Following the election of President Trump, Democrats began preparing for the 2018 Midterm Elections on Nov. 6. But, Democrats are not running on a coherent policy platform. For this reason, it is imperative that conservatives vote, and they must vote Republican.
Democrats are positioned to gain the majority of the House of Representatives. If this occurs, there will be formidable challenges for the remainder of the president's first term. The president will not be able to make the recently passed tax cuts permanent, and any prospect of increased border security will be controlled by hostile Democrats.
In the Senate, Republicans are attempting to hold onto a slim majority. In the upcoming election, there are 35 seats available, 27 of which are Democratic. Republicans have a good opportunity to keep their Senate majority until 2020, when 21 Republican seats, compared to eleven Democratic, are up for election. In 2018, if Republicans are not able to hold onto a majority in the Senate, it creates legislative problems and does not pose well for 2020 and beyond.
There are two races that are representative of the nation. First, Texas must re-elect Senator Ted Cruz. He helped guide the nominations of both Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh, he was at the forefront for allowing more Americans to keep a greater portion of their paychecks and he is working to make the tax cuts permanent.
Further, Cruz has advocated raising the retirement age for social security and allowing people to divert money they would otherwise contribute to social security into a 401k styled plan. He has stood against the expanding entitlement structure and has pushed for much needed changes.
Cruz's challenger Robert "Beto" O'Rourke is a suave speaker and politician, but at his core, he is still a large government Democrat. Last year, O'Rourke endorsed a single payer health care system,but later modified his position by saying it "is one option." O'Rourke has also not shown any inclination to increase border security. He voted against a resolution supporting Immigration and Customs enforcement, voted against the Criminal Alien Gang Member Removal Act, and voted against Kate's Law.
Texas is a conservative state. If Cruz were to lose, it signals that Republican candidates are vulnerable in more moderate states.
Closer to home, Ohio must elect Mike DeWine as governor. DeWine supports allowing parents to choose where their children attend school. Traditionally, only children from wealthy families were able to attend a private, secular or non-secular, schools.
On the contrary, Richard Cordray supports transforming "struggling schools into thriving ones." It is good rhetoric, but it fails to look at the history of public education. The problem in many underperforming schools is the culture, and that is not easy to fix. It is unacceptable that years of students will be subjected to experimentation in low-performing schools because Cordray is bought by teachers' unions.
DeWine is also committed to confronting the expanding entitlement structure in our country. DeWine has endorsed work requirements for Medicaid recipients and has committed himself to reforming the system. 30 percent of the state budget is allocated to Medicaid and that number grows each year. 22 percent of Ohio is insured by Medicaid. Between Medicare and Medicaid, the government insures 40 percent of Ohioans. This is unsustainable.
Cordray has vowed to continue Medicaid expansion. He claims that "we must afford basic health care rights to all Ohioans." However, Medicaid goes beyond covering basic health care services.
Nearly half a million Medicaid recipients in Ohio receive drug and alcohol rehabilitation. An effective solution for restraining costs would be to privatize the system, similar to the changes Iowa has made. The treatment is prohibitively expensive and will continue to become more expensive when Ohio assumes a greater percent of the costs. Cuts must be made, and Richard Cordray will not make those cuts.
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This election should not be about President Trump's inflammatory language because there are much greater issues at hand . Democrats are trying to make the election about President Trump calling women "Pocahontas" and "horse face." It may be distasteful, but rising Medicaid costs, increasing school choice and strengthening border security are actual issues. Policies, not rhetoric, is what matters.
You do not have to like the president, but if you are conservative, you must vote Republican.
raghurv@miamioh.edu
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