The GOP isnt dead, but it sure does look and feel that way in the harsh light of the day after Tuesdays walloping.
The myth of Rasputin is that a Russian monk who pretended to mysticism was poisoned, stabbed, shot, beaten and thrown in a river. He somehow climbed out of the drink and survived. He didnt.
Miraculous recoveries only happen in the movies, as with “Boris the Bullet Dodger” in Guy Ritchies beloved “Snatch”, which starred Jason Statham, Brad Pitt, Benicio del Toro, and Dennis Farina.
If you are a Republican feeling low after Tuesday nights nationwide wipeout, “Snatch” is a good viewing choice. If you or your boss lost, you need to have a laugh because there is no crying in baseball or politics. Wipeouts happen, and the GOP isnt going to suddenly pull itself beaten and bruised out of the Potomac.
But, the Republican Party isnt dead. Its just beaten badly, and it will take some years to mend. A lesson from the endless rebuild of the Cleveland Browns: There arent any shortcuts. You need patience, and you have to build through the draft.
THUNE PLANS TO RUN FOR REPUBLICAN MINORITY LEADER AFTER DEMS’ MIDTERM TAKEOVER
The good news: Theres a best player or ten within every state’s political leadership, and its up to Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno to cheer up the Senate caucus and get to work recruiting and fielding a team of GOP Senate candidates for 2028. The same must go on within the much smaller House GOP conference.
Its up to President Trump to make sure the Republican National Committee, in turn, makes sure that the process of selecting his successor nominee is wide-open and robust. Debates between would-be nominees beginning early in 2027 for an Iowa primary in January 2028, with a New Hampshire primary right behind it will be an excellent forum from which many would-be presidents can test messages and themes with the country as a whole.
LIZ PEEK: THERE MAY BE A SILVER LINING IN TRUMP’S BRUTAL MIDTERM DEFEAT
President Trump remains the leader of a badly banged-up party, and hes often been a terrific cheerleader and needs to be so again.
Not like the “Black Knight” in 1975s “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” â Tuesday night wasnt a flesh wound. President Trump will study the ugly results carefully. Disasters have their own clarity about them. No need for an autopsy when the cause of death is, well, everything. President Trumps State of the Union early in 2027 will provide an agenda around which would-be leaders-in-waiting can rally or reject. He and his team should start to work on that immediately. It will matter a great deal.
The greatness of the Republic is its wonderful resilience. The Constitution is terrifically strong, a work of genius that endures. Parties thought dead beyond recovery indeed do come back. That lesson is not ancient history. No need to recall the eclipse of the GOP after Barry Goldwaters kamikaze presidential run in 1964, which left the GOP with just 32 senators and 140 members in the House. Really.
Republicans under President Reagan lost the Senate majority in 1986 and tumbled to 45
