By Bobby Jindal
The day after Election Day, once it’s clear Democrats have lost seats in Congress, much of the media will undoubtedly lecture Republicans about the importance of embracing bipartisanship and moderation. It will advise Republicans to ignore the two years of Democratic overreach that fueled voters’ frustration and that won the GOP so many races. It will also hector Democrats for not selling their policies aggressively enough—advice that would be dangerous for Democrats to heed.
Republicans would do well to ignore advice from those who never before cared for their welfare, and instead advocate conservative policies as the course correction demanded by voters.
Those eager to blame voters’ ingratitude for the Democratic Party’s dismal election performance ignore polling showing Democrats’ approval numbers do not improve with more time spent talking about their accomplishments. Elections are about addressing challenges that lie ahead—Democrats only weaken themselves by trying to sell policy solutions that don’t match the problems voters care about. Barack Obama was elected president to confront the housing crisis and resulting economic carnage, and instead spent his political capital on an unprecedented government intrusion into health care. Joe Biden was elected to contain the COVID-19 crisis and resulting economic damage, and instead spent his capital on record government spending to subsidize favored green energy purchases.