Republicans - Conservatives - Patriots – call yourself what you want, have become the masters of fighting for their beliefs. Bravo! You should stand and fight for policy you believe in, but maybe save some of that fight for the liberals we are ALL trying to defeat.
Lately, the fighting has been directed most savagely at fellow Republicans - Conservatives - Patriots (RCPs) leaving many feeling good about standing up for their principles and values but leaving a trail of Republican and conservative defeats in their wake. Republicans and conservatives cannot win statewide elections if RCPs remain divided.
Since the 2018 spring Supreme Court election in Wisconsin, Republicans and conservatives have lost 15 of 18 statewide elections. The three who did win were Justice Brian Hagedorn and Senator Ron Johnson who won by less than 1% of the vote and Wisconsin Treasurer John Leiber who won by 1.6% of the vote.
Democrats came remarkably close to getting 50% of the vote even in the three losses. Democrats and liberals now control the Governor, Attorney General, and the Supreme Court, and we are seeing their plan to bypass the legislative branch by taking everything to an uber-liberal Supreme Court. ACT 10, Photo ID, Right to Work, School Choice, radical abortion policy, Legislative maps, Concealed Carry – all are or will be in jeopardy with this court.
Lately, I have seen a significant number of social media attacks on Republicans by other RCPs. The common theme is to beat up on Assembly Speaker Robin Vos or anyone who dares to voice a Presidential Primary choice other than Donald Trump. “RINO,” “establishment,” “sycophant,” and more are some of the more popular terms used to deride those whom other RCPs disagree with, including me.
We as conservatives can agree on many things. We want fair elections, we want to protect our Second Amendment rights, we want lower taxes, we want expanded school choice, we want a secure nation and we want to protect the life of the unborn.
My general belief is nearly any Republican is better than a Democrat. Again, I applaud those who fight for their beliefs but when that fight leads to advocating for fellow Republicans to lose elections as I have seen in the case of Speaker Robin Vos, Senator Dan Knodl, Congressman Bryan Steil, Congressman Derrick Van Orden, and more – it is a problem.
It is difficult to govern when Republicans lose elections. Governor Evers is vetoing every conservative measure that crosses his desk and the Supreme Court is bending every constitutional norm to rule from the bench.
Politics is a math game and numbers matter. Failing to vote for a Supreme Court Justice you don’t like because you initially supported another candidate results in the liberal majority we now see. Failing to vote for the Republican gubernatorial candidate allows Evers to win and block conservative legislation.
Republicans in Congress now have just a three-seat majority – every Republican seat matters! “But I don’t like a vote Congressman Steil or Congressman Van Orden took” – tough! Get over it! Look at the bigger picture on what you DO agree on. The alternative may be a Democrat-controlled Congress, an end to Republican-sponsored bills, and an end to investigations into the Biden crime family.
This division among RCPs has been going on for a while so why is this relevant now? We are headed into a huge 2024 election year. We will be electing a President, US Senator and Congressmen.
I am supporting Ron DeSantis in the presidential primary. I believe his conservative record of accomplishment in Florida is stellar on keeping his state open during Covid, taking on the “woke” culture including Disney, draining the swamp by firing liberal DAs, job creation, and more.
I am grateful for many of the accomplishments of President Trump. I also believe he missed many opportunities such as Covid management, Fauci, Christopher Wray, and entitlement spending. If former President Trump wins the primary – I will wholeheartedly support him. I will also support whoever the Republican US Senate candidate may be and my Congressman. Republicans MUST win in 2024 and beyond.
There is so much at stake moving forward. At the Federal level, Democrats will jump at the chance to pack the Supreme Court and give statehood to Washington DC and Puerto Rico when given the opportunity.
At the state level, all the reforms of the Governor Walker era are at risk and more. Senator Ron Johnson has been trying for years to unify the Republican Party of Wisconsin. I saw Senator Johnson in action at an event with Speaker Robin Vos who was being protested by a group of RCPs. Senator Johnson went over and engaged the group, acknowledged their disagreements, and tried to have them support Republicans.
Republicans CANNOT win if RCPs remain divided. Republicans CANNOT govern if they are not elected. Conservative legislation WILL NOT be passed if Republicans are not elected.
We may not always agree on every policy but in general, Republicans - Conservatives - Patriots can agree. Take the wins as we can get them. It may be a little at a time or in big chunks but let’s stop the circular firing squad and don’t stay home helping to elect liberals. In my 30-plus years being involved in politics I have seen conservatives making huge strides at the state and federal levels.
As Ronald Reagan said, “The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally, not a 20 percent traitor.”
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