Let us begin with the banal but necessary truism: in politics, as in sports, a victory is not forever, nor a defeat a funeral. “Never get too up about a win, never get too down about a loss,” goes the saying. Triumphs, however sweet, are always temporary; losses, though bruising, often sow the seeds for future victories. The temptation to gloat is as natural as it is foolhardy, and those who would leap from triumph to arrogance are always poised to suffer the swift justice of their own hubris. Pride cometh before the fall.
Now, I would like to be clear: I am beside myself with glee at that our beloved Republicans have managed to capture the White House and both houses of Congress. And a bonus, we effectively control the judiciary! A trifecta of power, a sweep of unimaginable proportions! What a victory for America! What a vindication for women, for minorities, for immigrants, for the working class, for human rights, for the security and welfare of the nation!
And yet… and yet… and yet…
One might think, given the jubilation of many on the Right, that we have just completed the ideological equivalent of winning the Cold War, and felling the Soviet Union. Ours was a narrow victory, and we should not be deluded by it: what we have witnessed here is not a mandate—it is an opportunity, one which must be seized, lest it slip from our grasp.
The peculiarity of the American electoral system, with its (how shall we say this charitably?) love-hate relationship with the Electoral College, is that it has the ability to turn the slightest of margins into a sweeping victory. President Trump won barely half of the popular vote, against an opponent so feeble that even the most devoted of her admirers would struggle to defend her candidacy. And yet, this fractional success—50.2 percent, if we care to dwell on the numbers—was enough to grant Mr. Trump a decisive triumph in the Electoral College, which has created an optical illusion of a sweeping mandate for fundamental change, where none exists.
Let us be clear with ourselves: Trump’s victory, while indeed a blow to the Democrats, was not the overwhelming and convincing rejection of progressive politics that some of the faithful seem to believe. It was, in fact, rather tepid, built on a series of narrow victories against a pitiful opponent in a handful of swing states. A handful of votes here or there, and we could have been looking at a very different outcome—a scenario so dismal that we, and the country, might never have recovered.
Consider also our wafer-thin majority in the House of Representatives, and that history, for what it is worth, tells us that the incumbent party almost always loses ground in midterm elections. The minimal governing majority we currently enjoy could well be short-lived if it is not well cultivated.
It has been observed that Republicans are fond of saying that government does not work, and then when elected, prove it. I suggest we disprove it.
I suggest that we have in our hands is not a license to rule with unshakable authority, but rather an invitation to lead. The distinction is crucial. A mandate, in the purest sense of the word, would suggest a clear and overwhelming public call for the policies of the victorious party. What we have, instead, is an opportunity to govern with responsibility, with care, and with humility. For the country is divided, deeply divided, and to lead effectively, Republicans must find a way to bridge that divide.
This, I fear, is where the true challenge lies. The temptation to engage in reckless partisanship, to wage ideological warfare with all the fervor of a zealot, will surely be great. The siren song of Trumpism, with its promise of absolutism and confrontation, will no doubt beckon many to throw aside the semblance of statesmanship in favor of the easy pleasures of cultural warfare. But let us remember this: the key to sustaining power is not in alienating vast swathes of the electorate, but in building coalitions that reflect the complexity of the nation’s needs.
For Republicans to truly consolidate power, for this victory to endure beyond the election cycle, we must expand our reach. Yes, we must fulfill the promises that won us this moment—border security, fiscal responsibility, and all the issues that motivated our base and independents. But we must also govern with an eye toward the broader public. This is not a matter of mere pragmatism; it is a necessity. The Democrats, for all their recent setbacks, are already at work rebuilding. The next election cycle has already begun, and they are targeting new constituencies, looking for the cracks in the Republican edifice.
If Republicans are to ensure that this moment is not fleeting, our reach must extend into communities and populations that have not traditionally aligned with us, we must continue to make overtures to moderates and independents, and—above all—we must resist the urge to govern with a heavy hand. We need to show that we can lead not just for those who voted for us, but for those who did not. Only then can we hope to build an enduring governing majority.
In short, what we have today is a victory, but not a victory that guarantees tomorrow. It is a chance to lead, but it must be wielded with wisdom and restraint. For if we mistake opportunity for entitlement, we may find ourselves, sooner rather than later, consigned to the ranks of the disillusioned and dispossessed.
