5 Dumb GOP Mistakes We Better Fix Before 2020 Kurt Schlichter Kurt Schlichter

[mystery-ak]

5 Dumb GOP Mistakes We Better Fix Before 2020
Kurt Schlichter

Posted: Nov 15, 2018 12:01 AM

The good thing about screwing up is that you can learn from your mistakes and do better next time. That, of course, assumes you are not a Republican Party official, because the GOP Establishment seems largely incapable of learning from its mistakes.

We should try again anyway.

We won some races, but we lost a lot more. Losing has one advantage over winning – pain is a better teacher than joy. After all, winning generally teaches you the wrong lessons. It makes you complacent. Look at Texas. The governor did worse than expected; Ted Cruz had a close call, and down ballot the Texas GOP got thrashed. In Texas. With a great economy. Because the Texas GOP got soft from too much winning.

Look, there are sometimes reasons for poor performance that are beyond our control. Tex Kennedy poured $70 million into the race, and the Democrat transcriptionist media nearly flooded Houston all over again slobbering all over that skateboarding goof. It’s no surprise that these factors had an effect – I don’t blame Ted Cruz, but I do blame the guys who were supposed to be keeping the Lone Star State red. The Dems went out and mobilized people who had not been mobilized before. The GOP should have done the same with its own people long ago – it should have had its grassroots wired. But it didn’t, because for a couple decades it didn’t need to. Well, it needs to.

Lesson One: Never get into the mindset that you can’t lose. Always play like you’re 10 points back, which is what saved Ted Cruz.

more
https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2018/11/15/5-dumb-gop-mistakes-we-better-fix-before-2020-n2535915

[dfwgator]

Trying to mobilize conservatives is like herding cats. 

[Sanguine]

Pretty good list.

And, you are correct @dfwgator.   

[Cyber Liberty]

Republicans never fail to learn the wrong lessons when faced with adversity.  They are not called The Stupid Party for nothing.  I find the election of McCarthy to House Minority Leader a most distressing development.

Good article, Kurt, but your advice will be ignored.

[goatprairie]

It's always irritating to see Pubbie ads that accuse their leftist opponent of doing something that few voters know or care about.
Here in Wisconsin the Republican candidate for the senate, Leah Vukmir, was running against Tammy Baldwin one of the most leftist Dem senators in congress.
Most of Vukmir's ads consisted of accusing Baldwin of a scandal at  a VA hospital in Tomah. I doubt that issue concerned Wisconsin voters much.
 Baldwin easily withstood Vukmir's claims she, Baldwin, hated veterans. Baldwin showed ads with her surrounded by veterans talking about how great Baldwin was. One was a Medal Of Honor recipient. 
There were a few ads run by pro-Vukmir groups late in the campaign that accused Baldwin of what she was....a far left scoundrel bad for the country.
Too late....Vukmir got crushed.
Scott Walker's ads against his leftist opponent who wants to revoke most of Walker's reforms and spend the state back into financial insolvency were weak as well.
Walker's ads should have drummed that into the consciousness of Wisconsin voters. In short, he was too nice to his opponent, Tony Evers.
Republican candidates have to come out tell the people what they stand for and who their opponents are instead of focusing on small issues or ones few people know anything about.

[Sanguine]

It's always irritating to see Pubbie ads that accuse their leftist opponent of doing something that few voters know or care about.

Here in Wisconsin the Republican candidate for the senate, Leah Vukmir, was running against Tammy Baldwin one of the most leftist Dem senators in congress.

Most of Vukmir's ads consisted of accusing Baldwin of a scandal at  a VA hospital in Tomah. I doubt that issue concerned Wisconsin voters much.

 Baldwin easily withstood Vukmir's claims she, Baldwin, hated veterans. Baldwin showed ads with her surrounded by veterans talking about how great Baldwin was. One was a Medal Of Honor recipient. 

There were a few ads run by pro-Vukmir groups late in the campaign that accused Baldwin of what she was....a far left scoundrel bad for the country.

Too late....Vukmir got crushed.

Scott Walker's ads against his leftist opponent who wants to revoke most of Walker's reforms and spend the state back into financial insolvency were weak as well.

Walker's ads should have drummed that into the consciousness of Wisconsin voters. In short, he was too nice to his opponent, Tony Evers.

Republican candidates have to come out tell the people what they stand for and who their opponents are instead of focusing on small issues or ones few people know anything about.

Exactly right, @goatprairie.

[DCPatriot]

Pretty good list.

And, you are correct @dfwgator.

Nice to see that Schlichter offers something other than 'I Hate NTs'.

[Fishrrman]

In case you didn't read the article:
=====================
Lesson One: Never get into the mindset that you can’t lose. Always play like you’re 10 points back, which is what saved Ted Cruz.

Lesson Two: Be for something – specifically, conservatism.

Lesson Three: We need to be ready. We need lawyers prepositioned and poised to fight wherever we expect the corruption to happen.

Lesson Four: We need to get back in the fight down ballot.

Lesson Five: Candidate quality matters. No more losers.