Surveying the GOP casualty report this morning reminded me of that opening scene in “Patton” where Gen. Omar Bradley was assessing the beating the American Army took at Kasserine Pass.
It was nothing short of a bloodbath. A short, far from comprehensive, snapshot…
- Texas: Ken Paxton lost to James Talarico (senate)
- South Carolina: Darline Graham lost to Annie Andrews (senate)
- Kansas: Roger Marshall lost to Adam Hamilton (senate)
- Ohio: Jon Husted lost to Sherrod Brown (senate)
- Iowa: Ashley Hinson lost to Josh Turek (senate)
- Maine: Susan Collins lost to Troy Jackson (senate)
- North Carolina: Michael Whatley lost to Roy Cooper (senate)
- Georgia: Mike Collins lost to Jon Ossoff (senate)
- Michigan: Mike Rogers lost to Abdul El-Sayed (senate)
- Texas: Greg Abbott lost to Gina Hinojosa (governor)
- Ohio: Vivek Ramaswamy lost to Amy Acton (governor)
- Nevada: Joe Lombardo lost to Aaron Ford (governor)
- Nevada: Dave Flippo lost to Teresa Benitez Thompson (house)
- All told Democrats flipped 35+ seats in the House
And no matter how Donald Trump tries to spin it – “I don’t view it as a hit on me” – the debacle lands at his feet.
He was the commanding general. It was his strategy. They were his tactics.
He went from the magic touch triumph in ’24 to the cheese touch trouncing in ’26.
Bottom line: He committed the unpardonable political sin of over-promising and under-delivering. Especially on Iran. Recall…
March 1: “Well, we intended four to five weeks.”
March 2: “We’re already substantially ahead of our time projections. … We projected four to five weeks…”
March 5: “The United States military…continues to totally demolish the enemy far ahead of schedule…”
March 7: “It’ll continue, I’m sure, for a little while.” (He also called it “a short excursion.”)
March 9: “I think the war is very complete, pretty much. … We’re very far ahead of schedule.”
March 11: “You know, you never like to say too early you won. We won. We won the – in the first hour, it was over.”
Eight months later, it still wasn’t over.
And gas prices were still sky high – despite his January 20, 2025 assertion that “The golden age of America begins right now.”
Comparable blame belongs to Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
- He lost the Senate
- He failed to pass the SAVE America Act
- He blocked recess appointments
- He failed to get judicial appointments confirmed
- All told, he’s still sitting on some 700 House-passed bills
As @SaltyGoat17 noted on X last night: “Looks like no bills will be passed for the next 2 years. So basically just like the last 2 years.”
But there’s plenty of other blame to go around…
- House Speaker Mike Johnson
- The Republican National Committee (RNC)
- The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC)
- The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC)
- The Republican Governors Association (RGA)
And let’s not forget the high-priced/low-talent inside-the-Beltway political consultants who apparently never saw this blue tsunami coming – or didn’t care as long as their checks cleared.
Republicans deserved this beating.
The American people did not.
Heads need to roll.
And the 2028 Marco Rubio vs. Ron DeSantis GOP presidential primary begins today.
Suit up!
FAMOUS LAST WORDS
“Iran has successfully accomplished regime change in the United States.” – @FinanceLancelot
“The Republicans had the Senate, Congress, Supreme Court, and the Presidency. They did nothing with it.” – @BroSpencer
“Sometimes you get your ass kicked and deserve it. Tonight is one such time for the Republican Party.” – @BuckSexton