What a new Republican agenda should look like
The prediction that Republicans will win control of the House — and perhaps even the Senate — in this year's midterm elections has become something of a conventional political wisdom.
Democrats are defending slim majorities in Congress at a time when most voters disapprove of President Biden, and trust Republicans more to address the key problems facing the country — including the economy, inflation, immigration and crime.
Given voters' widespread discontent with Democrats, criticizing the president and his party for their failures in these areas would likely be a sufficient strategy for the GOP to win control of Congress. That being said, in order for a true red wave to take place in 2022 — and to sustain itself through 2024 — Republicans need to do more nationally and locally than just oppose Democrats' overreaching progressive agenda.
Rather, the GOP will need to show voters why their party represents a better alternative to the Democratic Party.
Crucially, a successful GOP platform must also be forwardlooking, not focused on relitigating the past. Swing voters and independent voters largely believe Joe Biden's 2020 win was legitimate, and view the January 6th insurrection as an attack on democracy. To be sure, relitigating the 2020 election is about the worst thing the Republicans can or should do if they are trying to build a strong base going forward into the 2024 election. Voters, and particularly swingvoters, are focused on addressing the challenges of today — not fighting about alleged voter fraud in the last election.
To that end, in terms of how best to handle Donald Trump — who is vastly unpopular with the broader electorate, though continues to dominate Republican politics — the GOP has found a viable roadmap in Glenn Youngkin, which they would be wise to utilize in close races this year.
In Virginia's 2021 gubernatorial election, Glenn Youngkin turned out the GOP base and won swing voters in the suburbs by walking the fine line between not embracing Donald Trump while also not making an enemy of the former president, and by campaigning on a conservative — yet practical — agenda.
If the GOP deploys this approach at the national level in 2022, Republicans may be able to win upward of 50 seats in the House, and would have strong chance of flipping the Senate.
Former Vice President Mike Pence is among the few Republican figures who has proposed a GOP agenda — dubbed the “Freedom Agenda” — that is clearly intended as a stepping stone for his potential presidential run in 2024.
That being said, many of Pence's proposals take the right approach: focusing on the future, ensuring America's energy dominance, lowering taxes, empowering parents vis-à-vis their child's education and promoting individual liberties.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is rumored to be working on the GOP national agenda with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich — yet, nothing concrete has emerged, only vague promises and criticisms of Democrats, which are less helpful than offering clear solutions to the major problems America faces.
With respect to addressing voters' top concern — the economy and inflation — Republicans can propose an inclusive economic plan that provides tax incentives for job creation, focuses on deficit reduction and easing inflation and advocates for government spending only on fiscally prudent programs that have broad support.
Further, instead of simply criticizing Democrats for being soft on crime and weak on illegal immigration, the GOP needs to propose a viable alternative approach to addressing both crises.
Additionally, the GOP agenda should focus on promoting individual liberties and especially empowering parents vis-à-vis their child's education through enhanced school choice opportunities and greater parental involvement in school curricula.
Ultimately, the GOP has a unique opportunity to capitalize on what many Americans see as a Democratic Party that is unable to lead. However, Republicans merely opposing Democrats at every turn is not enough to produce a red-wave election in 2022, and will certainly not be enough to carry a pro-Republican trend through to 2024.
A forward-looking, moderate Republican agenda that offers solutions where Democrats have failed to provide them — while also avoiding pandering to the party's extreme fringes and relitigating past grievances — is essential for the GOP's prospects in 2022 and beyond.