Speed It Up, Calendar
Ever since last year’s train wreck of an election, conservatives have had their eyes firmly fixed on 2022. The hope is that Republicans can take back the House and maybe even the Senate, thus kneecapping the Oval Office occupant’s agenda. We say “2022” over and over as if it’s some sort of soothing mantra.
What many of us didn’t anticipate was the breakneck speed with which the Biden-Harris-Fauci administration would wreak havoc with America. Suddenly, 2022 feels like it’s five years away.
There are no guarantees in life or politics, so we can’t just assume that things will get better. If there is one hard lesson I’ve learned in life — especially after last year — it’s never to say that things can’t possibly get worse. The darker forces in the universe are just waiting to pounce on sentiments like that.
Optimism and I aren’t very familiar with each other these days, but I do like the GOP’s chances to take back the House of Representatives next year. The trend last year wasn’t good for the Democrats at all. They — and all of the pollsters — were convinced that they would strengthen their majority and instead they almost lost it. Democratic leadership constantly overreaches on issues that Beltway Dems fetishize, but most of America doesn’t care about those issues, which may pave the way for the kind of steamrolling the Republicans did in 2010.
My gut tells me that the Senate really isn’t in play. The two most talked-about vulnerabilities are Raphael Warnock in Georgia and Mark Kelly here in my home state of Arizona.
Warnock is loony tunes and the fact that he’s in the Senate at all is frightening. It’s also a testament to how screwed up Georgia’s voting laws were last year. Some of that mess has been remedied, but no real challenger has emerged from the GOP side. There is a rumor that University of Georgia and NFL legend Herschel Walker might run. That could make things interesting.
I don’t really think that Mark Kelly is vulnerable here. He’s kept his head down so far, taking cues from Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and treating Arizona like the purple state that it is. The GOP here doesn’t have much of a bench. The person with the best name recognition and probably the best chance to beat Kelly is Gov. Doug Ducey, who has already said he won’t run. This worries me greatly because I have no doubt that Kelly will veer hard left if he wins a full term, especially on Second Amendment issues.
Republicans have to walk a tightrope right now, spending enormous energy to thwart the Democrats’ agenda while prepping for next year’s midterms. By the way, those don’t happen for another sixteen months. We’re not even six months into this administration’s reign and it seems like forever. Yes, 2022 may very well bring relief, but it’s kinda scary to think about how much damage the Democrats can do between now and then, especially if they resign themselves to losing.
I’m gonna need a bigger liquor cabinet and a faster calendar.
