The GOP’s Cruel Summer
Time for Republicans to get their heads back in the game after a third-quarter slump.
by Daniel J. Flynn
September 1, 2022, 11:06 PM
For the first time in more than a half century, Alaskans this week sent a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Yes, the election witnessed the debut of ranked-choice voting in the state and, yes, Sarah Palin competed against numerous Republicans in the open primary while Democrats cleared the field for Mary Peltola. But this occurred in a state that voted Democrat for president just once in its history and during an election year anointed by Republican stalwarts as a red wave.
Are they color blind?
The Palin loss follows Democrat Pat Ryan defeating Republican Marc Molinaro in an upstate New York swing district and the trouncing of a pro-life ballot initiative in Kansas.
What a difference a summer makes. Back in June, Republican Mayra Flores upset Democrat Dan Sanchez to flip a blue seat red and represent one of the most Hispanic congressional districts in the United States. Republicans partied like it was 1994. Do not let the reappearance of the Ford Bronco fool. It’s clearly not.
What changed to improve Democrat chances? Gas prices dropped by more than a dollar from their $5 peak in June. Dobbs v. Jackson awakened progressives. Novice politicians running as Republicans increasingly resemble novice politicians. The president looks less inept by scoring victories on guns, a $740 billion Inflation Reduction Act, and a student-loan giveaway.
The biggest change involves Donald Trump elbowing out the issues at center stage. In this, Democrats act as the former president’s biggest allies. They need Trump to energize their base and obscure their failings, which explains the prolonged Jan. 6 hearings and President Biden’s strange primetime speech on the “extremist threat to democracy” Thursday night.
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https://spectator.org/gop-cruel-summer/
