How many empty promises have Republican politicians made over the last decade? It's hard to keep track given the breadth of issues involved. I could mention the repeated failures to stop illegal immigration, or the numerous comical broken pledges to rein in government spending, and that would just be the tip of the iceberg. 

When confronted with their failures, Republicans always fall back on one messaging strategy: Telling their voters to wait until the next election. Jesse Kelly expressed that in the form of sarcasm on Friday, nailing the biggest problem with the GOP, and it didn't take him more than a couple of dozen words.

We need to Republicans to win in 2024 so we can finally get rid of FISA and cut spending. And repeal Obamacare.

— Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC) December 15, 2023

I'll admit to becoming extremely jaded about Republican politics following the 2022 election. The GOP was supposed to take back the Senate and the House, stopping the Biden administration in its tracks. Instead, Republicans lost a seat in the Senate and secured the slimmest of margins in the House, leading to perhaps the most ineffectual congressional term in modern history. 

"But just wait until after the next election," they proclaim, assuring Republican voters that next time it'll be different. Next time, they take down the deep state. Next time, they'll cut spending. Next time, they'll secure the border. Next time, they'll fight the culture wars. Then, when none of that happens, the same excuses get made and the same empty promises get made all over again. 

And lest anyone thinks their favorite federal GOP politician is special (there are some real, tangible accomplishments being made at the state levels), I'm here to tell you that they aren't. Go back to 2014 when Republicans retook the Senate and then work your way forward. How many promises were made by presidents, senators, and congressional members during that decade that actually came to fruition? The list is small. 

Yet, here we are, in the Year of our Lord, 2023, and we are still being told that if you just put Republicans in power in 2024, they'll take down the deep state and cut spending. It's laughable. Why would anyone believe them at this point?

Worse, the latest fad among GOP politicians is to blame the voters for daring to hold to basic principles. The claim goes that we'd win more elections if we were just a little more pro-abortion and cared a little less about Social Security bankrupting the country. You see, it's not their fault for failing to deliver decade after decade. It's your fault for expecting them to.

That's not to say that Democrat governance is preferable. It is to say that Republican voters should demand more of those they elect. Stop letting these politicians get away with lying to you and demeaning you just because Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer are worse. 

If the GOP actually wants to win, then it should start doing things that energize and strengthen its voter base. Saying they're going to repeal Obamacare for a decade straight and not doing it is the opposite of that, and there are many more examples. Unfortunately, solving problems and getting things done isn't good for fundraising so I might as well be spitting into the wind.