Thursday, August 7, 2014

The November Election: The View From Here

The prognosticators will tell you that the GOP has a slight advantage as we get ready to go into the post Labor Day campaign season.
The Republican Party is poised to retain control of the House and make significant pickups in the Senate, where it still needs to gain control. The GOP may pull even in the Senate or take control by one or two votes.
That's the scenario being generated righter now by much of Big Media.
But remember this: When Big Media write about these things they always skew it from the Dem vantage point: Even when the GOP has an advantage, there's always a "but" and they always present scenarios under which the Dems can stay even or win. In other words, the media subtly coach Democrats and do all they can to contribute to a negative view of the GOP. Most media pundits simply cannot bear the thought of an ascendent Republican Party.
The truth is this: Republicans have an overwhelming enthusiasm advantage this year. Their base is highly motivated -- and so are many "independents" who have clearly shifted and are fed up.
True, voters who are shifting (or may be shiftable) are not all necessarily gaga over Republicans but this is also true: It's their only alternative. They have nowhere else to go. And they ARE dissatisfied. Plus, the GOP still has two whole months to make a powerful case and give votes real, live, positive reasons to vote Republican.
And here's the dirty, not-so-little secret: Many Dems have had it with Obama, and this includes some very influential members of the president's party. Dems who are running are going out of their way to put some distance between themselves and him. And many low-information voters (who seem to gravitate toward the Democrat Party) don't turn out for midyears anyway.
So, the Dems are on the ropes and they will kick and scratch and scream and bite and claw if they have to because they don't want to lose Congress. Which means, the the campaign will be ugly -very ugly. But politics has never been genteel.
The stakes are high, indeed.
And to win, the GOP will have to overcome not just the Democrats but the huge power of Big Media and Big Labor.
The Democrat Party wants to make this campaign a campaign about small, petty "issues" and play on the fear of less-informed voters. The Republicans Party needs a campaign about the Big Things -- the real issues that we face right now.
In the end, three things could make the difference for the GOP: Money. Motivation. And finally, an integrated plan -- a vision for the future that gives America a reason to Move!

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