Republicans Have Great Ideas. It’s Time To Start Talking About Them

Earlier this summer, a highly unpopular President Joe Biden floundered in the White House. He was facing multiple crises — Russia’s war in Ukraine, crime on America’s streets, record migrant crossings at the southern border, surging gas prices and inflation and stalled economic growth.

Polls and forecasts pointed to a Republican Party romp in the upcoming midterms. But Republican candidates failed to capitalize on that momentum, and party strategists are beginning to sweat about their likely margin in the House of Representatives and their chances of winning a Senate majority at all.

Candidates and incumbents don’t decide whether gas prices are going up or down, but one important factor they can control is the agenda they present to voters — their broad priorities and their actual plans. It’s here that Republicans seem determined to sabotage their own chances, by refusing to say anything at all.