The only way to turn a purple state red is the old-fashioned way: driving America First voters to the polls, and outnumbering the tens of millions of anti-American voters throughout the country.

Is the blue wave all of us keep hearing about in the Democrat-media industrial complex for real? Most states are blue states or purple states, and the only way to turn a purple state red is the old-fashioned way: driving America First Republicans and Independents to the polls, and outnumbering the tens of millions of anti-American voters throughout the country.

President Trump has kept most of his promises, and our nation needs lawmakers who will fulfill the promises they make as candidates. An elected leader’s word must be his bond with his or her constituents.

Because politics is sales, it’s the perception of a potential blue wave, not the reality, that will either drive America First voters to the polls, or keep them home. Don’t underestimate the perception the DMIC has cultivated amongst Democrat voters that the blue wave is real.

In any election in which a Republican loses, the excuses are predictable: voter fraud; the media; George Soros. Although there is often some truth in the excuses, President Trump seems to be the only Republican consistently hammering home the importance of getting out to vote. Staying home on Election Day, in most parts of the country, is a vote for the Democrat candidate.

Elections Have Consequences

Reliably red states continue to decrease in number. Earlier this year, Alabama voters elected the first Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1992. Look further, and you’ll find Democrats winning congressional districts that haven’t been blue in decades, and were districts Trump won comfortably.

Some of the 2018 races to closely watch are in Florida, where Florida’s governor, Republican Rick Scott, is challenging the incumbent, Democrat U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson; Texas, where Ted Cruz, the incumbent Republican U.S. senator, is defending his seat against an insurgent and well-funded challenger, Democrat U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke; and Tennessee, where Republican U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn is running against former Democratic governor Phil Bredesen, for the seat to be vacated by retiring Bob Corker.

With their Democrat big cities, Florida and Tennessee are purple states. Florida’s four largest counties (Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Orange) each has not only more registered Democrats than Republicans, but more registered Independents than Republicans. As a Florida resident, I can also attest that the state is chock full of Never Trumpers, as well as Marco Rubio and Jeb! Bush supporters.

Even Texas is moving in the purple state direction. If only Texas’s four largest cities (Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, and Austin) voted, the Lone Star State would be as blue as California and New York. Furthermore, Mitt Romney and President Trump both won Texas, in 2012 and 2016, respectively, but Romney received a higher percentage of votes cast than did President Trump. Sounds unbelievable, but it’s true.

We can make excuses, or we can win elections. We just can’t do both. There is too much at stake to stay home on Election Day. In 2009, President Obama was fond of reminding the losing side that elections had consequences, which was his way of saying: I won, you lost, and I don’t need to work with you—you need to work with me. You know what? He was correct.

Now that the Democrats are on the losing side, they’re out for blood, and have two goals: to impeach and remove President Trump from office, and to conquer the country. Had Hillary Clinton won the 2016 presidential election, Democrats would have never lost the presidency, Supreme Court, federal circuit courts, and federal courts of appeal ever again.

Making matters worse is the constant opposition to the president from a handful of Tessio Republicans in the House and Senate, where the GOP majority is already razor thin. I’ve deemed them Tessio Republicans based on the character of the same name in “The Godfather,” who betrays the Corleone family. The Tessio Republicans continue to betray the “family.” Who is the family? The American people, and more specifically, their voters.

Moving From Purple to Red

What turns a purple state red? Turnout, turnout, turnout. Showing up and turning out is all that ultimately matters in politics. Yes, a formidable campaign operation, comprised of effective and targeted messaging, staffers, and volunteers who canvass door-to-door, belly button to belly button, are all non-negotiable. All that counts in the end, however, is the final count. Moral victories are cute and make for feel-good film, but candidates are elected based on the result, not their effort.

The Democratic Party is morphing into a full scale European Union-style socialist party, which is precisely what their voters want, as evidenced by the popularity of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders during the 2016 Democratic Party primaries.

America First Republican and independent voters must exceed Democrats’ enthusiasm and intensity in the 2018 midterms, and beyond. Low margins of victory cannot be the goal; that’s playing not to lose. Playing to win means playing scared and running up the score. If a football team’s offense can’t consistently convert fourth and centimeters, then it doesn’t have much of an offense, does it?

American voters desire elected leaders who embody the philosophy of America First: national prosperity, national defense and national sovereignty—nationalism, rather than collectivism or globalism. There is no such thing as neutrality. Everyone is on a side, whether he likes it or not.