I have a growing concern that Republicans, when they get a microphone in front of them, are taking their eye off the prize.
In the 1990’s Republicans became obsessed with the “Clinton Crime Family.” They took back Congress in 1994 and poured all their energies into investigating the Clintons. They seeded a narrative about the Clintons’ corrupt practices in Arkansas. Every time they went on TV that was what they wanted to talk about. In 1996, the topic was so dominant among the GOP, most voters thought the GOP’s day one priority would be arresting the Clintons.
In the here and now, the GOP message about the Biden Crime Family is the dominant narrative from the GOP. Today, in the Senate, Riley Gaines testified about men in women’s sports. But across the conservative media, from talk radio to television, the coverage over Hunter Biden and Joe Biden’s corruption was far more dominant. After Trump and the Democrats’ treatment of him, I get the desire to scratch the revenge itch. But the goal has to be to beat Joe Biden in 2024. The “Biden Crime Family” story is persuasive to Republicans, but independent voters think both sides are already criminally corrupt. They just want to know who is going to get the IRS off their backs, protect their daughters, and fight for them and their 401(K)s.
Every time the GOP gets on TV and talks about Biden’s corruption, instead of Biden’s destructive policies, the GOP is repeating what they did to Bill Clinton and, last I checked, Bob Dole lost.
The Clinton Playbook Failed the GOP