I began the discussion of my “rules of politics” with my first rule, “there is the evil party and the stupid party, and it is not hard to tell which is which.” This is my second rule of politics.
“Republicans lose elections because they break their campaign promises. Democrats lose elections because they keep theirs.”
The concept is real simple. Democrats campaign promising a socialist utopia. Democrats will tell us time and again they are not socialist, they only want a fair and just society, which always ends up meaning “We want to control your business, your income, your daily behavior and your family,” which by the way, is the goal of every socialist.
In addition, they obtain and maintain power with the help of government unions, which receive their money from government employees mandatory dues, the source of which is people’s tax dollars, then the unions prevail upon the Democrats to increase the size and scope of government, which creates more dues paying government employees and higher taxes, the result of all socialist regimes ever created. If one really analyzes the Communist Parties in China and the former Soviet Union, those parties were literally government employee unions, where those employed by the government, which was just about everybody, were forced to pay the Communist Party to keep their job, and then the Communist Party used that money to enhance its power.
So, once Democrats get elected, they obtain, maintain, and promote their election chances by increasing the power and scope of government, blame successful entrepreneurs (calling them the rich to play upon the natural jealousy of people) for all the ills of society, and seek to raise taxes and intrude upon the activity of private business and communities to expand their power. Their supporters end up with large, taxpayer funded government contracts, or huge salaries funded at taxpayer expense, and support the regime with their money and their voices. The result is usually a sluggish economy, businesses struggling to meet government regulations, increasing everybody’s taxes (not just the rich) to pay for the expanding government, and parents getting ordered how to raise their children, either from some school district or mandate from a state government struggling to implement their socialist vision of utopia.
That was the Biden government, the traditional Democrat socialist message on steroids. People got mad, and finally evicted them from all power centers in the federal government. Republicans promised they would get rid of these socialist program, cut taxes, eliminate government, and protect parents and communities.
We are now watching elected Republicans in Washington backing off of those promises. Trump believed in his message and he is working to implement it. Democrats stand united against eliminating the real power structure in Washington, the unelected bureaucracy, and some Republicans are getting weak in the knees as the bureaucracy, and those who benefit from the current bureaucratic centric federal government, protest and scream at the loss of their taxpayer funded lifestyle. Those Republicans, in the past, have stood in the way of the changes much needed at the federal level, continue with the deficit spending, and ultimately lose those voters that believed that Republicans would keep their promises to keep government out of their businesses, wallets, and lives.
Republicans promise smaller government, less taxes, less bureaucracy when they campaign. As soon as they get power they forget what they promised, causing voters to lose faith in Republicans. The voters then start thinking that “if we’re going to have a socialist state, let’s put those who ‘can make it work’ in charge of it.” And once voters figure out that the socialist state doesn’t work, they throw the Democrats out with the hope that Republicans will fix it as they promised. When Republicans don’t do as they promised, they throw the Republicans out, and the cycle continues.
All Republicans have to do to keep power is keep their promise to shrink the size and scope of government, and they will complete their effort to retain power long term. That requires intestinal fortitude and the ability to withstand the criticism that will be directed at them as they endeavor to change the status quo. The short term criticism, however, is worth the long term benefit to their voters and the country.