While the tallies are not final, and won’t be for days, weeks or, in the case of Georgia, a month or better, Tuesday’s election already contains lessons for us if we are only willing to learn them. Let’s take a look.
The surest lesson is that we remain a divided country. As we wait for the control of the US House and Senate to be determined, the honest expectation is that nothing much will change. Either way, neither party has walked away with a clear mandate. There is no strong referendum on the Biden administration or the actions of the congress.
If Republicans gain control of either house of Congress (or even both) the best we can hope for is a check on the radical agenda the Biden administration has been pursuing for two years. But that will depend on how Republican leadership handles the responsibility. If they go off on some wild goose chase of constant, money wasting investigations of things they should have been studying for the last two years anyway, or hopeless attempts at impeaching President Biden, forget it. All bets are off.
The Republican’s best bet would be in passing good legislation to bring inflation into check, help struggling families and right the nonsense we are seeing in education across the country. Pass smart spending bills and other measures and send them to President Biden to consider. Put the monkey on his back. He signs them or he doesn’t. There will be a record upon which to build.
Here in the Sunshine State, the election was a referendum on the governorship of Ron DeSantis, the work of the legislature and moving Florida forward. Florida was the Red Wave with races from the top of the ticket to the bottom going Republican in a huge way, typically in 60-40 fashion. One local race was an exception where the District-53 State Representative only held off his unknown Democratic challenger by 11 points. That result is a reflection on an elected official not being what he portrayed to the people who elected him initially.
All of this will impact the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election. Will Ron DeSantis run for president? What will Donald Trump do and what’s his Tuesday announcement next week? If DeSantis, with the help of an overwhelming Republican majority in the legislature, keeps Florida on the path it’s been on for the last four years it could be the start of an actual Red Wave in 2024.
It will be up to Republican officials to take advantage, to show leadership and not waste the people’s time and money. I hope Republican leaders take this responsibility seriously. If so, there is reason for hope in turning the country around.
If Ron DeSantis can keep Florida on a good path and bolster his leadership credentials, keep speaking to national issues while properly managing our state government, avoid unforced errors and keep Florida a leader in the nation, he could find himself leading a real Red Wave.