GOP’s Midterm Annihilation Comes Down to One Factor

In the aftermath of Tuesday night’s wipeout, an intramural Republican fracas broke out between MAGA populists and their rivals, referred to as the GOP “establishment,” even though MAGA is the GOP establishment. The dispute centers on competing rationalizations for the debacle — was it caused by the or by the ? To repeat what I contended to Rich Lowry in our podcast this week, the argument signals that Republicans are far from confronting what truly ails them. This is blame-shifting, not serious self-examination.

Yes, there is a single, silver-bullet answer to the question, “Why did we get crushed?” But it’s not a single policy, even if there is no gainsaying the significance of the war and the import taxes. The answer is — specifically, the president’s shameful, erratic, often reckless, always self-absorbed, exhausting, in-your-face-24/7 second-term performance — reminding people nonstop of all the reasons they disliked him the first go-round, but this time without the perception of rising prosperity.

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.

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In the aftermath of Tuesday night’s wipeout, an intramural Republican fracas broke out between MAGA populists and their rivals, referred to as the GOP “establishment,” even though MAGA is the GOP establishment. The dispute centers on competing rationalizations for the debacle — was it caused by the or by the ? To repeat what I contended to Rich Lowry in our podcast this week, the argument signals that Republicans are far from confronting what truly ails them. This is blame-shifting, not serious self-examination.

Yes, there is a single, silver-bullet answer to the question, “Why did we get crushed?” But it’s not a single policy, even if there is no gainsaying the significance of the war and the import taxes. The answer is — specifically, the president’s shameful, erratic, often reckless, always self-absorbed, exhausting, in-your-face-24/7 second-term performance — reminding people nonstop of all the reasons they disliked him the first go-round, but this time without the perception of rising prosperity.

About the Author

Andrew C. McCarthy

Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at National Review Institute, an NR contributing editor, and author of Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency.