A Tale of Two Midterms

[Brian4Liberty]

A Tale of Two Midterms
written by ron paul - november 14, 2022

Those searching for an explanation of why there was no “red wave” giving Republicans huge gains in Congress in this year’s midterm election should compare this year’s election with the midterm election of 2010. In 2010, Republicans gained a net 63 House seats. While Republicans then did not gain control of the US Senate, they did gain six Senate seats.

These Republican victories in 2010 were propelled by the Tea Party and the liberty movement. These movements became prominent during the waning days of the Bush administration. The liberty movement was advanced by grassroots supporters of my 2008 presidential campaign. The liberty movement’s focus was, and is, on restoring constitutional government in all areas, ending our interventionist foreign policy, and changing our monetary policy by auditing and ending the Federal Reserve and legalizing alternative currencies. Early on, the Tea Party largely focused on opposition to the 2008 bank bailouts.

There was overlap between the liberty movement and the Tea Party as many members of both groups fought for auditing and ending the Fed, ending bailouts, and preventing Congress from passing Obamacare.

Many Republican candidates in 2010 appealed to Tea Party voters by not just promising to repeal Obamacare. They also promised to work to restore limited, constitutional, fiscally responsible government in all areas. In contrast, in 2022 the average Republican candidate offered little in the way of a substantive agenda. In fact, few Republicans called for reversing President Biden’s massive spending increases, much less for restoring the federal government to its constitutional limitations. Despite the controversy over new critical race theory and transgender related policies in government schools, there has not been a renewed push to shut down the Department of Education.

Many Republican candidates in the 2022 midterm election also failed to make an issue out of their Democratic opponents’ support for mask and vaccine mandates and other instances of covid tyranny. Those who did oppose the covid tyranny, such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and my son Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, won landslide victories.

The Tea Party’s success in forcing the Republican Party to focus on a more pro-liberty, limited government agenda was short lived. Soon after the 2010 election, the Republican establishment returned to its big spending ways. Spending and debt continued to rise under President Trump and a Republican Congress. Republicans even failed to deliver on their signature promise: repealing Obamacare.

The 2010 midterm election showed that people will respond to candidates offering serious pro-liberty ideas and policies. However, the Tea Party’s rise and fall also shows the danger facing ideological movements that become too close with one political party. These movements will start pulling their punches when one of “our team” begins casting bad votes. The argument goes that we must support big government Republicans or we get REALLY big government Democrats.

Fortunately, the liberty movement has remained committed to principles. As the failure of the welfare-warfare state to deliver peace and property — and the failure of the Federal Reserve to fulfill its mandate of ensuring stable prices and low unemployment — become clear, more Americans will join the liberty movement. Support for the liberty movement will accelerate when the inevitable economic meltdown occurs. This meltdown will be precipitated by a collapse in the dollar’s value and the rejection of the dollar’s world reserve currency status. It will bring the end of the welfare-warfare state and the fiat money system. Hopefully, the liberty movement will ensure the welfare-warfare state and fiat money system are replaced by a return to limited constitutional government, individual liberty, and peace.
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[Swordsmyth]

Why no mention of the blatant fraud?

[James_Madison_Lives]

Why no mention of the blatant fraud?

I second this.

[Swordsmyth]

I second this.

I guess nobody else is interested.
They obviously don't have an answer or they would have given us at least a guess in response.

[ClaytonB]

Why no mention of the blatant fraud?

We know they're cheating. But it's in the nature of politics that complaining about cheating is pointless. I think it was Ted Kennedy who called politics "the art of the possible." Politics is the one game where, if you can figure out how to break the rules, then you can get away with it. Politics is "warfare by other means". Nobody files a war-crimes complaint because "the enemy used camouflage, they cheated!" And in what court would it be filed, anyway? So, the only solution is to match them in all their subterfuge, and outdo them on the issues that actually matter. Aka beat them at their own game. It's harsh, but it's reality, and that's how reality has always been. That's why the world has been stuck in darkness for so long, despite the sacrifices of many down through the generations to rid ourselves of darkness. It's not just difficult, it's really difficult...

[acptulsa]

Why no mention of the blatant fraud?

He did mention the blatant fraud.

Soon after the 2010 election, the Republican establishment returned to its big spending ways. Spending and debt continued to rise under President Trump and a Republican Congress. Republicans even failed to deliver on their signature promise: repealing Obamacare.

But then, I suppose you mean ballot fraud, a thing you claim can be overcome. Only problem is, in order to overcome it, Republicans have to run on conservative principles and legislate conservative principles.

Big problem.

[ClaytonB]

But then, I suppose you mean ballot fraud, a thing you claim can be overcome. Only problem is, in order to overcome it, Republicans have to run on conservative principles and legislate conservative principles.

Big problem.

^^^ THIS ^^^

It's almost like... blatantly lying to your base and selling your soul to the devil for short-run political gains doesn't pay in the long-run...

[Swordsmyth]

We know they're cheating. But it's in the nature of politics that complaining about cheating is pointless. I think it was Ted Kennedy who called politics "the art of the possible." Politics is the one game where, if you can figure out how break the rules, then you can get away with it. Politics is "warfare by other means". Nobody files a war-crimes complaint because "the enemy used camouflage, they cheated!" And in what court would it be filed, anyway? So, the only solution is to match them in all their subterfuge, and outdo them on the issues that actually matter. Aka beat them at their own game. It's harsh, but it's reality, and that's how reality has always been. That's why the world has been stuck in darkness for so long, despite the sacrifices of many down through the generations to rid ourselves of darkness. It's not just difficult, it's really difficult...

Bunk.
Unless the cheating is addressed nothing else matters.
It is issue #1 and failing to even mention it is giving camouflage to the enemy.
As long as the cheating is accepted and allowed we might as well live in a hereditary monarchy.

[Swordsmyth]

He did mention the blatant fraud.



But then, I suppose you mean ballot fraud, a thing you claim can be overcome. Only problem is, in order to overcome it, Republicans have to run on conservative principles and legislate conservative principles.

Big problem.

2020 and 2022 set records for R turnout.
You have no idea what you are talking about.
Every time turnout overcomes the fraud partially they increase it the next time.
The only reason the Rs took the House by a tiny margin is because we swamped the fraud, next time they will cheat harder, especially if people ignore the fraud.

[ClaytonB]

Bunk.
Unless the cheating is addressed nothing else matters.
It is issue #1 and failing to even mention it is giving camouflage to the enemy.
As long as the cheating is accepted and allowed we might as well live in a hereditary monarchy.

But you're missing the point -- of course we don't accept cheating. But we don't accept many, many things that are widely practiced. The problem is that if we focus on cheating as "Issue #1", we're effectively reducing ourselves to beggars (by our own words/actions). It's signaling powerlessness.

By way of further explanation, this is why the political establishment (both left and right) are so allergic to conspiracy theories. There are plenty of left-wing CTs out there. But you never hear them because the Left is extremely aggressive about policing its narrative and silencing its own. Conspiracy theories are the currency of the powerless. If you want to be powerful, you're never going to get there peddling conspiracy theories and whining about stolen elections. No doubt, evil conspiracies are real... we're literally drowning in them. No doubt, the elections are rigged and being heavily manipulated. Nevertheless, focusing on these issues is a political tactical error. It's like head-hunting in boxing... the more fixated you get on a one-punch knockout, the more easily your opponent can beat you because your every punch is 100% predictable.

The cheating must stop. The evil conspiracies must be stopped. All of this has to stop. So, nobody's "accepting" anything. But you're going to need more powerful political weapons than an over-exaggerated sense of moral outrage...

[Swordsmyth]

But you're missing the point -- of course we don't accept cheating. But we don't accept many, many things that are widely practiced. The problem is that if we focus on cheating as "Issue #1", we're effectively reducing ourselves to beggars (by our own words/actions). It's signaling powerlessness.

By way of further explanation, this is why the political establishment (both left and right) are so allergic to conspiracy theories. There are plenty of left-wing CTs out there. But you never hear them because the Left is extremely aggressive about policing its narrative and silencing its own. Conspiracy theories are the currency of the powerless. If you want to be powerful, you're never going to get there peddling conspiracy theories and whining about stolen elections. No doubt, evil conspiracies are real... we're literally drowning in them. No doubt, the elections are rigged and being heavily manipulated. Nevertheless, focusing on these issues is a political tactical error. It's like head-hunting in boxing... the more fixated you get on a one-punch knockout, the more easily your opponent can beat you because your every punch is 100% predictable.

The cheating must stop. The evil conspiracies must be stopped. All of this has to stop. So, nobody's "accepting" anything. But you're going to need more powerful political weapons than an over-exaggerated sense of moral outrage...

Nothing else can be accomplished while the cheating remains.
It is priority #1 like getting in the ring is the first thing you do in a boxing match.
Ignoring it (as Ron is doing) reduces us to powerlessness.