ntis shows GOP the way forward after midterm red wave ebbs

It was a difficult Tuesday night in Republican territory. Despite all the evidence pointing to a massive red tsunami that could sweep Democrats out of power in midterm elections it was a small wave that gently lapped at GOP shores.

But does a muted signal mean it’s time to tap out?

It’s still “early”, even though it is sad to say so, just a day after the elections. Some states have not yet tallied all their votes and some races are still undecided. Maricopa County in Arizona, for example, had some voting machines go down on Election Day. We now have to wait for the results.

If you want talk about problems in democracy, the messy counting of votes in certain states–even without any outright malfeasance -is an embarrassment that undermines the entire election process.

You know where this isn’t a problem? Florida.

This is a remarkable turnaround for a state that was once the poster child for electoral dysfunction. Although it was a long-term effort to fix the state, it was greatly helped by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

This is one of the most important “lessons” this week’s midterms. The Democrats are happy that, despite their unpopularity in many areas, despite inflation and economic concerns, as well as their outright cultural extremism, they didn’t lose their electoral majority.

It’s not surprising that Democrats will interpret this as a signal to intensify their efforts to combat extremism.

They have to realize that the country is not enamored of their party except in deep blue bastions. There, they will vote for dead people.

This dislike for Democrats is what makes it so difficult to imagine a red wave that never happened.

It wasn’t about the economy. Congress will be nearly equally divided after this election. This may be enough to stop President Joe Biden’s worst behavior, but is it enough? No.

To set us on a better course, we need structural and transformational changes. We also need statemanship to help us. Because of their institutional dominance, the Left can probably afford to delay the clock longer than the right.

This brings us back to Florida.

Despite the shaky Republican victories, close calls and disappointments, the Sunshine State shined brightly. DeSantis won an incredible landslide.

This was despite Florida being purple up until very recently. In 2018, DeSantis edged out his Democrat opponent by the slimmest of margins–0.4%, or 32,463 votes from 8.12 million votes.

DeSantis won Tuesday by more than a half a million votes. He also took Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties, which were deepblue even in 2020.

This is more than a win. It’s a realignment.

Right-leaning voters who moved to Florida in the last few years certainly helped boost the state’s red tide. It seems that even long-term residents have shifted to red. Miami-Dade Country hasn’t voted Republican in two decades. It was a blue bastion until this year. This mainly Latino area was voted to DeSantis by ten points.

What is the secret to governor’s success?

Many may feel that Republicans should be more moderate and abandon “culture war” issues. They might even admit that there is an insurmountable liberal cultural dominant that makes it difficult for Republicans even to win in the best of situations.

This would be a mistake. In many cases, is the big tent in the culture war.

DeSantis won because he didn’t back down from culture warfare fights. He didn’t let militant woke Zealots , even those empowered by the mighty Disney, dictate how his state would operate.

“We reject the woke ideology. We oppose the woke in the legislature. We fight the woken in schools. We fight the woken in the corporations,” DeSantis stated in Tuesday night’s victory speech. “We will never, never surrender to the woke mob. Florida is where the woke go to die.”

These are not pastels, but bold colors. Importantly, DeSantis’ leadership is not just rhetorical. That’s the key. He delivers where it matters most, even in years when he’s not running for election.

DeSantis ran not only on support for school choice, he doubled it. He didn’t simply sit back and consider it a victory. He fought left-wing education and radical social engineering in public school, too and even went on to include communism-related curriculum.

All of the DeSantis endorsed school board candidate won their elections.

Perhaps the most notable example of his intelligent leadership was how he charted his course during the COVID-19 epidemic. DeSantis rejected the most extreme demands of the “scientific-technological elite,” as he calls it, and plotted a course for the state that protected the most vulnerable while avoiding lockdowns and mandates in general.

Despite constant media attacks and hysterics about DeSantis being “DeathSantis,” it turned out that DeSantis was open to freedom and living, and the state is now thriving, while many others are not.

He demonstrated his competence and command of his office. He battled the wokes, negotiated the challenges of a devastating hurricane. Many voters responded positively and in large numbers to that.

The question is, can Florida’s success be replicated elsewhere in the country?

Florida may possess some unique characteristics. People have voted with their feet and moved to Florida from other states to escape left-wing governance. This has definitely helped Florida. Many other voters, including former Democrats, have been convinced by DeSantis’ message. He did this by choosing his battles carefully and not backing down from the Left when it was necessary.

That’s worked–spectacularly so. Florida was one of many purple states until a few years back. It’s now bright red. This was not an accident.

DeSantis has shown the way to victory in this volatile, polarized country. Principled conservative populism doesn’t have to be an oxymoron. A healthy dose leadership, with an eye toward long-term structural change over temporary policy successes, can transform a marginal victory into a landslide.

Competence and vision are key to success.

We hope that more people will take the DeSantis model to heart and make it a standard in their own countries. Although one man with courage might not be enough to build a majority, he can still build one.

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