Republicans were bitterly disappointed by the results of November’s midterm elections, shocked that the status quo was almost intact even though 70 percent of voters polled said America was on the wrong track, with inflation, crime and illegal immigration the biggest concerns.
However, every election has consequences.
November’s midterm elections overturned the majority in the US House of Representatives, ended Nancy Pelosi’s presidency — for a second term — and finally put to rest a toxic octogenarian that presided over the accumulation of roughly half of America’s $31 trillion-plus national debt. history.
The House results alone provide some clues, if not clarity, about Washington and national politics in 2023, 2024 — and beyond.
About 4 million more votes were cast for Republican congressional candidates than for Democrats. This numerical advantage had only a moderate effect on the results of the House district, but it could be very relevant in predicting how conservative values and issues will affect the national elections in 2024.
Republicans dominated the 30-and-over demographic in November, but lost more of the younger vote — very badly — so the party knows what it needs to do.
In fact, two years from now, some of the “youth” issues of 2022 may de-escalate.
Bribery in the form of presidential student loans, which attracted young voters, was ruled unconstitutional after the election. Abortion will also become less of a national issue in 2024, perhaps even a non-issue as younger voters age, mature, and adjust to individual states’ 10th Amendment prerogatives to determine their own abortion policies.
Republicans made significant gains among minorities, winning about 40 percent of the Hispanic vote and 14 percent of the black vote. Forty percent of Asians also voted Republican, and support among Jewish voters improved. All of them represent significant achievements, with a lot of upside.
Democratic control of the Senate means little, as the Republican-controlled House can deadlock, blocking most of the Democrats’ liberal agendas.
Democrats have never shown a majority, so forget about bipartisanship next year.
House oversight is guaranteed to be a major headache for President Joe Biden. Republican lawmakers will face off against Biden and Democrats on spending — the House controls the national purse — the debt ceiling, immigration, IRS overreach, Justice Department violations and energy policy, among other issues.
If the House switches hands, Republicans will challenge the Homeland Security response to the border crisis and bombard the White House with requests for documents to determine whether the Biden administration illegally colluded with Big Tech social media organizations to censor “politically inconvenient” information and opinions. .
Officials at the Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control will be scrutinized for their roles and motivations for imposing tough COVID mandates and restrictions. America may finally have clear, official information about the origin of the pandemic.
The House will cross-examine Attorney General Merrick Garland about his department’s imperious authoritarian response to local school board protests and her/his general criminalization of political dissent.
New scandals could arise as Republicans scrutinize officials in other politically-armed executive branches who were appointed by a reckless administration with a dummy leader.
Every president since Ronald Reagan has faced a divided government, congressional disapproval and opposition calls for impeachment. Two have been impeached.
President Donald Trump was pursued for two years by special counsel Robert Mueller, who ultimately found no wrongdoing. Then Congress unsuccessfully impeached Trump for allegedly strong-arming Ukrainian officials and smearing Joe Biden. Congress impeached him a second time, just as unsuccessfully, for the events of January 6, 2021. Despite being in office for nearly two years, Congress is still investigating Trump.
In 2023, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives will begin an investigation into Joe Biden’s personal life and years in government. The media-authenticated corporate contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop, particularly the infamous foreign money trail in it, will finally become his “Big Guy” father’s worst nightmare.
The laptop revelations and Biden’s failure to enforce immigration laws could be unimpeded grounds that make Joe’s impeachment inevitable.
America is polarized; his government is divided. No one, including his managers, knows for sure anything or everything that the Republican House will investigate, what oversight it will exercise, or what the investigation of Biden and his administration will yield.
However, given the many possibilities, you can be sure that House’s investigations will be rich, thorough, meaningful, informative, interesting, sometimes shocking, and sometimes entertaining.
Contact columnist Jerry Shenk at jshenk2010@gmail.com
