From today’s newsletter:
Good morning! So, how much sleep did you get last night? I’m starting this newsletter and it is 4:02 a.m.Good thing we got that extra hour of sleep over the weekend.
MSNBC just called the race! It happened around 4:34 a.m. Jen Psaki was not pumped to deliver the news. You can watch it here if you’d like.
The 2024 Election was thrilling for Republicans, and honestly what we expected. Going into the night, I was pretty comfortable predicting Trump would win 297 Electoral College votes. I gave him every swing state except Michigan.
In Iowa, I said Trump would likely win by 7-9 points but potentially 12 or 13 if it was a great night. And I said this despite the Fake News Des Moines Register poll that had Kamala Harris winning Iowa by three.
Let’s get to reflections and let’s make them quick!
First, Iowa is a deeper shade of red than ever. Despite Democrats, The Des Moines Register and Ann Selzer’s best efforts to conduct election interference with their Fake News poll over the weekend, Iowa was never in play for Democrats. Democrats have to figure out that the gender identity insanity they support just doesn’t work well on the farm — or in Iowa. The far-left pivot of Democrats has completely destroyed the Democrat Party in Iowa.
Second, the media at the state level and national level is completely out of touch with average, everyday Iowans and Americans. You know, say what you will about Joe Biden and Barack Obama, but I understand the appeal Biden and Obama had to voters. The mainstream media, though, doesn’t understand the appeal Trump has for people who don’t think like them. They just don’t. They don’t get it. They can’t even begin to consider what voters find appealing about him.
Third, say what you will about Trump, but he has found a way to give Republican voters someone to be for. He’s found a way to give Republicans someone to vote for. It’s much more than just “vote for me because I’m not them.” You know what Team Trump does really well? They play offense. They punch back. They don’t just absorb body shots over and over and expect to win by being “nice.” They stand up to the media, they stand up to the Democrats and they stand up for the invisible men and women of America.
Yes, negative campaigning works. But effectively giving voters something and someone to be for is crucial as well. And Trump does it extraordinarily well.
Fourth, we have to find a way to standardize certain elements of Election Day. Perhaps results are not reported until 95 percent of a state’s results are in. Perhaps all absentee ballots must be received AND counted before Election Day. But this new tradition of waiting and waiting and waiting for “absentee votes” to be counted from “major Democrat counties” isn’t going to fool us forever.
Fifth, the election needed to be as close to perfect as possible after the 2020 fiasco. It wasn’t. There were numerous issues reported to The Iowa Standard just in Iowa on Tuesday. There is no excuse for it.
Sixth, and there’s some pushback from folks on this already, I believe the 2020 Election needs to be investigated. Look at the results. Kamala Harris ran consistently behind Biden’s 2020 numbers. And not just narrowly — she ran way behind in almost every state. Trump, meanwhile, eclipsed his 2020 numbers in many states. And in other states he wasn’t far behind.
Maybe it’s not possible to get answers, but I think the 2024 Election only creates more questions about the 2020 Election than it provides answers.
Seventh, Republicans need to really strategize about how to handle the media and messaging moving forward. In my opinion, The Des Moines Register should be forced to answer for its Fake News poll. Nobody, nobody, nobody with any credibility at all expected it or believed it. The poll had Kamala winning Iowa by three. Realty shows Trump has won by 13 points. That’s a 16-point mistake. There has to be ramifications for this. What those are should be up to Iowa Republicans, but this poll was a clear attempt to influence an election with obvious misinformation. That poll was desperate, delusional and disinformation.
Eighth, the media hasn’t learned. MSNBC is going on right now about how Kamala is a person of color, a woman and in an interracial marriage. The panelist is asking if all of those things combined was too much for “pockets of the country.” He called Kamala Harris “over-qualified” for the job. And he is like visibly shaken. Well, here, watch here.
I guarantee you — GUARANTEE you — more people voted for Kamala Harris simply because she is a woman than voted against her because she is a woman. I think both approaches are wrong. But if the Democrats want to demean the millions and millions of Trump voters post-election, go ahead. It didn’t work great leading up to the election and is a bold strategy, but we’ll see if it pays off for them I guess.
Ninth, now the hard part begins. It’s great to feel good about this victory, but the reality is now is the hard part. We have a tremendous challenge ahead of us to figure out what the Republican Party is moving forward. Democrats have a lot of soul searching to do, but we have quite a bit ourselves. Listen, President Trump made the GOP into a “Big Tent Party.” I would argue President Trump is more of a populist than he is a conservative. And populism can work for a time, but we need to decide what our principles are as a party as we move forward.
We need the voters Trump brought to the Republican Party to care about more than just Donald J. Trump. I think the reason the Red Wave never hit in 2022 was because a percentage of Trump supporters only care enough to vote when they can vote for Donald Trump. That has to change. We will never have Donald J. Trump on our ballot again. Ever. He’s done.
Trump’s election buys us time, but we need to inspire those who Trump has inspired to get involved to become involved and invested in the political process post-Trump.
Finally, there are days I wonder if we’re making a difference doing The Iowa Standard. There are days I think doing something else doesn’t sound so bad. This honestly isn’t easy to do. Being critical of folks on the Left, and critical of supposed allies on the Right leaves you sometimes with even fewer friends than the average political person.
But as I look at Iowa since 2019, when we started The Iowa Standard, it’s impossible to think we’re not making a difference. We are spreading the message of conservatism unapologetically. We’re hopefully inspiring others to get more involved. I know we’ve even suckered some of you into running for office.
And now, with The Des Moines Register’s desperate, delusional, disinformation poll, it’s impossible to think we’re not needed.
If you are already supporting The Iowa Standard, I sincerely appreciate it. You allow me to do what I believe God has called me to do while making a difference in our state and in our nation not for me or us (sorry) but for my kids and hopefully one day grandkids.
This isn’t a hobby, it is my job. Actually, I believe it is my calling. I don’t think of it is a job. But it doesn’t work without your support.
If you’re not a supporter, I ask that you consider signing up to be one. When I started, I thought I could find 1,000 conservatives willing to give $5/month to make this work. Well, six years into this and I’m still about $1,800/month short.
If you have the ability to do so, I’d greatly appreciate you considering signing up to contribute $5, $10, $25 a month. Whatever you think it is worth to have an independent, conservative voice in the Iowa media.
Honestly asking for money is the part I stink at most when it comes to this. But tonight, after seeing the results of the election, I whole-heartily believe supporting The Iowa Standard is worth it.
JOIN US IN THE FIGHT! The Iowa Standard NEEDS financial support! You can sign up HERE to be a financial supporter. We’re also on Venmo at Iowa-Standard-2018 and PayPal at [email protected]. Checks can be sent to:
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