The Republican Future

Mark Steyn:

With respect, the analysis below is wishful thinking. Tuesday was a profoundly consequential night (more on this in my weekend column) and to pretend that it was a “status quo” election that the incumbent merely “survived” is not helpful. J T Young writes:

Politically, Obama won without a mandate and becomes a lame duck shortly.

Are you sure he knows that? He didn’t have a “mandate” for half the stuff he did in his first term, but he did it anyway – shoving Obamacare through on one last bought vote rather than focusing on jobs, etc. That’s the main reason his re-election was so narrow – because he spent his first term concentrating only on things that, whatever their immediate downside, offer his team serious long-term advantage. Our guys might usefully learn from that: Too often Republicans, even when they win, are content to be in office rather than in power.

So, Republicans should concentrate on long-term offerings, which are...