Thank you for showing up and voting to put the brakes on policies that have been dragging our country down over the last two years. Although we did not get the red wave that many pundits predicted, because of you Republicans have secured the necessary seats to gain control of the House of Representatives.
The recent election can be compared to a World Series where we were down three games to none. We came into election season with an eye on making a comeback. Although it is obvious that our country remains closely divided, the ultimate goal was to elect a congress that would act as a check on Biden’s extreme policies. Gaining the necessary seats to control the House is a win because it means that House Republicans will be able to provide such a check.
Now that we have won game 4, it is time to focus on the next game. This will involve each of us remaining active and encouraging the new Republican majority in the House to fight to implement the policies that hold Biden accountable and seek to improve the lives of Americans. House Republicans outlined many of these policies in their Commitment to America plan released earlier this year. Among the items included in the plan were pledges to hold the line on federal spending in an effort to bring down inflation, a commitment to work toward energy independence to lower energy prices, and to work to implement policies to secure our border to make our country safer.
Although control of the Senate will remain with the Democrats, the Georgia Senate race is still both relevant and important, and I encourage all people in Georgia who love freedom and prosperity to go out and vote for Herschel Walker in the run-off. This race is still important because Senators are only up for election every 6 years. If Walker wins, his seat will give Republicans a head start for 2024 where 23 of the 33 seats that will be up for grabs are held by Democrats. This means that Republicans would only need a net gain of 1 seat to assume control of the Senate in 2024 in a climate where Democrats are defending some seats in red states.
When you compare the policies of Republicans to the policies of Democrats, there is no doubt that Republicans have policies that are superior in terms of promoting freedom and economic growth. It is my hope that we will focus on policies, rather than personalities, over the next two years—especially in the Presidential race. A focus on policies is a building process, whereas a focus on personalities tends to be a tearing down process.
Donald Trump recently announced his intention to run for President in 2024. Although those who suffer from TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome) believe that he has a personal cult following, I do not believe this is true of the great majority of Trump supporters. I believe his popularity has been rooted in the fact that he has been consistent in support of popular policies, particularly in the areas of energy independence and the economy. His policies have resulted in a Republican party that is increasingly becoming more diverse. For this, he deserves a great deal of credit. That said, Trump recently took cheap shots at two of the party’s up-and-coming stars, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin.
Few, if any, Republicans have had problems with Trump going after people like Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer because they are opponents who often take swipes at him. They also have no problem with him going after a media that largely seeks to create a narrative rather than report the news. Republicans can even forgive Trump for taking an occasional jab at Mitch McConnell, who is the poster child for the Republican elite in Washington, D.C. However, Trump is treading on dangerous ground when he begins to attack friends such as DeSantis and Youngkin — two young, energetic, and popular Republican governors. For the sake of the party and his legacy, we should all hope that Trump’s recent jabs were momentary lapses of judgement rather than insight into his playbook to regain the White House. If he chooses to engage in the politics of personal destruction against any Republican that he perceives as a threat to him personally, as opposed to being a threat to the agenda to move the country forward, then he runs a serious risk of going down and taking Republican hopes for 2024 down with him.
The left and many Republican elites hate Trump because he is a threat to their status quo. Threatening the status quo may be bad for them, but it is good for our country and for each of us. Our so-called leaders have given us policies that have eroded our manufacturing base, made us dependent on costly foreign energy, led to a spike in crime that threatens our safety, opened our borders so that anyone —including terrorists — can enter our country with ease, and put us into debt of over $30 trillion. Trump’s policies were largely successful, and we should cheer when he continues to press for them; however, the next election should be about who has the best chance to implement policies that challenge the status quo and not about personal loyalty.
As stated earlier, winning control of the House this year was like winning game 4 of the World Series. Given that we are now down 3 games to 1, we need to win the next 3 games to claim the title. Although only 6 teams have overcome such deficits in World Series history, these teams present an example to all of us that
we are never out of the running for a title as long as we remain in the fight. The most recent example of such a comeback was the 2016 Chicago Cubs. After finding themselves down 3 to 1, the Cubs were able to begin their comeback by winning game 5 at home. They then faced the difficult prospect of playing games 6 and 7 on the road in Cleveland. They were able to win both of those games, in dramatic fashion, to become World Champions.
Keeping the House during the next election cycle is game 5, while winning the Senate and Presidency would be games 6 and 7. Although those games are in the future, we must all work toward the goal of winning those games every day by contacting Republican elected leaders and holding them accountable to act on the agenda on which they campaigned.
If Republican leaders will focus on this agenda and ideas to move our country forward rather than politics of personal destruction, they will have a chance to continue to grow their coalition and win both the presidency and control of congress in 2024. It is my hope that we can all work together to ensure that this happens.
Sincerely,
Joe From Texas
