2022 Post-Election Thoughts

I just read this comment from a conservative: “I’m done. Prayers didn’t help. We are doomed. Why even vote?”

Come on, conservatives, SNAP OUT OF IT!

First, God does not promise to grant us everything we pray for.

Second, “Why vote?” We vote because we enjoy the gift of self-government, and, therefore, we have a civic and moral obligation to exercise that right and exercise it responsibly.

People come to America from all around the world for many reasons, not the least of which is the hope and promise of self-government. How thankless and short-sighted Americans are who would toss away such a gift because of an electoral disappointment—or even many.

Third, just because conservatives did not get all the wins they had hoped for and expected (talk about an understatement) doesn’t mean nothing good came out of the election. I hope everyone watches Ron DeSantis‘ victory speech. That was worth the price of admission to the battle.

Fourth, we are battling leftist forces long and deeply entrenched in every major cultural institution (including the church), and they—leftists—have been propagandizing for over half a century. Change will take years of hard work, tenacity, courage, and a willingness to suffer the slings and arrows of both the cool kids and even our own purportedly moderate GOP colleagues.

Fifth, do we really want to model defeatism to our kids and grandkids?

Sixth, remember William Wilberforce. How long did he fight to end the slave trade? Twenty years, which included sacrificing his health for a just cause.

As Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. urged, remember in an earlier time, “the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were ‘a colony of heaven,’ called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be ‘astronomically intimidated.’ By their effort and example, they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests.”

Finally, remember the moms and dads who struggle to feed their families and keep roofs over their heads. Remember the children whose hearts and minds are being led astray by public school teachers, and whose bodies are being mutilated by “medical professionals.” And remember the thousands of humans being legally exterminated in their mothers’ wombs daily. They deserve far more and greater than our defeatism.

It’s fine to take a moment to absorb the shock and disappointment. … Okay, that moment has passed. Now, it’s time to take stock, point fingers, give some GOP leaders the heave-ho, and then get to work.

During these fiscally disastrous past two years with a wildly unpopular, cognitively unfit president, whose incompetent administration has lied, cheated, and stolen its way to failure at home and abroad, it is incomprehensible that the expected red wave petered out. But comprehend the petering out we must, and this will require a heaping helping of humility.

As we start the process of sorting out factors that led to the GOP failures—e.g., weak candidates who drag down or fail to pull up other down-ballot candidates, weak congressional leadership, lies and insults hurled within the GOP at GOP candidates, and lack of financial support for candidates—let’s also take a moment to recognize the eye-popping success of the Republican Party in Florida.

Governor Ron DeSantis is now arguably the putative head of the GOP. Through his courage, tenacity, political acumen, wisdom, intellect, steely spine, work ethic, integrity, and accomplishments during the last four difficult years, culminating in a GOP sweep throughout Florida—including in communities that many believed were impossible for a Republican candidate to win—and among minority communities—DeSantis has earned his place at the head of the GOP table.

If he wants a run at the presidency in 2024, the GOP should give it to him on a silver platter because he deserves it. He has been tried, and he’s proven that he can accomplish great things in the most challenging circumstances, which include a hostile press trying to take him out at every turn because they recognize the threat he poses. If the GOP would solidify early around DeSantis, they would win the presidency in 2024.