Spoke with two of my favorite people, @StarChamberMaid and @julie_kelly2 on their Happy Hour podcast.
I argued that GOP voters should want the GOP to hold the Senate—even as I loathe them, and don’t want to reward their perfidy. Listen here: https://blubrry.com/happyhourjulieliz/71135735/ep-35-julie-and-liz-talk-about-whether-republicans-should-vote-in-the-georgia-runoffs-with-special-guest-dave-reaboi/

When I’d agreed to do the podcast, the Senate GOP hadn’t yet shamefully caved to Big Tech on immigration, and hadn’t given Trump the finger on S230. After those two slaps in the face, I found it even more distasteful and maddening to go to the polls and reward them yet again.

I wish there was a way we could punish the GOP Senate while also not handing all of government to Democrats. The way to do this, of course, is through primaries—and we need to get better, and more invested in those.

But that doesn’t answer the immediate questions, of which there are a few. For example:

Does being in the minority empower conservatives in the Senate?

Does it empower more conservative candidates? If so, how?

In what ways, and on which issues, would a GOP Senate majority be a check on a Democrat House and WH?

Are these issues the really important ones? Do they outweigh the desire for revenge, or to send Senate GOP a message?

These are questions you’ve got to answer for yourselves.

What I told @julie_kelly2 and @StarChamberMaid was, thinking about the way our government has changed since the advent of the administrative state may help guide us toward an answer.

The action, when either Democrats or Republicans control the White House, is primarily in the agencies of the executive branch—the permanent, functionally unaccountable bureaucracy.

The common ideology, tastes and mores of the administrative state + the civil service rules making it basically impossible for a GOP president to reign in is what some call The Deep State or Swamp.

When GOP controls WH, it’s slowed. When Dems do, it’s full speed ahead.

That said, Democrats always seek to control the legislative branch because they use it to pass major laws that very publicly restructure government—and that’s important. The big milestone legislation announces to America that the Progressive project is marching on and victorious.

It’s also almost always monstrous legislation that will never be repealed or disentangled. Unlike the GOP, Dems have got a whole drawer full of them, waiting for their chance to forever change America if they control WH and both houses of Congress.

Despite everything we know and feel about the Senate GOP, it’s my contention that stopping that kind of huge, awful legislation from even being considered and debated is important. Being able to stop the worst Biden nominees is important.

In order to change the Senate GOP, you need to kick the worst offenders out of office. It’s an empty threat to leave them in office but in the minority for 2 or 4 years. I’d like to see a path where letting Schumer control the Senate would lead to a more based GOP or new party.

I’m not saying it couldn’t happen—but a lot of really frustrated and angry people just assume that GOP losing the Senate would just work out. Show me what you’re going to do to make what we all want a reality. I’ll listen.

So if you can stop 1/50 bad things Dems will try to do, it’s worth keeping the GOP in control of Senate.

Not saying it’s always the case; not saying they don’t suck; or that they won’t piss us all off.

In order to get rid of them, you need to remove them from office.