So, Tuesday, November 8, has now come and gone. There was quite a bit of talk about a “red wave’ or even a “red tsunami” that was going to occur. Well, as you have all seen, that didn’t exactly happen. But what DID happen last night?
I want to share some of my own thoughts — some of which are not fully crystallized yet — on last night’s national election. (I’ve got thoughts I’m going to publish on California-specific results, too, in another piece.) Right off the bat, though: That was a strange night last night, and not exactly how I thought things would go. I think it’s fair to say that it was not a “Red Wave.” [Continue reading below.]
The results from yesterday’s election are…let’s just say, muddy, or equivocal. I don’t pretend to have all of the answers, but it seems that there are at least a few very positive take-aways from this election for conservatives and libertarian-leaning conservatives.
The biggest positive is, of course, what happened in Florida. Ron Desantis is governing that state like a boss — a competent, conservative, convicted boss who happens to be serious about making his state a great place to live and rooting out woke, left-wing nonsense. In 2018, he barely squeaked by (w/ a 0.4% margin) against a degenerate left-liberal meth-head; last night he won by ~20 points. Desantis won Miami-Dade (!), and now both houses of the Florida legislature have supermajorities! THIS was the Red Wave; it was all focused into Florida, which is no longer a “swing state.” An incredible victory, and this state is the new model for conservative governance. (Dear Establishment GOP: Enjoy the back seat!)
In Arizona, Kari Lake has been an excellent gubernatorial candidate, and she has excelled in putting the Corporate Media and Regime propagandists in their place throughout the campaign. As of this writing, Kari Lake, who is despised by Important Republicans and Establishmentarians, is currently close to surpassing Little Miss Empty Pantsuit (Katie Hobbs, or whatever her name is) in the official vote tally.
But in the House and Senate races across America, things are less rosy. As of this writing, it appears that Republicans will only take the House with a very slim majority (perhaps that’s a blessing in disguise?), after many young incumbents and others lost their seats. In the Senate, Nevada and Arizona are still counting their votes (which is idiotic, in the year 2022), while Georgia is headed to a dreaded runoff. (By the way, extend a “thank you” to the Libertarian Party candidate who is/was pulling ~2% of the vote there in Georgia. I’m not sure what pulling this stunt — again — has accomplished.)
There are mainstream conservatives and Republican Party hacks who are running around today blaming disappointing Senate/Congressional results on “poor candidate quality.” This has become conventional wisdom, in the past 24 hours. But I don’t fully subscribe to it; this is just the narrative that Mitch McConnell and Establishmentarians want you to absorb and digest. It helps them avoid culpability. In reality, there were many excellent, conservative candidates around the country that were either mocked or ignored by folks like McConnell throughout this election season (including the primary). I’m thinking of people like Blake Masters, an America First conservative who is a youngish Stanford grad and well read on Austrian Economics and liberty ideas. Masters is currently standing on the precipice of losing the Arizona Senate race; he was one of the candidates that McConnell infamously cut off funding for (from the PAC he controls).
I’m going to “go out on a limb” here and say that I think that McConnell would rather be the Minority Leader of 50 “sober” and obedient, big-spending, Ukraine-worshipping Republicrats than the Majority Leader of 52 boisterous, independent-minded conservatives & libertarians.
Yes, there were some low-quality candidates out there who might end up losing, but rather than simply “candidate quality,” which is a smear against populist conservatives/libertarians, it seems that there might be a better correlation between Trump-backed candidates and election underperformance. (Sorry, not sorry.) Look at Dr. Oz losing to Fetterman (Fetterman! What the hell happened there?) in Pennsylvania, Don Bolduc in New Hampshire, or Herschel Walker’s underperformance in Georgia.
Trump has already made everything about himself and ramped up the micro-attacks on Desantis (“De-sanctimonious,” how clever!), as it is clear that there is one star rising and another one fading. Of course, Trump will not go quietly or pass the torch graciously. Get ready for a really ugly potential primary for 2024, and it appears to be starting next week. (Ugh.)
But take heart, conservatives and libertarians! The Republicans will most likely gain control of the House, and if they win in Arizona and Nevada, they will get the Senate majority even without the annoying Georgia runoff. (Winning the Senate majority would not be due to McConnell’s efforts whatsoever. Mitch has earned “minority” stattus in the Senate.) And based upon these lackluster congressional results, there might actually be a more conservative challenger to Kevin McCarthy for Speaker of the House. (How about Thomas Massie or Marjorie Taylor Greene?! I know; this will probably not happen...) This would be a good thing, because it is way past time for the House to exercise tighter control of those purse strings, shut down all foreign aid to Ukraine, and cut off all funding for Covid tyranny and interventions. (It’d be great to get a complete spending freeze until there is an actual budget passed.) More to come soon.