Advertisement

firehouse pizza banner

Unforced Errors

OUT ON A LIMB:  By John Embry

Merriam-Webster defines an “unforced error” in the following way:  

a missed shot or lost point (as in tennis) that is entirely a result of the player's own blunder and not because of the opponent's skill or effort

Need a case study in how this phenomenon works in a political setting?  Exhibit A - former Governor Matt Bevin.  In 2019, then-Governor Bevin lost a reelection campaign that, quite frankly, should have been impossible to lose, especially to a rather bland, opponent.  What Bevin did should be studied by political strategists everywhere.  He lost a reelection race in a conservative state, trending toward the GOP on multiple levels, with the significant help of an extremely popular president.  And, to top it off, all down-ballot Republicans won their respective races, which is extremely rare.  How did this happen?  Unforced errors.

Despite Governor Bevin’s ongoing tit-for-tat with the Kentucky Education Association and some teacher groups, ultimately it wasn’t his governing policies that led to his defeat.  From his willingness to tackle the state’s pension woes to his strong pro-growth economic policies, the former governor was mostly on solid political ground in that respect … at least solid enough to have slipped past his opponent. However, Gov. Bevin couldn’t seem to keep his foot out of his mouth and his demeanor came across as somewhat arrogant and condescending.  Switching running mates didn’t help either.  In short, he talked and blundered his way to an electoral defeat when it should have been nearly impossible to do so.  

This brings me to President Donald Trump, who finds himself in a similar situation, though he may not realize it.  He surprised the political world in 2016 and emerged from a crowded GOP presidential field to defeat an extremely flawed opponent in Democrat Hillary Clinton.  Based on his first three years in office (including impeachment and prior to COVID), the president seemed poised to win reelection with a strong economy, low unemployment, principled stands on judges and a more robust American foreign policy.  He survived and even solidified his strength in some respects with a couple of de-facto coup attempts, also known as the Russia collusion conspiracy and impeachment.

The Democrats, much like they did in 1984 and 1988 (i.e. Mondale and Dukakis) have nominated someone in former Vice-President Joe Biden that by any reasonable electoral standard should not be a strong contender.  But, with a country polarized and deeply divided, even a potentially weak candidate will clearly be competitive in the race and the polling suggests the former vice-president is leading nationally.  However, it is important to remember that Donald Trump, to my knowledge, never led a national poll against Clinton in 2016.  

When it comes to unforced errors, President Trump is on dangerous ground politically.  He apparently feels compelled to comment on everything under the sun.  From pot-stirring comments on the events in Minneapolis to insinuating that a former Congressman may have been linked to the untimely death of a female staffer (several years ago), the president is giving his political opponents too much free material from which to launch their attacks.  They will attack him regardless but one should refrain from helping out those who are committed to your own demise.  Do more.  Talk less. Avoid unforced errors.  The majority of President Trump’s actions (including COVID-19) as they relate to governance and his public policy positions can be a winning ticket for him politically.  He shouldn’t let his mouth undermine those accomplishments.   

Some readers of this column are probably saying, “wait a minute, Trump’s opponents and Democrats say crazy things too!”   That’s true but Republicans are under a different microscope than Democrats due to the make-up of the mainstream media in the United States, which demonstrably leans left and often operates as a political arm of a radically-progressive agenda.  So, in many instances, the missteps of a GOP candidate are routinely magnified and reported out of context, while those verbal blunders on the other side either smoothed out by editing, buried in reporting, or not reported at all. 

It all comes down to this.  Andy Beshear did not defeat Matt Bevin.  Likewise, Joe Biden will not defeat Donald Trump.  Nevertheless, Beshear now sits in the governor’s office and Bevin is back in the private sector with the word “former governor” attached to his name.  He beat himself.  President Trump runs the same political risk unless he can restrain some of his rhetoric and his desire to lash out 24/7 to every attack that comes his way.  If not, we could be looking at a President Biden.  Let that sink in.  

---

Comments?  Send to [email protected].  



 

 

Tags: 


Bookmark and Share

Advertisements