I don't think there is a better way to describe what happened. Republicans got...take your pick...trounced, shellacked, thrashed. First, let's look at the numbers. The Senate had a Republican majority of 53 to 45 for the Democrats, with an additional 2 independents caucusing with the Democrats. Now, the Senate has flipped to 55 Democrats and 44 Republicans, with Alaska still undecided. But Texas and Mississippi both went Democrat.
In the House, the Republicans had 218 seats to the Democrats 212. Post election, NBC has projected 259 seats for the Democrats to 176 for the Republicans. Republicans fared no better in the Governor races. Before the election there were 26 Republican governors and 24 Democrats. Now, there will be 30 Democratic governors and 20 Republicans. As for the state legislatures, Republicans had held the edge with 28 and 18 for the Democrats, with 3 states having split state houses. Nebraska is the outlier with a single, nonpartisan legislative body. Now, the Democrats will have control in 24 states, with the Republicans having 22 states. 2 states are split, and 2 remain undecided (last I checked).
There have been many analyses about why things turned out as they did. Let's look at what the Vice President said. "The reason we lost is the war...the President himself said so..." I think that Trump made a couple of big mistakes regarding the war, which I supported. First, he announced it on Truth Social. Are you kidding me, Trump? Who gives a damn about Truth Social. So, maybe your base reads that. So what? You needed to give an address to the nation from the Oval Office explaining why we are going to war.
If Trump didn't know what to say, I could have written that speech for him. I would have explained that Iran has been at war with us since 1979. Then I would I would enumerated the list of attacks by Iran on America, American citizens and American military bases. Starting with the taking of American hostages in 1979. And including the killing of Americans by Iran's proxies in Hamas and Hezbollah. And I would have quoted every president from Bill Clinton forward saying Iran must never be allowed to get nuclear weapons. And I would have explained how the JCPOA was not working. An easy speech, but an important speech.
Trump's next mistake was agreeing to any pause in the war. And saying/pretending that there can be serious and legitimate negotiations with the Ayatollahs. That's a joke. I have been following the issue of Iranian nukes for over 20 years. Each time Iran would feign interest in making some deal, while continuing to build up their nuclear facilities, even resulting in Obama having to announce the location of a previously undisclosed secret facility. Very disappointing, President Trump.
What else did Vance say? Citing who he described as a "smart" pollster, Vance said there were 4 things Republicans need to do to get the voters back. 1. End the war. (Me: win the war! See above.) 2. Affordability/cost of living. With restaurant prices way up since Covid started, I still see people eating out all the time. Gas prices were the issue. 3. Make America first. Trump clearly did that...unless you completely and foolishly oppose all foreign aid - such as to Ukraine and Israel.
4. "Change our relationship to Israel." Nice to see our Republican Vice President siding with the Democrats. He is the kind of friend I would never want to have - run at the first sign of trouble. Are you truly unable to state the case for arguably our best ally in the world - Israel? Do you truly not know all the many ways the United States benefits from our relationship with Israel? America is safer thanks to Israel. Maybe the Vice President ought to read my blog posts and learn a few things.
One thing is certain. Vance is trying to distance himself from Trump, and the Administration of which he is a part, after the beating the Republicans just took. Because there is no doubt he plans on seeking the 2028 Republican nomination for President. I, for one, pray that he does not get it.
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