
<p>There was not a lot of good news for the Grand Old Party this election day, but even in the face of unexpected losses, there are a few silver innings … maybe.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-congress"><strong>Congress</strong></h2>



<p>Perhaps the most important silver lining for the GOP is the probability (at this time) of winning control of the House. ; I say that based on the likely outcomes of the remaining races. ; For sure it was not the big – or even typical – off-year election for a first-term President. ; And way below what one might expect when the popularity of the President and the paucity of popular issues were working against the guy in the White House.</p>



<p>Regardless … taking control of the House (with the Senate still a possibility) is a huge victory. ; This means President Biden must now compromise with Republicans to get anything done.  ; Republicans now have the powers over the purse, the ability to initiate or stop legislation, AND the ability to investigate. ; And they can prevent the passage of any more of the radical left agenda. ; That is a HUGE silver lining.</p>



<p>Why it was not a larger victory in the House for soon-to-maybe-be Speaker Kevin McCarthy is academic.  ; The politicos can study and analyze and adjust future plans – but control is control. ; Speaker Pelosi will not hold the gavel in the next Congress.</p>



<p>At this writing, there is still a remote chance that the GOP may take control of the Senate WITHOUT Herschel Walker in Georgia. ; Republican Adam Laxalt is likely to win the Arizona seat and the Nevada seat is a toss-up  ; If the GOP wins that one, they have control of the Senate regardless of the Walker race – although that may not be the case by the time you are reading this..</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>The sun also rises – in Florida</strong></h2>



<p>Republicans in the Sunshine State of Florida basked in political sunlight on Election Day. ; Unfortunately, the red wave that rolled through Florida collapsed as soon as it hit the Georgia border. ; It seemed as if Florida was not even part of the election cycle that was playing out in the rest of America.</p>



<p>Governor Ron DeSantis not only defeated his Democrat opponent, but Charlie Crist also – he crushed him with a landslide victory. DeSantis won with an almost 20-point lead over the former Republican … independent … and now Democrat Crist.  ; And this is a Governor who won his first race four years ago by barely one percent.</p>



<p>DeSantis was developing a national reputation as a presidential contender even before his recent election victory. ; This now places DeSantis in the lead for the 2024 Republican nomination. ; Yes … even ahead of Trump – whose investment value has dropped significantly</p>



<p>In Val Demings, Democrats had a more appealing candidate than Crist. ; Regardless, incumbent GOP Senator Marco Rubio crushed her by more than a 15-point margin. ; The Florida red wave flowed through the state with Republicans winning most of the major races.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>President Trump</strong></h2>



<p>I have always contended that President Trump’s hardcore base is less than the 30 or 40 percent some pundits claim. ; I have put it closer to 15 percent of Republican voters in previous commentaries. ; I think that bottom is further eroding after the election results. ; He created a cadre of Trump candidates. ; They followed his lead in constantly questioning the outcome of the 2020 election. ; Democrats and the media tagged them as a band of “election deniers” who would steal future elections. ; Not only did they not dissuade voters of those claims, they often seemed to embrace them. ; ;</p>



<p>While they were election deniers for sure, I do not think they were threats to future elections — but that is an academic argument of little import today. ; Democrats labeled them and they did not effectively refute the accusations.</p>



<p>(Folks who follow my commentaries would know that I repeatedly advised GOP candidates against saying anything about the past election. ; It is over and done. ; But Trump wanted HIS candidates to reaffirm his own obsession with 2020. ; They did … and they lost.</p>



<p>Once again, Trump has proven to be unpopular with most Americans – and even most Republicans. ; He had a spectacular win in 2016 but frittered away all of his and the GOP’s advantages with his crappy pugnacious personality … his mendacious nature … erratic behavior. . ; He lost the House in 2018 – and the Senate and presidency in 2020.</p>



<p>(I know some will jump on me for saying Trump lost in 2020. ; As I see it, if your opponent is sitting in the Oval Office after all the court challenges and other actions to legally change that outcome, you lost … period. ; Even if one believes that the election was stolen … Biden, not Trump, was sworn in as President.)</p>



<p>It is time for Trump to retire from the pursuit of elective office and attend to his business and the myriad of legal problems. ; If he does not do that voluntarily, I feel certain that other candidates (does DeSantis come to mind?) will replace him – and the majority of GOP voters will go with the alternative.</p>



<p>Trump has promised an important announcement in a few days. ; If he announces another run for President, he has not learned a lesson. ; The man will not even carry his home state of Florida. ; His choice seems to be to abandon any effort to return to the White House (with some level of dignity) or be humiliatingly defeated ; … rejected … for the last time.</p>



<p>If you wonder why I see the political demise of Trump as one of the silver linings, you have not been paying attention to my writings. ; I have never been a fan of Trump. I publicly stated that I would not vote for him in a GOP primary &#8212; ; as I did not in 2016.  ; In a previous commentary, I opined that DeSantis should definitely enter the race for President – even if Trump is a candidate. ; And that was before DeSantis’ impressive showing in this election. ; I did not believe Trump could beat DeSantis in the past – and I certainly do not think so now.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Summary</strong></h2>



<p>The results of the Midterm Election were disappointing for Republicans – but far from a disaster. ; Some of that disappointment is deserved but some is based on excessive expectations. ; A Democrat winning for governor of New York … or an incumbent Senator in New Hampshire … should not have come as any surprise. ; Perhaps it would have been different to some extent with a red wave, but there was no red wave – only a few important silver linings.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>

No red wave … but a few silver linings for GOP
