By highlighting former President Trump, the GOP is getting what it deserves: unanticipated and unprecedented defeats in a midterm election it otherwise should sweep convincingly.
We see it every day in American politics. Politicians, activists, journalists, and political parties do things that are wrong, misguided, condemnable, and contemptible, and for that, they pay a steep price.
They get what they deserve. They get their just deserts. They get their comeuppance. And here at ResCon1, we are gonna call them out, starting with…
The Republican Party—for putting Donald Trump back on the ballot, making him the issue in the 2022 Senate and House races, and diverting attention away from Joe Biden and his disastrous record as President.
Their comeuppance: Six months ago, there was widespread talk of a “red wave” or even a “red tsunami,” with the GOP poised to take decisive control of the House and a comfortable majority in the Senate.
“One of the most ironclad rules in American politics is that the president’s party loses ground in midterm elections. Almost no president is immune,” reports FiveThirtyEight.
Except, perhaps, for Joe Biden, who is benefiting from the Republicans’ boneheaded decision to make Trump the centerpiece of their campaign. Consequently, and unsurprisingly, the GOP is trailing in key Senate races and has given the Dems a plausible, albeit still long-shot, chance of keeping their House majority.
But even if the Republicans take the House, they likely will do so now with a slim majority that may prove more politically troublesome than it’s worth.
“Must-pass bills to prevent government shutdowns and address a looming debt ceiling crisis could create massive headaches for Republican leaders” if they have only a slim House majority, CNN warns.
“The involvement of former President Donald Trump makes 2022 different than almost any other midterm” election, notes FiveThirtyEight’s Nate Silver.
“Trump is on the ballot this fall in every key Senate race and in almost every top-tier gubernatorial contest,” admits The Dispatch’s Chris Stirewalt. “That makes 2022 a referendum on Trump at least as much as it is about President Biden.”
Unfortunately for the GOP, this does not bode well for November:
The Republicans are “getting killed in money, they’re getting killed in some of these contests when it comes to fundamentals,” Jessica Taylor told The Dispatch. (Taylor is the Senate and governors editor for the Cook Political Report.)
“There is a reason Democrats are eager to keep Trump at the center of the conversation,” observes conservative pundit Ben Shapiro.
“Half of independents say Trump is a major factor in their vote, and they’re breaking 4-1 for the Democrats. Republicans shouldn’t play that game. If they do, they’re cruising for a bruising.”
Exactly. The GOP is getting what it deserves. It’s getting its just deserts. It’s getting its comeuppance.
Feature photo credit: Former President Donald Trump, courtesy of Business Insider.
