Insight

“My own political philosophy is very plain and humble; I can trust the uneducated, but not the badly educated.” —G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936)

For the Record

“Candidate. Quality. Matters.” —Ben Shapiro

“There’s no way to sugarcoat it — Republicans got bamboozled in the midterms. All the polls that we reported showing Republican candidates surging in the final weeks of their campaigns, the race ratings from the Cook Political Report, and the overconfident statements from GOP leaders were all significantly overly optimistic about what we all watched play out on Tuesday night. There were GOP victories … but conservatives were sold a false bill of goods from the leaders tasked with delivering GOP majorities. … In an election year that favored Republicans purely for its timing as the first midterm of the Biden administration, an advantage that should have been helped by a president with chronically underwater approval, inflation above eight percent, surging crime and drug overdose crises, a wide open border, and so many more reasons, there’s no reason Republican candidates should have performed as poorly as they did.” —Spencer Brown

“No one believed that ‘Democracy is on the ballot’ was a winning argument made by President Biden and Democrats — and yet that argument seemingly won out over what Republicans were pitching as their final argument. ‘Democracy’ wasn’t even in the top issues listed by voters, who exit polls in key states showed are deeply dissatisfied with Biden’s policies. Yet the economic, national security, and law and order pitches made by Republicans didn’t lead to wins. As the dust settles after Election Day, it’s time for Republican voters to get answers about what happened.” —Spencer Brown

“I have seen enough… Regardless of the final numbers, given economic conditions, Biden’s unpopularity, out of control Wokeness, COVID insanity, & basic historical norms for a midterm election, 2022 is the most underperforming cycle for the GOP in my lifetime. Why? Donald Trump.” —John Ziegler

“How could you look at these results tonight and conclude Trump has any chance of winning a national election in 2024?” —Scott Jennings

“Independent voters want competence and normality. Which is totally understandable after Trump/Covid. Where Republicans provided both — Kemp and DeSantis — they won handily.” —Michael Brendan Dougherty

“People who are happy or breathing easier because of the outcome of this election now own its consequences. Inflation, high gas and food prices, and an open border are likely to continue. Republicans have a lot of work to do to change voter attitudes. Maybe another two years of suffering will do it, assuming the country survives.” —Cal Thomas

“About last night…The American people have woefully underestimated the extent to which children have been radicalized in our public schools. A generation of pronoun-confused Americans who hate the Constitution.” —Todd Starnes

“New York and Michigan both voted for feckless tyrants who locked them up during COVID but refuse to lock up actual criminals. They voted for tyranny. So let them have what they want. Good riddance.” —Matt Walsh

“There was no red wave but neither was this any sort of resounding victory for the Democrats. We’re left with an electorate divided, confused, and uninspired. Neither party has a coherent message or competent leadership.” —Matt Walsh

“Pretty incredible that the ‘we’ll make you poorer and less safe, but we’ll let you kill your baby’ message seems to work for a lot of people.” —Allie Beth Stuckey

Upright

“Big positive here is Republicans are taking the house, at minimum, and Joe Biden will be able to do nothing for the next two years. So he can’t make things worse. The 2024 presidential race starts now.” —Clay Travis

“A major flaw in Republican thinking over the years is their desire to be liked and to appease the major media. Being liked is overrated. Discipline is needed. A disciplined party that can demonstrate success on what voters care most about will succeed and success is the best antidote to the policy and rhetorical poison cranked out by the left. … Advice to Republicans: ignore the media and do what you are being elected to do. The result will be better for your party and more importantly better for the country.” —Cal Thomas

“The mandate for Republicans will be to stop Biden’s terrible agenda dead. It will not be to make very loud but tactically foolish moves. The American people keep saying the same thing over and over: we want some semblance of normalcy. Stop bothering us. Leave us alone. This is not a difficult thing to achieve.” —Ben Shapiro

And Last…

“Charlie Crist on Tuesday successfully defended his title as the only candidate in American history to lose a statewide election as a Democrat, Republican, and independent.” —Andrew Stiles

“And we bid a fond farewell to Beto O'Rourke, who will launch his 2024 presidential bid next week.” —Ben Shapiro