GOP: Get with the Permanent Campaign

Donald Trump won the presidency on November 8 – or did he? The Democrats, left, and MSM don’t think so. For them the elections two weeks ago settled nothing. It marked a hiccup in their endless campaign to transform America. They’re not going to let Trump’s ascendency stop them. Republicans gaining more dominance than at any time since 1928 isn’t putting the kibosh to their plan. In two short weeks, we’ve seen “protests” at college campuses, in the streets, and on highways. Many of these demonstrations featured violence, with assaults and property destruction. An older white guy in Chicago had the holy horse feathers beaten out of him by three black assailants on the assumption that he supported Trump. Assault, by the way, is illegal in all instances, the victim’s political preferences no exception.

Mike Pence was booed by well-educated, upscale, liberal audience members at the Broadway musical Hamilton. One of the actors at the curtain call lectured Pence about the need for tolerance (was this a student production from Harvard?). Chuck Schumer’s vowed to go after AG nominee Jeff Sessions for alleged racist remarks in the… 1980s. Never did Democrats go after the late Democratic Senator Robert Byrd, who had been a sheets-wearing member of the KKK. Will the Stupid Party finally wise up? If war is politics by other means, politics is politics by any means. Forget honeymoons. The fight with the left-infiltrated Democratic Party continues with nary a pause. Politics are gladiatorial. Droning on about the need for bipartisan cooperation wins nothing. A campaign isn’t some drivel-mantra about “getting along” to solve problems. Haven’t Republicans learned that for the past eight years? Politics are about -- figuratively, for Chicago’s violence-prone denizens -- beating the snot out of the other guy. Then offering hankies to clean up the mess. Trump‘s DNA must contain some Genghis Khan; he took the fight to the Democrats and their allies with steely relentlessness. Hillary and the mainstream media can attest. You win, you rule. When you start ruling, you aim to keep winning. Legislative victories -- heck, any victories -- aren’t bipartisan accomplishments: they’re Trump achievements, Republican milestones on the road to making America great again. You want to share, donate your time at a food kitchen. Okay, so we can throw some scraps and bones to Democrats who cooperate, but nothing more. In winning, modesty doesn’t become. If a Republican is bashful, get out of the business of politics. Bookkeeping or beekeeping may better suit. George W. Bush’s reluctance to communicate throughout his presidency wasn’t admirable, but a profound deficiency. “W” didn’t do enough to ballyhoo his achievements, and when his policies hit rocky patches, he kept mum, permitting vocal Democrats and the MSM to pummel him. History would vindicate President Bush, we were assured. History’s written when you’re dead. Bush’s Olympian approach did little to win critical fights in the here and now. Moving ahead, when Republicans win, they need to shout it from atop Trump Tower. When they face adversity, which is inevitable, they’re no one’s punching bag. Donald Trump is a master counterpuncher. Republicans would do well to imitate the master. Voters can’t be expected to intuit GOP successes. Legislative and policy wins must be related to citizens’ everyday lives. Connect the dots, and keep doing so. Every single success needs to be branded “Made in the U.S.A., by President Trump and the GOP.” Every… single… success. Our side’s control of the narrative includes an important element: we need to keep reminding voters that we’re fixing America because the Democrats broke it. Build a catalogue of Democrat failures and Trump-GOP fixes. Make sure citizens have catalogue copies on their nightstands. Never fail to provide telling contrasts. Obama and Democrats did so routinely. Republicans, post Civil War -- for about a generation or so -- were famous for waving the “bloody shirt” at Democrats. The Democratic Party then was renowned in Union states for having coddled Southern insurrectionists and Northern Copperheads. The bloody shirt helped remind voters about the enormous human sacrifices and hardships incurred as a result of the war. It was an effective tactic; it certainly helped win elections. Something similar can help today’s GOP move legislation and justify Trump’s executive actions. Sure, we get it. Showing the public a perpetually snarling face won’t win the GOP much for long. No reason not to smile while driving nails into the Democrats’ coffin. People like happy warriors, but warriors, nonetheless. Trump is the champion of ad hoc communications. He’s got the right instincts. Republicans can’t afford to be casual, though. A smart modern communications strategy needs to be in place Day One of Trump’s administration. A cutting-edge communications infrastructure needs to be built with Ike’s determination to realize the Interstate Highway System. The permanent campaign means bypassing the MSM, mostly. Digital and social media have come of age in the 2016 elections. President-elect Trump showed the way. Alternative media is a critical part of the mix, but more needs to be done from the bottom up. Communications and media need to be grassroots anchored. Both are now mass participatory affairs. The GOP goal is to tap creatively and deeply into the citizens’ communications and media revolution underway. Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell have committed to move Trump’s massive agenda through Congress. That these guys are willing to step up and shoulder the load is certainly welcome, but backsliding can’t be tolerated. Too much is at stake for the nation. Handwringing and equivocations won’t cut it. Excuses and confessions of GOP constipation in the face of Chuck Schumer’s ploys to stall Trump’s agenda in the Senate aren’t permissible. The permanent campaign requires total effort… mobilizations on many fronts and through many channels. The pages on orthodoxy and convention have been ripped from the playbook. Get creative; go out-of-the-box. Ryan and McConnell can’t ever again be satisfied with process. Winning, not effort, is the benchmark. One day when the left and its subsidiaries, the Democratic Party and the MSM, are operating on society’s margins, the permanent campaign might not need to be so permanent. But that day is far distant. In the meantime, the fight is on for the heart, soul, and direction of the nation. It’s a 24/7 thing.