Something was missing from the recent Republican campaign efforts.  Though they did retake the Senate and several governor’s mansions, most were strangely silent on what might have been some winning issues.  These included Obamacare, school reform and reforming bureaucracy and regulation.  Obamacare did receive some attention, which is good, and all the new senators vowed to attempt to repeal it.  I am skeptical  of success there, for the time being, but an effort can and should be made at least to amend the law significantly.  Republicans also strongly opposed immigration amnesty and that was most certainly a winning issue.  But the others—virtual silence.

What silence means I have no idea.  Were they afraid to raise the issues of school reform and regulation?  Perhaps.  Or do they not really care that much?  Perhaps.  I hope the former.  But I am nevertheless surprised that most candidates didn’t grasp the possibilities for the issues.  Studies are showing that overwhelming majorities of those surveyed opposed tenure for teachers, support charter schools, support school choice of some sort, and are very concerned at rising costs of higher education.  Many are also concerned about the ideological entrenchment at public colleges and universities.

So what did most Republicans say about education?  They asserted either that they were supporting greater spending or would support it.  That’s pretty much it.  Missing was any talk about accountability for all that taxpayer money, or whether much of it was worth spending.  Again, maybe Republicans had to trumpet their support for education to get elected, and most certainly thought they did.  But even if they supported spending, why not also support measures that would make that spending valuable for taxpayers and their children?  How could you go wrong?  It seems campaign advisors were asleep at the switch.

As to regulation, that too could have been a “no brainer.”  Who wouldn’t support criticism of the IRS bureaucracy and its partisan (and illegal) overreach, as a great example of bureaucratic oppression?  I would have raised that issue right away and used it.  Other bureaucratic tyranny could have been usefully exposed as well.  Examples include the on-going VA scandal, the EPA attempts to regulate nearly everything, the Justice Department’s skewed prosecutions and lack thereof (not to mention numerous evasions).  That’s only the tip of the iceberg.  But again, virtual silence.

Is this silence the calm before the storm?  I hope the new congressional majority will attempt to do something, even if it may be unsuccessful against a recalcitrant president.  Maybe they will.  Maybe I am too cynical.  Time will tell.

Republicans need and voters want some agenda, some positive set of policies.  Are the party leaders and politicians themselves really tuned in not to voters but to their cronies?  If so, they might want to wake up and realize that cronyism can backfire.  Are they simply timid–and I understand that campaign advisers are pretty “conservative” in their advice, that is, not very bold?  But this too can backfire.  I (who have no campaign advisory experience beyond talking to my brother when he ran for city council 36 years ago, and to myself when I ran for board of education 35 years ago–we both lost) would advise our leaders to listen to what the voters are actually saying and then be bold.

If down the road the Republicans fail to keep their majorities and to gain the White House, I believe a big part of the reason would have been their irrational fear of saying and doing things that clearly resonate with the citizens they serve.  That in turn may well go back to their own self-interest regarding re-election.  Ironically though, they will have ignored the very issues that could solidify their majority.