Let’s be honest, Democrats are in complete disarray on an epic scale. Gone are the halcyon days of “hope and change.” There is no grand figure around which to rally their base. They have no galvanizing message, no political rhythm, no mandate — all of which is self-imposed.
This should serve as a warning to Republicans.
“We don’t rise to the level of our expectations,” said Greek philosopher Archilochus, “we fall to the level of our training,” meaning, those who fail to prepare in the off-season fail to perform in the big game.
Republicans would do well to remember that. There is no great political competition for the right side of the aisle right now. There is certainly bluster, obstruction, filibuster and mayhem. But rhetoric does not connote responsibility. Obstruction does not equate to brinksmanship.
The danger here for Republicans is laziness due to a lack of competition.
In the absence of true political opposition Republicans can slip into their echo chambers and applaud themselves for mediocrity. There was no fight, yet they can claim a victory year after year, session after session, speech after speech. Without breaking a political sweat, they do enough to get by, write a congratulatory op-ed about themselves and slip into that decaying place of tepid insolence as political muscles atrophy and political will becomes flaccid.
All this because they had no real competition, no reason to be what they claim to be in their campaign commercials.
The Alabama Democratic Party was the canary in the coal mine for the national-level Democrats. Since losing ground in the 2010 Republican wave election Alabama Democrats have had only one statewide officeholder via one-term U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, an election that was marked with an asterisk.
Jones himself recently said that the Alabama Democratic Party is a complete “disaster”:
It is just an unmitigated disaster that has nowhere to go. They can’t even get a quorum to hold a meeting. And the reason they can’t get a quorum to hold a meeting is because the leadership of the party wants to kind of do all these weird shenanigans.
No real competition there.
On the national level, Democrats have cascaded into self-imposed chaos. Longtime Democrat strategist James Carville and newcomer activist-turned-party-leader David Hogg recently clashed over direction. Trading insults and ideas, the two de facto leaders of the left opined conversely that Democrats should be replaced or just march on in current fashion. Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is facing attacks from the left for daring to moderate his positions. Democrat congressional members are bum-rushing the gates of ICE detention facilities. U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s (D-Texas) verbal inanity embarrasses her colleagues, while U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is touted as a viable presidential candidate in 2028.
Watching the Democrats shoot themselves in the proverbial foot almost daily is the political version of the Mad Hatter’s tea party. Hyperactivity, riddles with no answer, poise without purpose.
If Republicans squander this moment, it will not be because the Democrats had their act together and put up a better fight. It will be a loss solely borne by the team that had everything to lose. Donald Trump, in a recent interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” said that “being challenged is okay … it keeps you sharp.”
The danger for Republicans is the lack of challenge, the complacency that comes from controlling their own destiny. In the absence of a challenge, Republicans have two choices: get busy winning or get busy slipping into mediocrity.
Author J. Oswald Sanders wrote a seminal classic called “Spiritual Leadership.” It’s a book that I have dog-eared, underlined, and reread more than any other, next to the Bible. In the 15th chapter, while talking about the fact that leadership can mean great exertion and long hours, Sanders said something that should be printed on bumper stickers, t-shirts and inspirational posters everywhere:
If a Christian is not willing to rise early and work late, to expend greater effort in diligent study and faithful work, that person will not change a generation. Fatigue is the price of leadership. Mediocrity is the result of never getting tired.
That, my friends, is not a mantra for what to do only when your competition is at its strongest. That is a formula for success that is driven by a sense of mission, a time and place of calling, a moment when it is yours to do. Republicans have to move forward on the field of political battle, whether the opposition is fighting hard or not.
Eric Cantona was a famed forward for the Manchester United football club, and one of the greatest players to ever take the pitch. His philosophy was the same. “I don’t play against a particular team. I play against the idea of losing,” Cantona said.
There's a difference. If you play down to the team on the other side, then you play less of the quality of which you are capable.
Republicans must play to win. They must seize the moment and play to the idea of victory with an actual game plan.
Anything less is mediocrity.
To contact Phil or request him for a speaking engagement, go to www.rightsideradio.org.
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