National Republicans argue that CRT makes places like NJ winnable
/By Rubashov
Ryan Grim at The Hill’s “Rising” has an interesting segment on Republican prospects for the U.S. Senate – which could translate into where the NJGOP should be heading for 2023, when control of both chambers of the State Legislature are up for grabs. Grim, recently interviewed U.S. Senator Rick Scott, who is heading up the Senate Republicans’ campaign efforts this year.
Grim was the D.C. bureau chief for HuffPost and is the D.C. bureau chief for The Intercept. He is also a political commentator for The Young Turks and The Majority Report with Sam Seder. His writings have appeared in Rolling Stone, The Washington Post, and Politico. The author of two books, he cofounded Strong Arm Press, an independent progressive publishing house and has been a co-host of The Hill's Rising since June of last year. He is decidedly a man of the Left. That said, his journalism is generally balanced and he appears to be intellectually curious, taking pains to tell the whole story.
Grim suggests there’s merit in the national GOP’s view that “culture war” issues have opened the door to states like New Jersey. Fear of crime, which he makes the point helped fuel the Republican takeover of the Senate in 1980, is back in a big way. In the interview, Senator Scott said that national Republicans will run campaigns on “inflation, school issues, crime, and the border.” Scott later added “job creation” to that list.
The NJGOP has never embraced a “culture war” strategy and whether New Jersey Republicans can adapt to mirror this national strategy remains to be seen. With this in mind, it does represent a starting point in the discussion. You can watch the entire segment here:
Will it be 1980 all over again?
