Well, that didn't go well. 

Into every life, some rain will fall, right? Longfellow warned us about days like Tuesday: 

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary

All true, but it still sucks. It sucks to lose, of course, even when the stakes are low. And it sucks more when the stakes are high, as they were this election cycle.

But still, just because we lost this battle doesn't mean we have lost the war. Most people who read Hot Air are old enough to remember the 70s or even the mid-to-late 60s (which were fresh history for me when I became politically aware, but still history), and by almost any objective measure, things were much, much worse. There were bombings, assassinations, a much worse economy, a war that left tens of thousands of Americans dead, and a very sour mood and pessimism ruled the land. 

The pre-Reagan landscape was objectively horrible. 

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On the other hand, the so-called "silent majority" was far better educated, the propaganda machine was far less sophisticated, our cultural elites were far less radical, our public schools were not riddled with commies, and the "Long March Through the Institutions" was closer to its beginning than its end. 

So we start out in both a stronger and weaker position than we did back then. 

History doesn't repeat; it rhymes. The rhyme is obvious, but the strategy to win it must be different. Over the next few months and years, we need to formulate a new battle plan that gets us back in the fight. 

It's doable, but it will be hard. But the Democrats don't have a trifecta; what they have is the gavels in Washington. Their main agenda will consist of two tracks: punish Republicans, mainly outside government, and set up votes that will help them in 2028. They can't pass legislation without Trump, but they can set the terrain for 2028. 

You can take heart in this fact: when Republican POLICIES were on the ballot, especially on voter ID and transgender policies, votes chose our issues. That is a very real victory. Now we need to rebuild the Republican brand so our candidates win too.
















































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