It would appear that no one fools with blogs these days. I haven't updated this one in over five years, in fact, and no one has noticed (I didn't even realize that sad fact until a few moments ago). So, it's safe to say that I can rant to a nonexistent audience. Fair enough.
So, the 2022 midterms are over and what have we learned? We know that Joe Biden is about as popular as anal warts (have a look at his pitiful approval rating over at 538 if you want proof) so it would seem the GOP was poised to crush Democrats in the midterms, right?
Well, that didn't happen.
Why?
Simply put, it appears that certain voters hate Republicans enough to vote for anyone running against them. There are two races that stand as evidence of that -- the senate race in Pennsylvania and the governor's race in Arizona.
Now, Pennsylvania was particularly eye-opening. While it's true that Republican Mehmet Oz isn't a great candidate, he ran against John Fetterman -- a shuffling goon with brain damage who has trouble forming a complete sentence. Does anyone believe that voters enthusiastically lined up to vote for a lummox who is more likely to show up in a hoodie and drool on the Senate floor than introduce any meaningful legislation for the people of Pennsylvania?
Nope. They didn't vote for Fetterman -- they voted against Oz.
As for Arizona, Republican Kari Lake faced off against Democrat Katie Hobbs. That is a particularly revealing race because Lake is an intelligent, well spoken individual while Hobbs is analogous to the color tan -- she's not particularly offensive, but she's not terribly bright or engaging, either. To make matters worse, she gives of a "cat lady" vibe and her voice is like nails on a blackboard. It's hard to believe that people would actually go out and vote for her -- people simply chose to vote against Lake.
It's safe to say that Republicans have an image problem that cost them the midterms and could cost them the presidency in 2024 unless they make some changes. And, yes -- I, the great Hawg, am here to advise the GOP on a few things it can do to appeal to voters and stop losing to horrible candidates like Fetterman and Hobbs. I'll do this in several parts and will add posts when I damn well feel like it.
Step 1: Get Rid of Trump
Don't get me wrong. I voted for Trump twice. If he gets the nomination in 2024, I'll vote for him for president. However, sticking with the Trumpster is a great way to see that Joe Biden or one of his surrogates wins the presidency in 2024. I've had enough of high gas prices, inflation, reckless spending and the other maladies inflicted on the international embarrassment that is Joe Biden. So, no thanks.
Here's the thing about Trump -- his approval was almost as bad as Biden's. That is just a fact and one can easily compare numbers on the aforementioned 538. Sticking with the guy is a recipe for failure. Consider this -- Democrats realize how much Americans hate Biden and there are calls for him to not run in 2024. Why on earth would the GOP rally behind a candidate who is almost as hated as the slug that is in the White House right now? That just makes no sense.
Want more proof of the public's negative reaction to Trump? He endorsed Mehmet Oz who -- as I've discussed -- lost to a lunkhead. He also endorsed Lake who, yes, struggled with the personification of the color tan. There are races around the nation where Trump was more of a hindrance than a help. Just look them up and one thing becomes clear -- the red wave was stopped and Trump was the dam.
I'll argue all day long that Trump was a better president than Biden. However, that doesn't matter. The Democrats have painted him as an insurrection-promoting fascist and that has worked for them. After all, all the Democrats couldn't tout their successes during the midterms because their haven't been any -- they could, however, declare that "Democracy was on the ballot" and that nonsense worked.
