Unjustifiable Chaos, the Future of Conservatism, and Meet Coach Dad
Sorry I’m a day late on this one. I completely forgot what day is what. Such is life in quarantine when you’ve been off a schedule for more than two weeks. On the menu today are thoughts on conservatism moving forward, what it’s like to be a dad and a coach, and a recipe for my favorite (non-alcoholic) drink. As always, be sure to share and encourage folks to subscribe.
On Wednesday, a protest of the 2020 election results turned into a chaotic scene as protestors stormed and breached the Capitol building in Washington D.C.
As the evening went on, several prominent Republicans voiced their frustration and anger with the events, and as the chaos continued, it led to some of the most disgraceful scenes in American history. Protestors stealing things from the Capitol building, rummaging through Senators’ desks, smashing windows, vandalizing offices, all because they do not like the outcome of an election.
Curiously, several people took to Twitter to attempt to justify the scandalous… no, terroristic behavior of those protestors. Most of the tweets look something like this:
Lots of callbacks to the BLM/Antifa protests over the summer throughout the world of social media. The general idea appears to be that this protest is understandable, or even justifiable, because the BLM/Antifa protests over the summer were also chaotic and destructive.
Nothing that happened on Wednesday is understandable or justifiable. It was a damn shame, and it is not something we should condone.
A lot of this talk stems from the idea that because the Democrats allowed their side to get away with so much, and because the media refused to hold them accountable, that this is naturally what comes next - it is a continuation of the argument that we should be playing by their rules.
This is something that we should absolutely reject. It is an embarassment and a violation of the very spirit of what we are supposed to be.
We are supposed to be better than they are, not on the same level. We make our case to the public on not burning down American cities, on not violating the Constitution and its institutions. To stoop to their level hasn’t won us anything. At our best, we win elections and make gains in important battlegrounds. When we are at our most base, then we lose.
Republicans made far more gains from 2010 to 2016 then they did from 2016-2020. Yes, Mitt Romney could not beat Barack Obama in 2012, but Republicans did well otherwise. By 2016, most of the Democratic Party had been wiped out, and Donald Trump won an the Presidency largely due to the fact that he wasn’t Hillary Clinton and wasn’t from inside the Beltway.
But the very next election cycle, 2018, a lot of those gains began getting washed away. It was a repudiation of Trump’s tactics, which we being employed not just by him but by many of his followers. The desperation of many Republicans to tie themselves to him forced them to tie themselves to that behavior that center-right and moderate voters despise.
Those antics continued on to November, where he lost - and I have explained why before - and Republicans stood on the verge of defeat when it all came down to two Senate seats in Georgia.
From there, the President and many of his allies pushed conspiracy theories that are not only unprovable, but they are also impossible. It is one thing to have a healthy skepticism of some of the procedures that went down, but it’s another to assume to declare many of the things that the President was declaring and that his allies were pushing.
People clearly weren’t buying it, and in the middle of all that you had those two Senate seats up for grabs with Republicans in Georgia and across the country all but telling Georgians that their votes won’t matter so it’s not even worth it to try.
Democratic turnout on Tuesday was ten percent less than it was in November. Republican turnout was down thirty percent, and a lot of it in places like north Georgia, where the President held a rally and proceeded to attack Georgia’s statewide elected Republicans. He even vowed to primary Governor Brian Kemp. Small wonder the Trump-loyal base in north Georgia did not turn out in droves like they were supposed to.
But the people who stormed the Capitol building and ransacked it were encouraged to do exactly that because for four years a lot of what our side has been saying is “The Democrats are our enemy. The Republicans are our enemy. Washington D.C., the Swamp, is our enemy.” And because that mantra kept going out, spearheaded by a man who would not accept that he lost, a few hundred lunatics rampaged through the very building where the election was being certified.
A woman is dead, shot by law enforcement because she was somewhere she shouldn’t be. She is a victim not of the police but of the conspiracy theorists.
Those few hundred lunatics are not reflective of the entire conservative base, just as the extremist Antifa thugs are not reflective of the entire progressive base. But both groups, if they are comparable at all, are comparable in that they are the natural result of constantly demonizing the other side and not being aware of how our words can set a mentally unstable person down the wrong path.
There is nothing justifiable about the chaos in Washington D.C. on Wednesday. We must do better and be better.
The Conservative Movement for the Next Two Years
If things hold as predicted, the United States Senate is split at 50-50, meaning Democrats control it because they control the White House and Vice President Kamala Harris will break any party-line ties.
Rather than focus on the blame game here, though, conservatives have to figure out two things right now if they want to retake either the House or the Senate in 2022.
The first thing conservatives need to figure out is whether or not pro-Trump and Trump-skeptical conservatives can exist going forward. Let’s assume Trump isn’t running again in 2024. If that’s the case, where do his voters go? The Georgia results appear to indicate that if he’s not on the ballot, they don’t go out and vote. Can they work with people who were not down with Trump?
Likewise, can Trump-skeptical or Trump-hating conservatives exist in the same coalition as Trump supporters? Both sides have become so angry with each other that there doesn’t seem to be a clear path toward unity at this time. Maybe if Trump fades from the scene a bit, there will be some healing, but it’s impossible to tell right now. Mature adults would get over it, realize one man is not representative of a whole ideology, and move on. But I am not entirely sure I’ve seen anything resembling maturity from either side in this.
The other thing conservatives need to figure out is the roadmap to 2020. I’ve mentioned it before, but it bears repeating: After Barack Obama, the Democrats had no bench whatsoever. Republicans are a bit better off than that right now, but in order to make sure they avoid a 2010s-Democrats-level wipeout, they need to start building up their reserves.
Local and state races are key. New and fresh faces have got to be trained. There has to be a return to normalcy in terms of rhetoric and principle. It’s not enough to just be a conservative, to say that you want to beat the Democrats, or to say you supported Donald Trump when your opponents wouldn’t. You need to articulate actual principles now. The Democrats and their principles are clear. Republicans have been focused so much on Donald Trump that they have lost their way when it comes to the things that they are supposed to believe in, like limited government size and spending.
We have heard stories for years about George Soros, corrupt election officials, and all sorts of issues with Democrats trying to usurp the country at these lower levels. But all we have done about them is complain. It’s easier to complain rather than go out and actively fight it. We should be doing more to recruit and elect better people. You can beat election fraud by working harder to get people out.
The 2020 election turnout was the highest it’s been in over 120 years… at 66.7 percent. That means one-third of the country still didn’t go vote. How much different would the results be if we got 75 or 80 percent turnout?
Conservatives have to figure out where they are going from here. I know what I’m doing. I see local school board elections not too far off and plenty of problems that need to be addressed. I see a local government led by a weak, ineffective robot. I want both of those bodies to be changed, so I am going to fight to do so. Does that mean I have to work alongside people who treated these last four years differently than I did? Yes, but I am willing to do that because ideology is more important than any one politician.
What are you going to do to right the ship here?
Homestyle: Meet Coach Dad
On this week’s episode of Homestyle, my co-host Leigh Guidry and I talk with two high school basketball coaches: Myself and also her husband, Eric.
I can tell you from personal experience that being a full-time coach and a full-time family man can be tough. In our conversation, Leigh and Eric talk about the balance of work and home life, and we all talk about the busy schedules that make it hard to be there when you want to be. Also, we talk some basketball strategy at the end because I couldn’t help but ask.
If you want to hear more, you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, and we’d love to hear your feedback. Subscribe, rate, and review the podcast here, and if you have cooking, crafting, or family activity ideas, you can find us on Facebook and on Instagram (@Homestylepod).
——————————————-
The Homestyle Podcast is a joint venture between myself and one of my best friends, education reporter Leigh Guidry. Throughout each episode, we discuss cooking, crafting, and other hobbies as well as how we make sure to spend time with our families despite how insanely busy life can be. The goal of the podcast has always been to take a moment to focus on what’s really important because, at the end of the day, family and life is more important than whatever distractions are going on in the world around us.
Recipe of the Week: Almond Tea
This one isn’t complicated, but it is one of my favorite drinks from my childhood. My grandmother made it often and I would ask her to make some whenever I had to bring something for a class party or something like that in school. Without fail, she’d make it and it was always awesome.
It is three simple ingredients: tea, lemonade, and almond extract. You can vary it up however you’d like, but I use Crystal Lite because it’s sugar free and also way easier.
1 2-qt. packet of Crystal Lite Lemonade
1 2-qt. packet of Crystal Life Lemon Tea
Almond extract, to taste
Empty the packets into a gallon pitcher and add water, stirring to fully incorporate the powders.
Add almond extract, one teaspoon at a time, until you like the flavor. Serve over ice.
Final Thoughts…
I cannot stress it enough: You are not so deeply impacted by politics in Washington D.C. that any single federal election will destroy your life or the country. There will be moments of discomfort, but there is always a state of flux in American politics. Take care of yourself, your family, and focus on your community.