The curious case of the missing Republican legislative agenda


It's not that Republicans have zero ideas about how to govern the country. They just don't think those ideas are worth talking about. So they won't.
Axios reports that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is refusing to put forward any kind of legislative agenda for the party ahead of next year's midterm elections, despite a great deal of donor pressure — and despite the fact that the party might win majorities in Congress, and thus be required to actually govern. Apparently it's bad politics to tell voters what you'll do with the power they give you.
"One of the biggest mistakes challengers often make is thinking campaigns are about them and their ideas," a source told Axios. "No one gives a s--t about that. Elections are referendums on incumbents."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Maybe. But it's also true that the Republican Party had an incumbent running in last year's presidential election — and that the GOP decided not to write a platform then, either. Republicans chose instead to signal to the public that they stood for Donald Trump and whatever his desires were on any given day. McConnell's decision to follow that example suggests his party has settled on playing peek-a-boo with voters as a long-term political tactic.
That's unfortunate, not to mention undemocratic. While it's true that elections act often as a judgment on incumbents, voters deserve to know the specifics of how challengers will do better, rather than just that they'll be different in some vague, undefined way. McConnell's strategy drains politics of its content, leaving only a cacophony of negative ads, angry tweets, and Fox News hits. And it creates a sense that power is to be acquired for the sake of power itself, rather than be wielded for the common good. Which might actually be true, but isn't very salutary.
With history as our guide, it's not hard to guess what Republicans will do if they regain power: pass tax cuts for the rich, put conservative judges on the federal bench, and gut regulatory agencies like the EPA. This is what they always do. But the voting public shouldn't be asked to support GOP candidates purely on hunches and guesswork.
Maybe McConnell is thinking about the long-term. "Challengers need to keep the focus on what incumbents promised and point out how they failed to deliver and how that has negatively impacted voters' lives," said Axios' anonymous source. That will apply to Democrats in 2022, but it might apply to Republicans thereafter. Voters can't fault you for breaking promises if you don't make any.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.
-
NASA reveals ‘clearest sign of life’ on Mars yet
Speed Read The evidence came in the form of a rock sample collected on the planet
-
Former top FBI agents sue, claiming Trump purge
Speed Read The agents alleged they were targeted by a “campaign of retribution”
-
Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk shot dead at 31
Speed Read Kirk was holding a debate session at Utah Valley University
-
Trump's drug war is now a real shooting war
Talking Points The Venezuela boat strike was 'not a mere law enforcement action'
-
Truck drivers are questioning the Trump administration's English mandate
Talking Points Some have praised the rules, others are concerned they could lead to profiling
-
Gavin Newsom's Trump-style trolling roils critics while thrilling fans
TALKING POINTS The California governor has turned his X account into a cutting parody of Trump's digital cadence, angering Fox News conservatives
-
Costco is at the center of an abortion debate
Talking Points The decision to no longer stock the abortion pill came following a pressure campaign by conservatives
-
What does occupying Gaza accomplish for Israel?
Talking Points Risking a 'strategic dead-end' in the fight against Hamas
-
Ghislaine Maxwell: angling for a Trump pardon
Talking Point Convicted sex trafficker's testimony could shed new light on president's links to Jeffrey Epstein
-
Does depopulation threaten humanity?
Talking Points Falling birth rates could create a 'smaller, sadder, poorer future'
-
Gavin Newsom mulls California redistricting to counter Texas gerrymandering
TALKING POINTS A controversial plan has become a major flashpoint among Democrats struggling for traction in the Trump era