Things look glum for Republicans in 2018, if you listen to the left and right punditry.
The generic ballot sways heavily towards Democrats, Democrats did well in Virginia, and the Alabama Democrat win is claimed to be a precursor of things to come despite the unique circumstances of Republican Roy Moore’s downfall.
The key thing driving Democrats, where they have been successful, is greater enthusiasm. Which is why it is so important for Democrats, and Republican who want Republicans to lose out of Trump hatred, to demoralize Republican voters.
We saw that in Alabama where an Evan McMullin related SuperPAC ran ads meant to keep Republicans home; they didn’t even try to get Republicans to vote for the Democrat, and they didn’t need to.
I would not be surprised to see that strategy used more generally against Trump supporting Republicans in the House. And it could be effective. Someone who normally would vote Republican but stays home is as good as a vote for Democrats.
So expect there to be a sustained effort to demoralize Republican voters, Trump supporters, and independents who are willing to vote Republican. That’s part of the reason Democrats and the media have shifted to round-the-clock accusations of racism against Trump.
I have written about this phenomenon in the past. I call it Operation Demoralize.
In 2012, I wrote about how in early September the media had declared the presidential race over, Operation Demoralize is working just as planned:
It’s November 7. Barack Obama has won. The Republican presidential strategy has failed. The media is jubilant. The right-blogosphere is going through a serious introspection. The left-blogosphere is dancing on our graves and shoving it down our throats. Four years of fighting the Obama agenda was for nothing.Oh, I’m sorry. Let me correct that. It’s September 9, not November 7. The rest of the paragraph above can remain as originally written.Operation Demoralize is working just as planned.
I wrote again about a version of Operation Demoralize the day before the 2016 election, Operation Demoralize Is in Full Swing:
… to read the headlines, it’s over. Trump is done. Turn out the lights, write the obituaries, the election is history.This is the same tactic always used….I think Hillary is the favorite going into Election Day because the electoral map favors Democrats. But don’t think that the premature celebrations are honest or legitimate – they are just narratives intended to demoralize Trump voters.
Sure, Republicans should take seriously the signs that the 2018 midterms could go against them. That is the history of a party that wins a presidency — look what happened to Obama and Democrats in 2010. And there have been some on-the-ground indications (not Alabama, which was unique) that Democrats are outperforming.
The key is to motivate our voters, despite the media, Democrat and #NeverTrump Republican efforts to get them to stay home. The lesson is not to get complacent and do nothing. But to recognize the strategy and work against it.
To quote the old saying, I was born at night, but I wasn’t born last night. Much of what you are seeing is Operation Demoralize 2018.
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