Republicans may have re-captured the House of Representatives majority but they are far from being in a dominant position. Consider two specific grass roots issues:
- During the midterms it became apparent that key members of the GOP leadership have harsh feelings for each other and they were not afraid to express those feelings. The scorecard reads like this: Trump hates McConnell and Pence; Rick Scott (Sen. Florida) hates McConnell’s leadership and blames him for the poor showing in the midterm elections; DeSantis hates Trump and the feeling is clearly mutual; the ultra conservative wing of the Party has already separated itself from the Senate GOP majority on the “Marriage Equality” bill; the split is deep and seems to be broadening. Yes, it’s true that politicians are hypocritical and can swallow their differences when attacked. But this public display of distrust and disagreement was staged in front of the GOP voter base and to mend that many fences would probably cost precious votes that the GOP cannot afford to lose.
- The second problem is similar to the first. During the midterm elections the GOP embraced the minority view (as supported by numerous polls) on every major issue. They lost the abortion debate, gun control, climate change, veterans benefits and more. They now face a presidential election after having shouted their positions on all these issues–the same issues that cost them dearly in the midterms. How do they separate themselves from their statements of 2022, embrace totally opposite positions consistent with polling and not demonstrate rampant hypocrisy? The rock and a hard place is simply this: If they switch positions they look like hypocrites and could lose voter support; if they don’t switch positions they know they can’t win because they alienate the vast majority of polled voters.
Our guess is: on Issue #1, they will find a way to kiss and make up for the good of the Party. After all, isn’t it better to have GOP’ers you hate in Congress than Democrats you really hate? And on Issue #2, the GOP will strategize a way to quietly abandon abortion and the other positions and focus on any perceived failures they can exploit in the Biden Administration. They are already tipping their hands in that direction. They are instructing GOP-appointed judges to delay or void GOP-passed anti-abortion legislation in several “red” states. And they are announcing a investigation into the actions of Hunter Biden in an attempt to throw dirt on the president. If you thought the midterms were ugly, stay tuned. The next two years will reveal greed and power grabs never before seen in a democracy.
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