Not even the most optimistic Democratic pollsters dared to predict the results of Tuesday's elections. There's no sugarcoating it. With the exception of my home state of Florida and a few select others, the Democratic Party ran the table in America's midterm elections. This election cycle was unlike anything I have seen in my lifetime of watching American politics.
Historically, the party controlling the White House tends to lose seats in the following midterm elections. This is part of the balance that makes the American democratic system great. But this was something else entirely. Against the backdrop of global unrest, with wars in the Middle East and Eastern Europe still raging, Democrats and their new counterparts, the Democratic Socialists of America, took their campaigns to the American public. Suddenly, tired, recycled ideas of socialism, along with empty promises to "make things better," were welcomed by a nation struggling to pay its bills, fill its cars with gas, and make sense of wars it does not understand.
None of this is to dismiss the concerns of Americans. Those concerns are real. Republicans failed to provide a convincing path forward and paid dearly, suffering devastating losses in the Senate, House, and governors' races across the country. The mainstream Democratic Party welcomed the new socialists with open arms, claiming theirs is a "big tent" party. But make no mistake. This tent will be driven by the far left agenda, not the other way around. And there is without question little room left for pro-Israel Democrats. Congressman Jared Moskowitz and a few others managed to hold on to their seats, but they have the fight of their lives ahead of them. As do the rest of us who believe in the free world, no matter our political affiliation.
Republicans, meanwhile, are reeling. Who is to blame? Some have already rushed to blame Israel, the Jews, the war in Iran, or the candidates themselves. These immediate reactions often say more about the people making them than about the actual reasons for the losses. At the risk of falling into that same trap, a few things are clear.
Republicans must recognize the economic difficulties Americans are facing and offer real solutions. When it comes to foreign policy, the party and its leadership must do a much better job explaining why their actions are in America's best interests. The American people are smart and educated. Despite what the Tuckers and Mamdanis of the world would have us believe, the vast majority of Americans do not want Iran to obtain nuclear weapons. Nor do they want Nicolás Maduro to continue pumping drugs into our nation. But Republicans must make the case, and it must be made by our very best messengers.
Democrats have done so, albeit with arguments often filled with falsehoods and anti-American and anti-Israel rhetoric. It may sound appealing to some voters to claim that grocery prices in Michigan are high because of American support for Israel or engagement in Iran. Republicans must have a clear response. Confronting Iran keeps Americans safer. Increasing America's oil refining capabilities can help lower gas prices and put more Americans to work. Our alliances around the world, including with Israel, benefit America and Americans. Americans want their country to lead. But they cannot focus on leading the world when they cannot pay their credit card bills. The issue of affordability must be addressed head on.
The silver lining is that many promises made by Democratic candidates are unlikely to be implemented. And even if they were, they simply would not work. No matter how much it frustrates these newly elected officials, America remains a capitalist society with deeply entrenched laws and institutions that will resist attempts to impose socialist policies. That does not mean they will not try. They will. And some damage will be done.
For now, President Trump and his administration must be hyperfocused on delivering results that Americans can actually feel and understand. Lower costs, more jobs, greater economic security, and a safer nation. These cannot simply be policy announcements or statistics coming out of Washington. Americans need to see the results in their everyday lives, or at least that we are on the path to fixing them, and the administration must do a better job communicating those successes and explaining why its policies matter. It will now fall to the next group of Republican candidates to bring a clear message of hope, prosperity, and American exceptionalism back to the ballot box.
As for Israel, I am afraid we are entering a period of hostility. With Democrats controlling Congress for the next two years, I expect an increasingly hostile approach toward the Jewish state. Expect efforts to impose sanctions focused on Judea and Samaria, commonly referred to as the West Bank, and potentially on Israel more broadly. Expect efforts to block the sale of critical munitions to Israel. And do not expect meaningful new congressional funding support for Israel over the next two years.
The responsibility of pro-Israel Americans will be to make the case, more forcefully than ever, that the relationship between the United States and Israel benefits America greatly. Moving away from that relationship would be detrimental to American national security, and of course to our most important ally in the region. Perhaps this is a recalibration that is ultimately needed across the Western world. For too long, support for Israel has been discussed primarily in terms of what America does for Israel, rather than what this extraordinary alliance does for each nation. That must change.
Of course, this is not the way I would have wanted this conversation to begin. Not in the least. But politics rarely works out the way we wish it would.
Now, it’s time to get to work.
About the author: Gabe Groisman is an attorney, government affairs consultant, and author of The Jewish Fight for America.