Republicans still snatching defeat from the jaws of victory; Lesson from California.

by Rod Williams, 9-16-2021 - I think there are lessons to be taken from the defeat of the Governor Gavin Newsom recall effort in California.  Some of these lessons should have already been learned but Republicans are slow learners.  We should have won the two Georgia senate seats that caused us to lose control of the Senate, but when Trump went to Georgia and made the election about Trump, when he attacked other elected Georgia Republican leaders, and when he spread doubts that one's vote was likely to be counted, he tamped down Republican turn-out and handed Georgia to the Democrats on a silver platter.

In California, It was an uphill battle to recall Newsom, but not impossible.  Republicans made sure it wasn't going to happen. I hope Republicans can learn some important lessons between now and the mid-term.  We should win the mid-term, but if we do things the way we have been doing them, we won't. The mid-terms need to be a referendum on Biden; not Trump. 

Here is what I take away from the California recall:

• If we make the election about Donald Trump, we lose.  
• We can't win with candidates that fire up the base but have no cross-over appeal.
• The myth of the stolen election is toxic.

My friend Mark Rogers shared an insight about the California recall election yesterday on Facebook. While I may not express it so bluntly as Mr. Rogers, I generally concur.  I am reposting his Facebook comment below. 

This insightful analysis from Rich Lowery appears in Politico today and explores the same concerns. Opinion | The Stolen-Election Myth Has Become an Albatross for the GOP. It is well worth reading. 

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