Lessons from the 2022 Election

What we can learn so we can stay on the path to victory

Now the midterms are over we can see that the red wave we all expected did not happen as we all thought. People will say it was because of this reason or that reason and the truth is that there is not one clear reason but many reasons.

I will attempt to clarify the reasons I have seen to attempt to come up with solutions so that we can win going forward. The key here is to not blame the Democrats, even if they do have some blame in this loss, but instead to focus on the things we can, with courage, change.

The Pressured Vote

What is the pressured vote? It is an apathetic person pressured into voting by someone in their life. It could be adult children living at home with mom or dad and the parent tells them they need to fill out the ballot. The adult kid says, ‘I don’t care, why do I have to do this?’ and the parent says, ‘You live here just fill it out.’ The kid replies, ‘fine who am I voting for?’ The parent replies ‘just vote all Democrat and yes on these ballot measures.’

It could also be roommates or friends pressuring others into voting and ‘helping’ them fill out their ballot. The voter has zero idea of who or what they are voting for, but they want to hurry up and get to dinner or go back to playing video games, so they just fill out the ballot and sign the envelope.

Ballot Harvesting

This is where people go around and collect ballots and turn them in for other people. In the process of ballot harvesting an activist will find someone who says they have the ballot, but they haven’t filled it out. The activist will then ‘help’ them fill it out and the person will go along with it because they do not want to seem like a bad person for not voting.

This advantages Democrats because large urban areas packed with people tend to lean Democrat. This means that they can harvest 100’s of votes in an hour by targeting apartment buildings and tightly packed areas. Republicans tend be live in more rural areas making ballot harvesting more time consuming and expensive. Not to mention the fact that a lot of rural homes have gates with no trespass signs clearly posted.

Vote by Mail / Motor voter / Election Month

Voting by mail does make it easier for people to vote but it also makes our election system less secure. Ballots get sent to the wrong address, ballots get sent out to people who have passed away, multiple ballots get sent out to the same person. These all can have an impact on election integrity and even if they do not alter an election, they can leave the public with a feeling of mistrust in the election system. The fact is that ballots are no longer secure once they are mailed out en masse.

Another problem is automatically registering someone to vote. We have seen people who legally cannot vote get registered and even have ballots sent to them because the DMV automatically registers them when they get an ID or drivers license. People who are too young, people who are not legal citizens or are otherwise not legally allowed to vote obtain ballots. They could think, well someone probably checks these things, and I am allowed to vote now, why else would they send me a ballot. So, the fill it out and vote and that vote is illegal but once it is mixed in with all the other ballots and the security envelope is removed they have no way to telling which vote was illegally cast.

Election month also provides more chaos and confusion around election leading to mistrust and room for fraud. All those ballots floating around for people who moved out of state, died, or received multiple ballots could be put into a box and as the election vote counting is taking place if the preferred candidate of the vote counters is losing then behold a box of votes in the back room is found at midnight and just so happen to be all for that candidate and also happen to be enough to give them the lead.

It is very hard to prove this sort of thing but guarding against it is prudent and will make everyone feel more secure in the outcomes of the election even if they go against what they desired.

Internal Problems

General apathy (we can never win; the election is rigged so why bother)

This is the general voter depression mindset that has come over many in Oregon. They believe that they will never win so why bother to vote. Others with this mindset believe that the election system is rigged so that the Democrats will magically find enough votes in the middle of the night or in the coming week to just push them over the top.

So, these people tend to just not vote. What they do not realize is that by not voting they are allowing for the sort of cheating they believe plague our election system. If 100% of people voted, then any manufactured votes would push the total over 100% showing clear signs of fraud. If you want to fight election fraud you do not do it by not voting but by voting, getting your friends and family to vote so much so that there will be zero space left for cheating.

If you think that you can never win then why bother voting, then you need to remember that you will lose 100% of the contests you do not show up for. If there is even a 1% chance that you can win by voting it is worth it to vote because you will have even less of a chance to win if you do not vote. By not voting you are only hurting yourself.

Overly Large Pool of Candidates for a Single Position (19 candidates for governor yet down ballot seats have no one running).

This means the candidate elected is elected by a minority of the party. For example, the candidate who ends up winning would only get 25% of the party vote with the remaining 75% of the vote is split so many ways that the majority of the party does not really like the candidate selected.

This gives bitter and opportunistic people the opportunity to claim that the ORP elites are hand selecting candidates and rigging the whole thing when in reality overly ambitious prideful candidates are reaching well beyond their means.

Not Conservative Enough

These people refuse to support the candidate selected by the party because they are not conservative enough or they differ from themselves on one or two issues. They will try to hide behind a mask of principles and values all while poisoning the well of the candidate to those around them. There is nothing principled or moral about sitting on the sidelines because you don’t get what you want or handing the election over to a Democrat by not voting because you want to make some sort of stand.

These people will find any reason to bash, attack, or hinder a candidate and might as well be on the progressive payroll (if not actually on Soros syrup). They will never speak a word of praise, highlight areas where they agree with a candidate or say anything constructive. Instead, they will cling to their outrage and bitterness and like Lucifer in Paradise Lost act as if they believe it is better to reign in Hell then to serve in Heaven.

By sitting out and actively disparaging the party candidate they cause division and chaos within the party, poison the candidate in the minds of those around them, and prop up the Democrat candidate in the process. If they are truly not conservative enough (or not MAGA enough or whatever else) then surely the Democrat is absolutely not conservative enough so you should take the one that aligns more closely with your own position. Punishing Republicans is just punishing your fellow Oregonians and yourself. A step off the current path of destruction and tyranny, even if it is not exactly in the right direction is better then continuing down that path.

What to do?

That is the ultimate question on everyone’s mind right now. The answer is just as complex as all the items outline above but a good place to start is by helping each other. If you have criticism for someone elected, then direct that criticism toward them with a goal of improving them and thus the party and yourself. Do not criticize to destroy or tear down.

Do things to make it easier for your fellow Republicans to get involved. For example, instead of having a meeting at 6pm on a weekday when working Republicans are driving home to see their families, hold it on the weekend or provide for the ability to video in (though personally I think in person meeting are 100% more effective then online ones).

Gather people together who share an interest that you share, be it election integrity, voter registration, or sign waves and start doing those things. Try many different things out and see what works, remember to begin with the end in mind, know the results you want and work toward achieving those results. Waving a flag on the side of the road uplifts the spirit but did it move the needle? Did you raise money for your candidate, your PAC, or cause?

The good news about this midterm election is that Republicans were so energized and supported that big donors hedged their bets and donated to us. People had a belief that we could win and wanted us to do so. That in state and out of state powers that be took notice. While we did not win this battle, we are far from giving up the war, especially when the momentum is on our side.