give the Democrats credit for sticking together. None other than the greatest standard bearer of the Party, Abraham Lincoln famously said ” A house divided against itself cannot stand…”. We stand at a crossroads and the 2024 election is the last best chance we have to save our country. We can enter that battle fighting among ourselves or we can unite as a party and put our energies into defeating the forces that are out to destroy the American way. The choice is ours. In the words of that great American philosopher Rodney King, “Can’t we all just get along”?
This is an excellent article. I hope the Republicans primary Matt Gaetz, Nancy Mace and that idiotic gang of 8 out of the Congress.
Yeah! . . . And if “Wishes were Horses, Beggars would Ride!” . . . Geat Real Republicans, you have an imaging problem! Maybe, if you didn’t court the “wealthy” as much, you would make inroads with more people!