# Who to blame for the Republican failure in 2022? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 13, 2022, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-blame-for-the-republican-failure-in-2022/974851 "2022-11-13T14:22:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-blame-for-the-republican-failure-in-2022/974851/1 "2022-11-13T14:22:47Z")
Really two questions here: who will be blamed (scapegoated?) and who really is to blame. A few options to start: Donald Trump because he is of course the go to to blame for everything. I don’t think this election he had a direct impact on the election so much as … Republican voters who elected candidates in the primary that had little chance to win, especially in purple states. But even moderate Republicans had trouble and that may have been the indirect impact Trump had. Let’s be honest, most Americans are uneducated on what they are voting on and I think many people voted against Republicans only because of the (R) without bothering to look as to whether or not they were a Trump supporter or not. But even so, is the poor showing of the GOP really because of Trump or rather … The Supreme Court of the United States who overturned _Roe v Wade_ and appeared posed to overturn other marriage/reproductive rights. That energized the country to say we can’t take what’s happening in DC for granted anymore. And if anything made the country more divisive than even Trump/Clinton & Biden/Clinton ever did. In my own district, the Republican lost although we are pretty red. Why? Maybe for the same reason I voted against her - she believed that abortion should only be available to save the mother’s life. No exception for rape or incest. She since loosened up on that but most voters still believe she is extreme pro-life. So what do you think? Who lost the 2022 midterms for the Elephants and, perhaps more important for 2024, who will get the blame? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-blame-for-the-republican-failure-in-2022/974851/2 "2022-11-13T14:28:20Z")
Just saw this and felt we should get Liz Cheney’s perspective although after the way she was treated by the Pub leadership she may be a little biased. > **[Liz Cheney calls election results 'clear victory for team normal' and...](https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/10/planning/liz-cheney-midterm-elections-trump/?dicbo=v2-cd7a1879308256427c206dac811e44c0&hpt=ob_blogfooterold)** > > Rep. Liz Cheney on Thursday said the results of this week's midterm elections were "a clear victory for Team Normal," and a "rejection of the toxicity" of former President Donald Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-blame-for-the-republican-failure-in-2022/974851/3 "2022-11-13T14:50:00Z")
[This article](https://www.wsj.com/articles/frustrated-republicans-try-to-explain-lack-of-midterm-red-wave-11668036382?mod=series_midterms2022) summarizes the reasons for Republican failure pretty well. Emphasis on Trump, poor candidates, abortion rights and maybe a bit of a late kick on Social Security and Medicare eligibility fears. Substantial recovery isn’t in the cards for the G.O.P. any time soon, absent serious self-inflicted wounds by Democrats, which are always a possibility. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-blame-for-the-republican-failure-in-2022/974851/4 "2022-11-13T15:12:56Z")
I disagree that there was a Republican failure; right now it looks like it is highly probable the House has flipped from Democratic to Republican control. Republicans in Congress are highly disciplined in voting the party line. Legislation requires both House and Senate approval. So I predict as a result that new Biden initiatives will be dead and there will be domestic budget cuts. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-blame-for-the-republican-failure-in-2022/974851/5 "2022-11-13T15:19:46Z")
> **[Opinion | Republicans Did Not Read the Room](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/09/opinion/republicans-midterms-abortion.html)** > > It turns out that voters care about abortion and democracy after all. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-blame-for-the-republican-failure-in-2022/974851/6 "2022-11-13T15:23:19Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Really two questions here: who will be blamed (scapegoated?) and who really is to blame. > A few options to start: Blame is a strong word, the GOP deserved to get trounced. Why did the GOP get trounced? Because they are a fascist party that opposes minority/women’s rights and are fully embracing stupidity and conspiracy theories. Gen Z voted democrat roughly 2-1, it was about 68-32 for Gen Z for the democrats. Gen Z went so far to the left that it counterbalanced the fact that people age 65+ vote right wing. Who will the GOP blame? I don’t know. Either they’ll blame being too moderate (they always blame that) or they’ll blame Trump however they’ll keep the worst of Trumpism and just try to put a professional face onto their politics. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-blame-for-the-republican-failure-in-2022/974851/7 "2022-11-13T15:46:44Z")
One of the talking heads on MSNBC last night said something to the effect that most Americans want to be able to get up in the morning, turn on the TV and not have crazy jump out at them. From what I saw of the GOP ads here in the Soviet of Washington, I’d say that was a factor. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-blame-for-the-republican-failure-in-2022/974851/8 "2022-11-13T15:47:23Z")
Dobbs was a huge part of this IMO. Really showed the American public that right wing rule, including in the courts, can strongly impact their rights and daily lives. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-blame-for-the-republican-failure-in-2022/974851/9 "2022-11-13T16:24:08Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Emphasis on Trump, poor candidates, abortion rights… All three of these are trump directly or indirectly, though the Supreme Court stacking was more McConnell’s machinations coupled with trump just going with Federalist Society recommendations for court picks. I like to think the Repub failure was a voter repudiation of trumpism, and to a point I think it was, but a commentator on the news this morning said more than half of the election deniers who were running won. Marjorie Failer Green won easily and last I heard Boobert was in the lead. So there’s still work to be done stamping out trumpism for all time. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-blame-for-the-republican-failure-in-2022/974851/10 "2022-11-13T16:36:37Z")
I’ve been hearing for twenty or more years that demographic trends are the ticking time bomb that will inevitably wipe out the GOP. Is this election evidence that we’re close to the point where the country stops hitting snooze on that clock? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-blame-for-the-republican-failure-in-2022/974851/11 "2022-11-13T16:36:40Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Republicans in Congress are highly disciplined in voting the party line. Decently disciplined, and no more or less disciplined than Democrats, but there are regularly defections on items of principal or who knows what else. Rand Paul and Mike Lee are classic examples, as is Tony Gonzales in Texas. > **[No quarter for centrists in House: 2020 Vote Studies - Roll Call](https://rollcall.com/2021/03/03/no-quarter-for-centrists-in-house-2020-vote-studies/)** > > Of the 13 House Democrats to lose in November, eight were among the most centrist members of the chamber, our analysis shows. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-blame-for-the-republican-failure-in-2022/974851/12 "2022-11-13T16:56:39Z")
We ooze towards the tipping point every year as four million new Democratic +28 voters become eligible. But we’re still a decade or more away from the new generations becoming dominant in national elections. After about 2032, the pace of change will accelerate as The Great Boomer Die Off begins in force. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-blame-for-the-republican-failure-in-2022/974851/13 "2022-11-13T17:15:35Z")
I am adamant that the Roe decision is what did it. Without that I believe droves of blue voters would have stayed home, being disappointed in the Biden administration and no real motivation to vote in a mid-term. The type of blue voter that normally would have sat this one out showed up. And it didn’t help that after the decision some idiot Republicans kept spewing about no exceptions. Even people like myself who oppose abortion realize there has to be some exceptions. Even Ronald Reagan referred to one exception as a form of self defense. Had SCOTUS not ruled on that case when they did this election would have been much, MUCH different. I staunchly believe this! ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-blame-for-the-republican-failure-in-2022/974851/14 "2022-11-13T17:27:41Z")
Republican tend to freak out when Democrats try to control their guns. It looks like Democrats freak out when Republicans try to control their uteri. On top of that, nothing brings out the left like Trump and his minions. Expect high Democratic turnout until the orange gasbag is permanently sidelined. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-blame-for-the-republican-failure-in-2022/974851/15 "2022-11-13T19:10:18Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I’ve been hearing for twenty or more years that demographic trends are the ticking time bomb that will inevitably wipe out the GOP. Is this election evidence that we’re close to the point where the country stops hitting snooze on that clock? I think so. For Gen X, we grew up in a time where democracy was usually respected, and so we could vote for different parties secure in the knowledge that if we lost this time, we’d have a fair chance to win next time. Sure, the beginnings of gerrymandering and voter suppression were happening at that time, but the effects were not yet obvious. But the newer generations? They’ve grown up in a world where the minority party wields undue power because of the results of all that electoral manipulation. They see hugely popular policies being rejected outright by radical politicians who know they can just ignore the will of the people, and they’re pissed off about this. And I can’t imagine that attitude changing for them any time soon. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-blame-for-the-republican-failure-in-2022/974851/16 "2022-11-13T19:36:56Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > I disagree that there was a Republican failure; right now it looks like it is highly probable the House has flipped from Democratic to Republican control. Republicans in Congress are highly disciplined in voting the party line. Legislation requires both House and Senate approval. So I predict as a result that new Biden initiatives will be dead and there will be domestic budget cuts. You have to compare against historical norms, which say the Republicans should have the Senate and a sizable majority of the House in a midterm. Given how divided the party is, and that being a fervent Trumpist might not be a good idea in a lot of districts, it might be easier to pry some off the Republican side for more moderate initiatives. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-blame-for-the-republican-failure-in-2022/974851/17 "2022-11-13T20:05:30Z")
> [@Red\_Wiggler](#): > > We ooze towards the tipping point every year as four million new Democratic +28 voters become eligible. But we’re still a decade or more away from the new generations becoming dominant in national elections. > > After about 2032, the pace of change will accelerate as The Great Boomer Die Off begins in force. The trouble with the Inevitable Victory Through Demographics scenario is that voters continually age and many get more conservative, especially as their financial situation improves. The same happens with minority groups. There are already [a lot](https://circle.tufts.edu/latest-research/young-republicans-young-trump-voters-and-future-gop) of young Republican and conservative voters. Even the demographics of [QAnoners](https://morningsidepost.com/articles/2021/3/8/who-are-qanon-supporters-5-revealing-findings-from-survey-data) might surprise you. Blithely assuming Nirvana will arrive once the “boomers” die off is farcically misguided. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-blame-for-the-republican-failure-in-2022/974851/18 "2022-11-13T20:11:36Z")
Well, ultimately, they all are. Trump is to blame, because, well, just look at him. The GQP newcomers are to blame, because they chose to ignore reality, and believe every stupid thing Trump and some other conspiracy theorists told them. The GOP old guard are to blame, for not seeing the writing on the wall during the Tea Party era, and encouraging the “Never compromise!” attitudes during the Obama years. The GOP voters are to blame. The True believers for voting for Trump, and voting for his candidates in the primaries, and the “moderates” for not abandoning the party. Because ultimately, the GOP losing control of every level of government in the US - federal, state, and local - is just about the only thing that could make all the above morons actually notice what a shit show their party has become. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-blame-for-the-republican-failure-in-2022/974851/19 "2022-11-13T22:36:56Z")
I’m gonna continue to blithely assume it, thank you very much, since the old wives’ tale of voters becoming more conservative as they age has been pretty soundly discredited. This generation is different. Nixon and Reagan both won 18-29s at least once and the voting patterns for those generations have remained pretty consistent over the decades. Like many others who fail to recognize the trends you are confusing relatively more conservative with actually becoming more conservative. Zoomers and Millennials will drive elections in a few more decades and those who follow may be equally liberal. The country will change. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2022, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-blame-for-the-republican-failure-in-2022/974851/20 "2022-11-13T23:10:00Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Had SCOTUS not ruled on that case when they did this election would have been much, MUCH different. I staunchly believe this! I mostly agree with you, although I wonder when I see intensifiers (“much, MUCH”). Polls showed few voters making abortion their deciding issue. The political use of abortion was more to show the GOP was extreme, and there is additional evidence of extremism beyond Dobbs. Now, if they had ruled, but ruled that Roe was too big a precedent to overrule, I think that would have made the GOP seem less scary. It might then have been worth a single “much.” As to who to blame, I will put Trump above the Supreme Court. That explains this: > **[Democrat wins Washington swing district in major blow to Trump and GOP](https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/12/democrat-wins-washington-swing-district-in-major-blow-to-trump-and-gop-00066621)** > > The district has been held by Republicans since 2011. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-to-blame-for-the-republican-failure-in-2022/974851.md?page=2)