As Republicans face a tough election, they must remember the words of Zhang Yu, a commentator on the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War”: “Attack is the secret of defense.”
If Republicans fight the midterm on the defensive, they’ll suffer potentially sweeping defeats. The GOP must stay on offense to save as many seats as possible. That won’t be easy.
Republicans can start by warning that if Democrats retake the House, they’ll try passing an impeachment resolution against President Trump on day one. Each Republican should ask if his Democratic opponent supports this. Republicans should maintain that impeachment is a stunt. Two-thirds of the Senate won’t vote to convict. Trying would be bad for the country and only further poison American politics.
Pressing Democratic candidates about impeachment leaves them with a bad choice. They can alienate their party’s hard left by opposing the move. Or they can disappoint the growing number of Americans tired of bitter, nasty politics by supporting it. In either case, swing voters will see it as a distraction from what really matters.
Republicans must stay on offense on affordability, too. Inflation is 3.3% today. That’s still too high. Candidates must explain (briefly) how they’re working to bring it down, then ask their Democratic opponent why he didn’t speak out when President Biden’s policies drove even higher inflation. It reached 8% before a new GOP Congress in 2023 pumped the brakes on Democratic spending and other inflationary policies.
Energy prices are a big problem for Republicans, and there are limitations in how effective they can be with gasoline at $4 a gallon. But Republicans have a hand to play. They should go after Democrats over their efforts—past and present—to constrain oil and gas production. The GOP’s “drill, baby, drill” approach has increased production, putting downward pressure on prices. Do Americans want to revive Democratic policies that constrained the supply of fuel, making it more expensive?
Additionally, Republicans won’t get re-elected by simply pointing out what they’ve accomplished. Running on “I’ve done a good job” rarely produces midterm magic. Republicans must contrast—a polite word for attack—whenever possible.
Last year’s tax cut is an obvious target. Republicans shouldn’t only talk about what is in the package. They should aggressively hit Democrats for opposing the bill and ask them whether they will repeal the tax cut. Democratic candidates could say yes or ignore the challenge, shifting the argument to favorable turf for the GOP. Or they could say no, in which case the party’s left wing becomes unglued.
Republicans also can’t dwell on the past. Successful campaigns are prospective more than retrospective. GOP candidates must have fresh ideas that will improve the lives of ordinary Americans.
These don’t need to be administration initiatives. Don’t wait for the White House. In fact, a little independence is important. The ideas don’t need to be sanctioned by the House speaker or Senate majority leader, either. Anyone who waits for leadership to tell him what to campaign on is wasting time and risking defeat.
The best ideas will likely come from the work that lawmakers are doing in their committees. Others will come from groups inside the House and Senate caucuses, such as the House Republican Study Committee. Outside think tanks could generate even more ideas, providing allies to sing the policies’ praises.
Voters need to grasp why these proposals are important. But it matters even more that voters feel the candidate truly believes the policies are necessary. People can quickly determine whether a politician really cares about an issue.
Republicans also can’t forget to find someone on the left who opposes the idea and go after him. Perhaps Mayor Mamdani? Or a member of “The Squad”? It doesn’t matter if the targets are far away from the Republican hopeful’s district or state as long as they’re visible.
