It's the Primaries, Stupid!

Remember James Carville who famously said over and over in the 1992 presidential campaign, “It’s the economy, stupid.”?

Carville wanted Democrats to focus primarily on the weak economy—and it worked. The Republican Presidential candidate, George H.W. Bush, a sitting president received only 37.5% of the vote.

So, I paraphrase Carville and say to conservatives, “It’s the primaries, stupid!”

All indications are that there will be a big red wave that crashes onto the political landscape this November 8, 2022, which will sweep out of office many thousands of elected Democrat officials, including some that have previously won by big margins.

About 95% of voters cast straight party tickets. They vote for all Republicans or all Democrats on the ballot, so that when the November red tsunami lands many “safe” Democrats will go down to defeat.

Therefore, I urge conservatives to contest every position that will be on the ballot this November.

There are 519,682 political positions in the 50 states that are filled by elections, so this November there will be hundreds of thousands of opportunities to be running for office.

Again, I say, “It’s the primaries stupid”, because it will be a massive loss in our effort to save America if when the November red tsunami wipes out tens of thousands of Democrats, but their replacements are big government Establishment Republicans like John Boehner, Paul Ryan, Kevin McCarthy, Mitch McConnell.

Establishment Republicans like to quote William F. Buckley Jr.’s dictum about supporting the most conservative candidate “who can be elected.” The problem is that so many establishment Republicans have become addicted to Big Government that they no longer qualify as conservatives. Supporting them as “conservatives” confuses voters and seriously weakens the Republican brand.

If an effective conservative holds the office and is running for re-election – fine. If not, seek someone to be a candidate, because it does the cause of constitutional liberty little good to elect a Congress full of RINOs, or a school board full of teachers’ union shills.

And if you can’t find a strong limited government constitutional conservative to run, then you must step up, run and be the leader you are looking for.

You become a leader by getting out of your comfort zone and organizing people to follow your lead.

If the campaign is not successful, the cause is still advanced. New people will be registered to vote, educated, and activated for the conservative cause, etc. As the saying goes, “you’re guaranteed to lose if you don’t try.”

As I survey this year’s political landscape, I am reminded that in 1977 and 1978 my late friend the great Howard Phillips visited every congressional district in America. During a trip to New Hampshire in 1977, only five people showed up for a meeting. One of them was an Allegheny Airlines copilot named Gordon Humphrey, who volunteered to run against Democrat Thomas J. McIntyre. Gordon Humphrey became one of three New Right senators elected in 1978.

Howard Phillips, Gordon Humphrey and the rest of us in the New Right of that era understood the lesson of Babe Ruth’s 1927 season. That year the Bambino led the major leagues with sixty home runs, but he also led in strikeouts with eighty-nine. We weren’t worried about how the establishment, the press, and others would view us if we lost. We knew if you expected to hit a lot of home runs, you had to expect to strike out a lot.

Filing deadlines will have already passed or soon will; however, for 30 states, the filing deadline is beyond March 15th. I urge all conservatives to find a candidate for every office from precinct committeeperson, to school board and city council, to your state legislature, to the U.S. House of Representatives and the United States Senate. Here are some filing dates closing in March, please check with your local election officials for official information on dates, times and locations of filing.

Oregon closes March 8

Idaho closes March 11

Georgia closes March 11

California closes March 11

Illinois closes March 14

Montana closes March 14

Maine closes March 15

Pennsylvania closes March 15

Colorado closes March 15

Utah closes March 17

Iowa closes March 18

Nevada close March 18

South Dakota closes March 29

Missouri closes March 29

South Carolina closes March 30

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