What we saw was parents being ignored and their concerns not being taken seriously. We thought, let’s start something to help parents organize and use the tools we’ve learned from serving on school boards.
Tina Desovich (co-founder Moms for Liberty)
According to President Biden and his media allies, the Republican Party is on the precipice of ruin. In seven days, the Times Paul Krugman has crowed about the “Biden Boom” economy and the “Huge Deal” of the Inflation Reduction Act. The DCCC has offered a steady stream of “promising” polls and bad news for 2022 GOP candidates. Those are the alternative facts of campaign season – not the reality in the field – and it’s absurd to feel too bullish now.
The GOP is poised to do well this fall because the Democrat coalition is no more. Large numbers of non-whites, religious faithful, suburban moms, and working-class whites have been alienated by the politics of resentment (hurt majorities), which is why new GOP registrations are booming. Thus, it’s critical that the party combine Trump populism with the politesse of Tim Scott before 2024.
That’s when Biden turns 81 and 11 fewer Republicans have to defend their Senate seats. It calls for GOP life after Trump: populist conservatism without the offensive tweets. Because of Trump, Democrats could deride America First as anti-immigrant, anti-NATO and semi-fascist – until Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) perfected the message in 2021.
That’s when the GOP reclaimed Virginia with Families First, putting good parents before smug educators and safe communities before racial activism. Not only did the campaign attract a majority of Asian and Hispanic voters, it turned suburban moms into education crusaders, which begat Moms for Liberty, a pro-parents organization that’s growing like wildfire.
Moms for Liberty sees cancel culture as mean and defund the police as reckless, which is why they support two rising GOP stars; Governor Youngkin (VA) and Governor DeSantis (FL). In 18 months, they amassed 100,000 members in over 200 chapters in 40 states; clout that chapter chair Kourtney O’Hara can define: “Before Moms for Liberty, when I called legislators, nobody would ever return a call. Now, they (always) call back.”
Education is now a Republican issue. Democrats are the party of mask mandates, school closings, and identity-based lesson plans. Republicans are the party that believes good parenting is an unalienable right. Families First is a unifying movement that Democrats cannot call anti-immigrant, because so many Asians and Hispanics are called to it.
Great, but the GOP still has a politesse problem, thanks to Donald Trump and Liz Cheney. Trump was so “unpresidential” in defeat, and Cheney so ignored Wyoming Republicans, Democrats have made both of them un-electable. Neither the divisive Trump nor the disloyal Cheney can help the party in 2024, so it is time for Republicans to move on.
Step One is to differentiate between Lisa Murkowski and Liz Cheney. The former voted to impeach Trump, made no comment about the Mar-a-Lago raid, and out-polled the Trump-endorsed challenger in Tuesday’s Alaska primary. Murkowski is still a moderate Republican. The latter voted to impeach Trump and said too much about the Mar-a-Lago raid: “I have been ashamed to hear members of my party attacking the integrity of the FBI agents involved with the recent Mar-a-Lago search.” She lost her Wyoming primary by 36 points. Cheney is now a former Republican.
Step Two is to applaud Mike Pence, a steadfast VP to Trump who upheld his oath of office on January 6. His reaction to the Mar-a-Lago raid was spot-on: “No former President has ever been subject to a raid of their personal residence in American history. After years where FBI agents were found to be acting on political motivation, yesterday’s action undermines public confidence in our system of justice.” Pence is still a conservative Republican and deservedly on the short list for 2024.
The road to 2024 is not complicated; celebrate good conservatives like Mike Pence, respect moderate Republicans like Lisa Murkowski, ignore former Republicans like Liz Cheney, and let the Trump chips fall where they may. And don’t forget who’s really bad for the country (B-I-D-E-N).