The midterm elections continue to creep closer and all eyes are on the GOP, which is expected to retake at least the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate. Despite polling showing that the highly-anticipated red wave might not be in the offing, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) will soon be unveiling his “Commitment to America,” a Gingrichesque gambit designed to assure the American public that the GOP can right the ship that Democrats have steered into a collision course with a Titanic-like iceberg.
The Washington Examiner reported:
GOP lawmakers are rallying around House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s “Commitment to America” agenda after the California Republican previewed the plan during a closed-door conference meeting on Thursday, just ahead of its rollout slated to take place outside of Pittsburgh on Friday.
The four-plank platform, which includes language calling for “an economy that is strong,” “a government that’s accountable,” “a future that’s free,” and “a nation that’s safe” but does not lay out specific legislation to address these topics, comes as Republicans fight to flip control of the House in November. McCarthy has encouraged members to use the plan as a messaging tool as they return to their districts to campaign.
What is noteworthy about this development is that both moderate and America First Republicans agreed on the blueprint. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said she thought it was “fantastic,” according to the report.
“I think the conciseness, I would say, can be very productive, and I look forward to focusing on this in the coming weeks,” Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE) told the Washington Examiner.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who did something similar in the 1990s with the “Contract with America,” consulted with McCarthy and others on the proposal and was present at the meeting along with former Trump White House adviser Kellyanne Conway. She urged lawmakers to focus on the economy, an issue that polling has shown favors the GOP.
Gingrich is reported to have said that “the message will work every time,” and that “we need to be positive we can make America work again, draw [a] contrast with Biden.”
The former speaker also suggested that Republican lawmakers “be focused as a team” and acknowledged that “every one of us could find three things you don’t like and three things you think it’s missing.”
However, he cautioned that lawmakers should not “allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good.”
Conway also provided some sage advice for Republican lawmakers: “Tell voters to believe what they see, not what Dems say.”
She pointed out that Democrats are “running on Jan. 6, abortion, and climate” and that “they beat you by a few points. Run on the economy — you win on that issue by double digits. Show that there is a plan.”
The GOP would be wise to heed the advice of Gingrich and Conway. The Democrats have nothing to run on, which is why they are laser-focused on making the midterms about former President Donald Trump. It is why they continue harping on the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol and his legal troubles.
The only other issue that Democrats and their comrades in the activist media have been able to exploit effectively is abortion, which is still not a top priority for voters in the leadup to November.
This is why I suggested a while ago that the GOP not allow Democrats to make the midterms about Trump. In fact, spending more time defending Trump instead of attacking Democrats for their apparent incompetence is not a winning strategy.
The fact of the matter is that Trump can defend himself – he has always been good at it. But McCarthy and company would do far better by focusing on the economy, inflation, and jobs if they wish to increase their hold on the House and possibly retake the Senate. Remind voters that the left seeks to persuade them to ignore the fact that they are paying more for groceries than they were before Biden and Democrats took control of the White House and legislature. This is what will motivate Independents and moderates to support the GOP when they show up at the polls in November.
