I know many of us are surprised and disappointed about the Congressional midterm elections and I offer a more hopeful perspective.
First, the midterm elections for the party whose president is in the White House are almost always a defeat. A Republican in the White House means the Democrats gain seats in the midterms and the reverse is true as well. So, as disappointed as we may be, what we saw last Tuesday is the norm.
However, I suggest an historical example of how quickly things can change. Recall that in 2008 President Barack Obama was elected president. Between 2008 and 2010 there arose such opposition to Obama policies that the Tea Party formed, and in the 2010 midterm elections numerous Tea Party candidates were elected to Congress, giving the majority back to Republicans.
Second, over the next two years no “bad” legislation is going to become law because President Trump will veto it and it takes a 2/3rds majority vote of both houses to override a presidential veto. That is a heavy lift and unlikely to occur. In addition, President Trump also retains the power to unilaterally issue executive orders regarding matters of policy he thinks necessitates them.
Third, many voters cited the high cost of gas/living as a reason they didn’t support Republican candidates. Well, that problem is going to be addressed in short order because those higher costs are largely due to the issue with Iran and now President Trump has no constraints on how he handles Iran.
Once Iran is resolved, I think the cost of living will fall to levels it was before the conflict, but I still believe President Trump’s handling of Iran has been correct, and history will vindicate him on this point. The murderous, theocratic Iranian regime cannot ever be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon. If it did, there would then be no Israel, no Europe and, ultimately, it would threaten the United States.
Fourth, regarding the presidential election of 2028, I think the Republican bench of candidates is much stronger. Whether the candidate is VP J.D. Vance, Sec. of State Marco Rubio, Gov. Ron Desantis or Sen. Ted Cruz, they all outshine California governor Gavin Newsome, former VP Kamala Harris, or former Sec. of Transportation, Pete Buttegieg.
Fifth, Democrats will have majorities in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate next year and will no doubt use their oversight powers to “investigate” President Trump, his family, many administration officials, and beyond. However, while House and Senate committees possess subpoena power, whatever actions that are taken will be without the assistance of the Trump Department of Justice, Attorney General or FBI.
If the effort is made to impeach Trump again it will fail because it is very unlikely that 2/3rds of the Senate, i.e. 67 senators, will vote to remove President Trump. That would also be a great waste of time as he won’t be running for president again.
I note that a number of self-described Democrat Socialists of America (DSA) candidates have now been elected and will be serving in the U.S. Congress, and that is concerning.
All I can glean is that many who voted for them simply don’t understand what DSA “values” really are, or, they are immigrants (illegals ?) who never intended to assimilate and simply don’t share the American ideal including the rights and liberties enunciated in the Declaration of Independence and guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution. Perhaps young people voted for DSA candidates because for several decades Leftist professors at American colleges and universities have been denouncing the “evils” of capitalism while praising the supposed “fairness” and “equity” of socialism. Fortunately, so-called Diversity, Inclusion and Equity (DIE) is being driven out of American classrooms and much of business and industry.
However, the answer is having patriotic candidates rise up and challenge these newly elected Leftists and the next election could well flip everything back! So, we must re-dedicate ourselves to working as hard as we can to ensure that the pendulum does in fact swing back, including winning the Presidency in 2028.
In the meantime, we should never lose hope because This is America at 250 years! There is no place like it. We survived the Revolutionary War, The Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Twentieth Century, Vietnam, Watergate, civil unrest, assassinations, and the Middle East nightmare to name a few of the obstacles we’ve overcome.
Let’s say a prayer for America, and let’s get to work!
Shreveport attorney, Royal Alexander, worked in D.C. in the U.S. House of Representatives for nearly 8 years for two different Members of Congress from Louisiana.