Trending
If as president you are presiding over a dark period in America’s history, complete with divisions, a never ending war, political corruption, affordability issues for the average American family, a slew of broken promises, and a favorability rating that barely hits 30%, I do not think it would be a good idea feature yourself with candidates for office in your party.
The far better strategy would be to assume the “hard core” MAGA types are going to support the GOP and allow the candidate to distance himself from the sinking Titanic – that is you, Mr. President.
By latching onto candidates, you are dooming them to the same fate of the Titanic. They too will sink. That is not a wise strategy. There are a number of GOP candidates that wisely said, “thanks, but no thanks” to a campaign visit by President Donald Trump (New Hampshire Republican candidates quickly come to mind).
You meant to energize your base, but your presence is only a reminder to voters why they must vote for anyone not “attached” to Trump. Why? Because anyone who aids Trump and his agenda will continue to cause harm to America.
When I was seeking my fourth term as a congressman, despite the warnings, I welcomed into my congressional district the very unpopular former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Coupled with a lack of Republican Party funding for New England GOP candidates, only one Republican congressional candidate from the region received over 50% of the vote in 1996. It was a near total wipe out. So, I speak from experience.
Now, sometimes there are divine interventions or better stated, when your opponent screws up royally, it can propel you to victory as well. We have a classic example of that with the gubernatorial race in Ohio featuring Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and Democrat Amy Acton.
Apparently it seemed clear, at least to Ramaswamy, that he was not going to win this race unless he threw a Hail Mary pass. As is often the case with Hail Mary passes, they are often intercepted and the opposing team can take advantage of your errant and ill-advised attempt to score. Now, the polls would suggest that Acton is well on her way to a resounding victory. Ramaswamy made a bad situation worse.
You would think that GOP leaders would want to create some distance on the topic of a man molesting minors due to Jeffrey Epstein’s “cover up” of the century.
To throw salt on an open wound, Ramaswamy demonstrated complete disregard for the normal rule (that is, until the Trump era) of leaving family members out of campaign messages. It was a pure rookie mistake. He compounded the error by broadcasting a TV ad that was not properly vetted.
The ad featured Acton’s mother – whose past leaves a lot to behold – claiming that her daughter had lied about her past. However, when digging further, court records revealed that Amy’s stepfather sexually molested her when she was 12. She was subsequently removed from her mother’s custody as the mother seemed to side with her husband. Thus, why do you go there Mr. Ramaswamy?
Then, when information from the court records were fully released and despite the request of fellow Republican Governor Mike DeWine to remove the ad from the airways, Ramaswamy doubled down on the obvious error in judgment. He continued to air the ads to the astonishment of most people.
Just when you thought it could not get any worse for the Republican Party, we have the two leading Republicans – Trump and Vice President JD Vance – falling on the sword with Ramaswamy. Why?
For Republican leaders to feel that such behavior toward a woman is “fine” is a new low. Ramaswamy has demonstrated serious judgment lapses, making him totally unqualified to serve as Ohio’s next governor.
Repercussions for Trump? They do not seem to matter at this point. But I am surprised that Vance cannot see the writing on the wall in this matter. What is clear to most people is that supporting Ramaswamy’s ad could very well be detrimental for Vance’s political future.
To a far lesser degree, during my first race for Congress, I was aided by my opponent’s self-inflicted wound regarding my wife. I missed the final debate because I was with her in the hospital for an unknown medical condition. Hours after the debate, we learned that she was pregnant with complications. My opponent’s campaign manager assumed I was ducking out of the debate. He told the media, “Let’s see in a few months if it is a girl, a boy, or a ploy.”
Everywhere I went I was nearly mobbed by supportive women who expressed their outrage toward my opponent. They expressed a newfound admiration for me and my values, putting my wife’s health over politics.
My opponent’s poor judgment likely catapulted me from being eight points behind five days before the election to winning by five points – a 13-point swing. Still in her mother’s womb, my daughter helped me win my 1990 election in a 92% white congressional district (which was also predominantly Democratic), as a Black candidate in my mid-30s.
I believe Acton will concur with me that God is good. He can allow you to see your opponent self-destruct via an unforced error.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Gary Franks served three terms as a congressman from Connecticut’s 5th District. He was the first Black conservative elected to Congress and first Black Republican elected to the House in nearly 60 years. Host: Podcast “We Speak Frankly” www.garyfranksphilanthropy.org.