With several days to reflect on the splash and fin at America’s elbow, it would appear there is a monster under the surface. What happened in Virginia – three top posts and House of Delegates tipping Republican, Democrats tipping left, plus in New Jersey – has big meaning.
Pundits on the left attack their own candidates, framing Republican victories – including a patriotic former Marine, Black, female Lieutenant Governor in Virginia – as “White Supremacy.” That is nonsense.
The Progressives in Congress argue Democrats did not go far enough left, did not defend Marxist Critical Race Theory, socialist concentration of power, higher taxes, big spending, open borders, mandates, intentional swap of liberty for federal benefits.
A better read is that the Democrat Party is lost, divided, and fumbling, moderates silenced, cowed, caught between speaking their mind in defense of common sense and fearing their own left.
Reflecting on the true causes of these upsets, several facts are obvious. They do not decide the future but will strongly influence 2022 and 2024.
First, leftists – and moderate Democrats permitting them to savage the party’s brand – do not understand where America is, or how fundamentally sick most Americans are of being told what to do, told to be quiet, let experts decide their fate, suffer health, tax, safety, education, religious, speech, self-defense, and welfare-affecting mandates, higher spending, taxes, inflation, crime, energy costs, and fear, learn to accept social engineering, redefinition of sexes, end of girls’ sports, and class resentment.
Most Americans – Democrats, Independents, and moderate Republicans, along with the Republican base – are no longer willing to take it. They will not take it from Biden or Harris, the Democrat-led Congress, or Democrat governors, mayors, councils, or school boards.
Down-ballot races in Virginia, New Jersey, and across the country revealed a remarkable – and heartening – consensus, supporting individual freedoms, those of taxpayers and parents, property owners and gun owners, religious, health, employment, Second Amendment, and speech.
The overarching takeaway is that average Americans are tired of being told what to do by arrogant, out-of-touch leaders at every level of government. More, they are becoming active in defense of individual liberties. The Democrat left has awakened a sleeping giant, the American will.
Maybe this was inevitable, coming out of government lockdowns, federal and state mistakes, 2020 violence, 2021 job losses, mixed messaging, bungled, brazen, disrespectful Democrat policies, leaving Americans in Afghanistan, defunding police, disparaging patriots, throwing open US borders, pushing Justice to prosecute the innocent, deploying the FBI against parents as “domestic terrorists.”
But all that was made worse by Democrat leaders indifferent to the American will, lying about core issues – foreign policy and national security to businesses and jobs destroyed by riots, mandates, lack of concern for the average American, average student, parent, employee, taxpayer, and small business.
Even now, the average American – party notwithstanding – is hurting and frustrated. They do not want another handout, mandate, intrusion on their lives, schools, kids’ sports, bathrooms, cost of living, energy supply, ability to purchase groceries, or more threats to be fined, fired, prosecuted, or harassed for exercising basic, traditional, all-American freedoms of speech, worship, assembly, travel, self-defense, and other federally impaired rights. They are done.
That is the real message, one that crosscuts education, taxes, other one-issue missteps by Democrats. The average American is done with federal dictates, dwindling freedom, disrespect for what they, their parents, often grandparents cherished – this nation, one nation under God, Her ideals, hard-won history, inner and outer light, role as a beacon.
What we saw in Virginia, New Jersey, and across the country has an immediate impact, of course. Leaders will change, Congress and Administration will lose their edge, unable to keep imposing socialist, power-concentrating, big spending, and unaccountable policies.
A raft of moderate Democrats will decide to “spend more time with family,” retiring. Retirements will mount in House and Senate, across purple states, where politicians face an uphill battle selling leftism.
Other immediate effects, already playing out, including a predictable turn by leftists to belligerence, no reflection or contrition. Rather than think about what average Americans want, they will double down, take no blame, and make the fault yours. That is what leftists do, blame others reflexively.
Expect a shrill tone within the Democratic party toward each other. Expect core rights and institutions, including the Supreme Court, attacked. Expect higher spending and taxes, class warfare, good people in both parties condemned in the name of leftist purism or utopia.
Bottom line: What occurred last week was not state-specific, not a passing indicator of modest disaffection, not the mistake of a few candidates or good luck of others. It was more fundamental.
Last week’s stunning upsets represent the splash and fin of an enormous social phenomenon, the sort that appears every 40 years, a veritable monster beneath the surface of our seething society, uneasy, restless, yet ready, biding time, and not going away.
The power of a people’s will to be free is, at times, unstoppable. It is at times scary because the people will only put up with so much, then they speak, act, rise as one and reclaim what is theirs, for themselves, their kids, in memory of those who came before, and in defense of their future.
That happened in 1776, more recently in places like the Philippines, Eastern Europe, former Soviet Union in the 1980s. Freedom is a powerful thing, a force that mounts, swallowing those who suppress it. That is the lesson of these elections, caution for Democrats in 2022 and 2024. Americans love freedom.
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.
I saw the “changing” of the Democratic Party over 40 years ago. I’ve told this story before here but it needs to be told often. I moved to California in late 1991 and registered as a “Democrat” in honor of my mother though I had already turned Republican. When the next election came, I received a phone call from someone in the Democratic Party asking: “Are you going to vote?” . . . I replied “of course” “Do you need a ride to the polls?” . . . I replied “No” . . . They then said: “I hope you’re going to vote for our candidates” . . . I then replied: “I can tell you one thing, I’m not going to vote for any Communists!” . . . I got no response!
And I have never gotten another phone call again from the Democratic Party!
The Democratic Commies are now out of the closet and it appears that they have judged the American people wrong and they will now feel the bite of the dog they have kicked!
We love freedom.
We love our country.
We love our soldiers.
We love our Founders and values.
We DETEST corrupt politicians and bureaucrats bent on destroying America!
Your days are numbered, crooks.
Hear that Fred Upton?
RBC,
What we’re seeing the MSM do for the last week was largely a concerted diversionary tactic to draw the attention of the American people away from the doubling down that is going on by the Democrats in both the Congress and the White House. Look at the message the Democrat leaders have taken away from the recent elections. They know their policies are toxic to the country on many levels, but they don’t care. Their policies were never meant to benefit the average American or create any lasting prosperity or long-term growth and improvement. Their policies have always been about recreating the United States in the image of the failed socialist democracies of western Europe, with the Democrat Party as its permanent ruling party. Issuing mandates and edicts with zero regard for the consequences of their actions. In short, essentially an authoritarian government hiding behind a very thinly veiled mask of so-called “democracy”, only so long as it benefits them to do so.
Look at what the WH or Congress has been doing since the elections last week. Democrats in Congress have not only stepped up the pace on getting the reconciliation bill passed, now that 13 RINOs gave the Democrats the necessary votes to get the terrible infrastructure bill though the Congress and enacted into law, but they have completely reversed course on removing items from the reconciliation bill. They have not only put back in items what they have previously opted to take out of the reconciliation bill, but they are adding new spending programs as well. Basically packing it full of as much socialist programs and policies as possible, with the goal of getting it all through ahead of the mid terms.
On the White House side, they are now discussing shutting down another energy pipeline in the middle of an energy crisis the White House itself created on Day One of taking office. With gasoline prices steadily rising and home heating costs set to hit highs not seen in decades, the Biden administration is going all in on crushing our economy and endangering lives with higher energy costs. The goal being to replicate the failed energy policies of western Europe and to raise the cost of energy in this country to be on par with Europe. That of course will cripple our country’s long-term economic growth prospects, much in the same way it has already done in much of Europe.
Yes, freedom is a powerful thing, but the Democrats are playing a very strategic game I fear many Americans don’t fully comprehend. The Democrats know they may potentially lose control of Congress in the mid- terms, assuming they can’t federalize elections and control the outcome before then, so they intend to do as much permanent damage to the country as possible in the time remaining. Thus even if the Republicans regain control of both houses of Congress, the lasting damage to our country will have largely been done.
We both know the types of spending programs and higher taxes the Democrats are racing to get enacted would be nearly impossible to repeal based on historical data. Certainly not without a strong Republican President also sitting in the WH and an American people willing to give up the new, addictive social welfare programs. Which is what the Democrats are banking on. In any event, that wouldn’t be on the table until potentially 2024.
We can comfort ourselves by assigning the blame to this or that but the fact is we fall asleep at the wheel how do we get out of the ditch I am not sure there are enougch shoulders to put to the wheel
We have so called republicans who just sold this country. Monday obiden will push the handle that will finish the flushing of our country
You can add 32 republicans to your number also
I think it is time we all call for term limits in us house and senate. I feel it should be an honner to serve not a life long career of coruption
That is a rock solid reply Patriot Will,
Well said!!! America stand for FREEDOM!