Now Comes the Hard Part

With the election results in, it is a fine morning if you are a Republican. The Republicans did very well yesterday. Not only did they gain control of the House of Representatives, they picked up four seats in the Senate and narrowed the Democratic majority to four votes. They also picked up seven governorships, likely even more once the results become official. Now when Obama speaks of his willingness to work with Republicans, he will have to mean it.

For Republicans, the hard part begins. With their victory, the burden of fixing America is on them. They have two years to demonstrate to the voters that they did not make a mistake. Chief among the challenges Republicans face will be fixing the economy. The Democrats still have the votes to thwart Republicans in Congress. If the Republicans over reach and incite Democrats, little will get done in Washington. That is just fine with me, I believe we have enough laws and regulations to at least get us through my lifetime. However, most Americans have come to rely upon Washington to fix things. They rely on Washington to help get them jobs and make sure their children eat right, or, more precisely, to make sure other people's children eat right. The expect Washington to remedy injustice, and ensure that they will be able to retire in comfort. They want Washington to make their neighbors behave and not call them names. Whether Congress is run by Republicans or Democrats, it still must meet the expectations of the public and expectations are high.

The demands of Americans on the federal government are often unrealistic and dangerous. They are unrealistic because there is really not much 536 people in Washington can do to fix a nation with a population and an economy as large as ours. Nor can Washington educate our children or get us jobs. High expectations are dangerous because each failure by the federal government leads to more demands made upon it. If the federal government is unable to fix the economy over the next two years, there will be clamor for even more government, not less. Government failures rarely result in demands for less government.

There is another danger Republicans face as a result of the election. The more ambitious they are, the less likely it is that they will achieve any of their goals. They will need to be patient and pragmatic. If their goal is to repeal Obamacare, they will fail. They just do not have the votes to do so. Additionally, outside the Republican core, the antipathy towards federal health care is not sufficient to sustain a prolonged struggle to repeal it, especially a bitter one.

The best approach for republicans regarding health care will be to nibble at it. If republicans focus on nibbling at health care they will force democrats to defend it piece by piece. Although there is antipathy among the general electorate towards Obama's health care plan, some of what is contained in it is popular, at least in principal. Providing health care to people who need it but cannot afford it is a difficult thing to criticize, especially when you consider the program has not yet been felt. At this stage it is still largely an idea, and not a bad one. Even if national health proves to be a disaster, it is not a disaster yet.

A full scale assault on Obama's policies would allow democrats to defend the popular aspects and over look the unpopular ones. Republicans could be easily side tracked and put on the defensive if they can be portrayed as indifferent to people in need. It would not be difficult for democrats to find people in difficult circumstances who are benefiting from the legislation and put them on TV. Republicans would be seen as doctrinaire and heartless. If health care becomes a contest between angry people and suffering people, suffering people will win.

Republicans should adopt a tactical approach and force democrats to defend their policies and legislation piece by piece. If they are compelled to defend them piece by piece, especially the least popular ones, they will suffer for it. Whether or not Republicans have the patience to nibble will be an important factor in their success.

To simply tilt at windmills and harangue Obama and Democrats will do Republicans no good. Neither will proposing ambitious policies only to fail. The problem is many Republicans ran on bold promises to undo what Obama and the Democrats have done. In an ideological struggle Republicans may gain in the short term among the more enthusiastic of their supporters, but they will risk alienating a major portion of the electorate.

For better or worse, most Americans simply want to earn a comfortable living and be left alone. If the economy improves and Republicans can reduce the burden of government by lowering taxes and reducing regulation, they stand to gain mightily. If the Republicans try to change the nation by picking fights and proposing an ambitious agenda they will only incite Democratic opposition and sour the public. The Democrats are chastened but they are not defeated.

If Republicans want to build on their success they will need patience. They need to focus on achieving small victories and avoid mud fights and spectacular defeats. That will be no small task given the zealousness of the Tea Party supporters who will claim credit for the Republican victory. They have won at Concord, but it is still a long way to Yorktown. Militias and citizen soldiers will not be enough. They will need a disciplined army under unified leadership before it is through.