The two most important questions about the just-wrapped Republican midterm convention: Was it a success, and can it help fend off the disaster everyone expects on November 3?
The answers: Absolutely, and we’ll see.
First things first. When the idea of a midterm convention arose, I was open to it but wondered whether the real-world value would match the hype. An American Airlines Center filled for a summer Trump-a-palooza would attract obvious attention, but would that translate to a motivating boost for Republican voters nationwide who have been told consistently that the midterms will not go well?
Even as it approached, I was guarded in my optimism. Would it be well-executed? Enthusiastically received? Adequately covered? When I walked into the arena Wednesday afternoon as attendees were first milling about, it had the hefty feel of the quadrennial conventions that herald the naming of a party’s presidential nominee: balloons netted on the ceiling, music pumping through the speakers, media scurrying around the concourses. But the two-day program would not contain the suspense of a presidential election year. It was a pep rally designed to stoke voter passion in an attempt to ward off the usual history of a party enduring losses two years after it wins the White House.
What followed was a litany of Republican incumbents, promising candidates, Cabinet members, and folks billed as “everyday Americans” benefiting in some fashion from Trump policies. And there was, as expected, a whole lot of Trump. His opening night speech ran nearly two hours. His image was splashed throughout the building. His photo adorned the credentials hanging from the necks of journalists who hate him.
As the honor guard brought out the flags and we stood for the national anthem, the curtain rose on a wave of messaging that sought to make two things clear. First, despite frustrations over Iran and affordability, a dangerous world and a tricky economy are best left in the hands of Republicans. Second, on a range of issues, the nation would not be well served by handing the reins of power back to Democrats.
Questions had arisen as to the convention’s timing, with some snark about the wisdom of holding it opposite the opening two games of the NFL season. Let’s just say that as speaker after speaker lit fires of urgency about the future of our nation, at no point did I check my phone to see the Patriots-Seahawks score.
But that’s a take from inside the building, where the assembled crowd was focused with laser intensity on protecting the Trump agenda from certain sabotage if Democrats win either the House or Senate. Will the enthusiasm from these two days radiate outward from the AAC, across an America where polls insist Congress is about to flip?
That’s impossible to know. If Democrats score their expected wins in November, the midterm convention will look like a well-intentioned gimmick. But if it served to open a sufficient number of eyes, voters who returned Trump to the White House two years ago will show up in sufficient numbers to make sure his final two years are not derailed.
The convention had two intended audiences: independents open to the suggestion that the Trump approach is better for them than an increasingly radicalized Democrat party; and dispirited Republicans figuring the November writing is already on the wall.
Why should it be? While past trends have certainly shown the opposing party doing well in the midterms after presidential elections, who is crafting the current narrative that this is set in stone? Pollsters, whose craft has taken it squarely and deservingly on the chin recently? A media culture that can always be relied upon to paint the Republican agenda in the darkest possible terms?
What if real voters say otherwise? What if enough people look at high gas prices as the cost of burying Iran’s nuclear threat? What if enough people look at affordability in red states versus blue states, and reach the obvious conclusion that the country would do well to be governed like a red state?
And what if every Republican on the ballot develops a talent for refreshing the national memory about what Trump has done?
The culture wars are being won. From the grotesquery of child sex changes to the annoyance of pronouns in bios, the insanities of the recent past are fading into memory. There is a reason why there are fewer cheerleaders for poisoning girls’ and women’s sports with male competition. Led by Trump and an army of common-sense warriors, that nonsense has seen its day. Can we have some appreciation for that in November?
And if not, can we remind ourselves that two of the most vexing crises of the modern era—a porous border and domestic crime—have been improved in ways thought impossible?
Identifying Democrats as extremist whack jobs is useful up to a point. But if Republicans are going to have a real shot at midterm success, they are going to have to convince people that they deserve to stay in charge.
The party that pulled off the midterm convention looked thoroughly deserving. Could it have been better? Sure. Senator John Cornyn could have closed down his pity party and introduced Ken Paxton to the grateful cheers of a crowd glowing with empowering unity. The speaker list could have featured Senate Majority Leader John Thune accepting applause for passing the SAVE Act rather than omitting him because he would have been booed off the stage.
But hey, you can’t have everything. What did we have? We had two days of uplifting conservative messaging, wrapped in the gravity of the occasions of remembering Charlie Kirk and 9/11. The combined effect on minds and hearts was something to behold. The convention was a thrill to attend, intriguing to watch and a magnet for coverage from around the nation and around the world.
And in a little over 50 days, we’ll see if it worked.
Mark Davis is a talk show host for Salem Media: 660amtheanswer.com. X: @markdavis
The views and opinions expressed in this op-ed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of The Dallas Express, its editors, or its staff.
