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Leave it to a Democratic strategist like Paul Begala and the chattering class to draw specious conclusions from the special election in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional district. In fact, they major in adding two and two and coming up with five. So, while Democrats like Mr. Begala are crowing about Conor Lamb’s not yet final win in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, perhaps it’s time for conservatives to serve up a little reality check and put it on a platter.
In an opinion piece for the Clinton News Network, Mr. Begala asserts that “Republicans are gonna need a bigger yacht” and then links the reader to a clip of the 1975 movie “Jaws.” We assume this is his metaphorical statement that Democrats are poised to chew up and spit out President Trump, or at least devour Republicans in the midterm elections.
Please, Mr. Begala, we beg you to underestimate the power of the president: It is so valuable to Mr. Trump and his political base. It was indispensable in the last election and will prove just as effective in the next.
Here are just a few reasons why you shouldn’t take Lamb’s win as a portent of things to come:
It’s the Economy, Stupid
Paul Begala
We begin by quoting one of your very own: “It’s the economy, stupid.” First coined by your pal James Carville back in 1992, someone with a “D” after his name finally lurched uncontrollably into the truth. If the economy matters – and it does – then voters will take this with them to the voting booth as they have for decades.
Thus, if we survey the economic conditions in America today, we have the lowest unemployment rate in ages, rising wages, albeit small at a 2.6% increase, but nevertheless rising, and a roaring stock market. Let us not forget this record low unemployment is across the board and includes blacks and Hispanics. Then there are the tax cuts, with folks across the country picking up their so-called “crumbs” in every Congressional district from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Now Democrats could make the argument that it is women who Mr. Trump and Republicans, in general, need to sway in the next election. According to the Pew Research Center, “Women supported Clinton over Trump by 54% to 42%. This is about the same as the Democratic advantage among women in 2012.” Therefore, conservatives must speak to the concerns of women in particular to win their vote.
Women Vote on Security Issues
Study after study confirms that women typically care about and vote on security issues. So, how’s POTUS doing in protecting the homeland?
Well, there are those prototypes of The Wall sitting in San Diego waiting to be built. There’s the doubling of U.S. ICE agents, who are arresting illegals left and right. There is a reduction of criminal gang members in the U.S. by 36%. Chain migration reform is around the corner, not to mention that Obama’s perplexing “catch and release” immigration strategy has gone the way of the dodo bird.
If immigration doesn’t float their boat, then how about Trump’s additional measures in protecting local communities. Attorney General Jeff Sessions initiated a plan to cut down on violent crime with a new Public Safety Partnership. The Department of Justice funded more than 800 police to hit the streets with a $98 million-dollar grant. And President Trump has already put his signature on three executive orders designed to repress and punish international crime organizations.
Expanding our view from U.S. shores outward, we have the decimation of ISIS, and now Kim Jung-Un is primed to sit down with the president regarding nukes. Women in America don’t like nukes. The threat of nuclear war makes women especially uneasy, so this is a “big get” for Mr. Trump.
The Party of Nothing
Then there’s the issue of the Democratic party. They are clearly in disarray and are just barely beginning to accept their astounding defeat at the hands of a political neophyte. No matter how often they tell her, Hillary still won’t go away and is now on a worldwide loser tour. And one must ask who do the Democrats have waiting in the wings: Chucky, the Clown? Fauxcahontas? Burned out Bernie? And this doesn’t even take into account that they have yet to determine their message. Resist and impeach, as we’ve said before, is not a political platform.
Perhaps Democrats should rethink their swagger over the likely Lamb win. Maybe he was just a young, fresh candidate that ran as a blue collar pro-Trump Democrat? Either way, Mr. Begala, if the Republicans need – as you say – a bigger yacht because a shark is headed their way, then perhaps you better plug up your leaky boat. Ships with holes as broad and deep as yours are more likely to run aground than sail into the sunset.
