"This is why we will win" is wrong

 I often hear conservatives look at something ridiculous the Left has done or observe how pompous they are being or how much they have overreached and they say "This is why we will win" or "This is why they will lose". It's wrong.  And it's thinking like that that makes me think, "This is why we will lose".

That sort of lackadaisical thinking is a recipe for failure.  Democrats will not lose because of something they have done, or gotten wrong or their hubris.  They will never admit to their base they got something wrong.  Their base doesn't care if they got something wrong either.  They often win because of their overreach.  Republicans lose because of their under-reach. And the same is true for elections: if we under-reach, if we do nothing and hope that obvious, common sense of the population will lead to victory for conservatives, this is why we will lose.

Action matters.  Democrats are willing to cheat, willing to change rules, willing to march, willing to do anything to win.  It's not moral but it often gets the results they seek.  We must, on the right, not expect the rest of the populace to open their eyes in numbers so large it overcomes the Democrats' efforts at subterfuge.  It rarely happens.  RARELY.  And in an era of win-at-all-costs on the left, it will not happen now.

Mobilization matters.  Money matters.  Hours of voluntary efforts at outreach (not protests which are frankly a waste) to moderate voters matter.  Organization matters.  Rules for Patriots matter.

Whenever I hear a conservative say "this is why we will win", I want to blow an air horn at them and yell "Wake up!" (well yell first because they'll be deaf after the air horn).  Smug complacency is not a recipe for success it is a substitute for it.  Effort.  Mobilization.  Money.  Strategy. Hard work in the face of a massive societal disadvantage. Action.  This is how we will win. Not why.  Why implies surety.  There is no surety. The only certainty is failure without effort.

Next time you hear a conservative offer that platitude, challenge them on it.

Disengagement

Now that we have a Republican congress and senate, along with a Republican president and an overwhelming majority of Republican statehouse and state legislatures, you'd think complacency would be okay for a bit.  From a conservative voter perspective, we were probably all hoping for a set it and forget it government. President Trump and Congress would obliterate all resistance and do what they are expected to do.  As people, conservative voters could get on with their lives, and as far as governance goes, a benign disengagement would be perfectly fine.

Sadly not so for a number of reasons.  The left is as shrill and outlandishly ridiculous as they have ever been.  The left, consisting of Democrats, protesters and a violently hostile media with no pretense of objectivity or rationality left, are one reason that disengagement is not an option.  Another reason is the Republicans.  Now with a president Trump, the issue is not the same as if there were a president McCain or Romney or Jeb Bush.  They're way too middle of the road to preside over a Gorsuch nomination for the Supreme Court vacancy.  The SCOTUS would be just as likely to end up with a Stevens 2.0 as an Alito 2.0, probably more likely in fact.  Trump has stayed true to his word on the campaign trail so far.  Free Trade aside (and arguably he's not turned his back on real free trade at all), conservatives should be thrilled with the presidency and disengaged not from politics but perhaps just from the mainstream media.  

But there is the Senate.  There's still a John McCain, and Lindsey Graham.  There's still a Murkowski.  There's a lot of softness and that alone makes the set-it-and-forget-it conservative dream era not currently possible.  As voters and potential town hall participants it's important to keep their feet to the fire and not allow them to go squishy or else face being primaried in their next election cycle.  In fact, the looming 2018 midterms present a powerful opportunity for the GOP to truly consolidate their hold on power and winning a filibuster-proof majority is a high priority.  In order to get their the president and the Republicans in congress must have a track record of successfully delivering on promises and priorities.  To do that, voters have a responsibility to keep their REpublican representatives on script rather than going rogue and messing things up.

Disengagement?  Not an option, not now, not ever.  Not for conservative voters, not for Trump supporters.  The left, like rust, never sleeps, so neither can conservatives.