Six Good Reasons For Conservatives To Be Optimistic In 2022

#6: America’s cultural ‘center’ is shifting to the right.

PF: The future of our country will be decided by one group: the ideological center. The majority of the country is locked in with their ideology. Those on the hard left will vote for anyone and anything with a “D” on the ballot, and conservatives are almost as loyal to the Republicans, even though we sometimes view them as the lesser of two evils. The independent, moderate voters make up approximately 20% of the electorate, and they’re the ones that decide in which direction the country goes.

During their fiery but mostly peaceful social justice riots in 2020, the left thought they had won the culture war, but they didn’t. For Black Lives Matter – the organization, not the sentiment – a recent poll by Civiqs, which is a very left-leaning polling outfit, showed the approval rating for BLM down to just 44%, a significant drop from their highs last year. But it’s not just BLM and the other race-baiters on the left for which public opinion is shifting.

Opinions on abortion continue to move towards the Pro-Life movement, particularly with younger folks. A full three-quarters of Americans reject the insane idea that men can be women and vice-versa. And we’re even seeing a shift to the right on gun control opinions.

The chants of “F**k Joe Biden” showed that many Americans, particularly younger folks, are fed up with leftism and are becoming increasingly vocal about that dissatisfaction. And the tempering of those chants to “Let’s Go Brandon” only shows an appreciation for civility. “Let’s Go Brandon” certainly has a political aspect to it, but it’s more cultural than political. American moderates are increasingly saying: Don’t try to shove your leftist values down our throats. Don’t pretend that handing out $1,400 checks is free money without consequences. And don’t think that we don’t remember how you told us that you were going to “shut down COVID” on the campaign trail. Enough is enough.

#5: People are waking up to the left’s lies, particularly the gigantic Covid con.

Parker: I want to build on your idea of the country penduluming further right. One of the greatest – as of yet untapped – voting blocs in America are the tens of millions of people who vote for Democrats despite their personal lifestyle choices not aligning at all with the DNC platform. I have bemoaned many times in my writing how most of my closest friends are nice Minnesotans who haven’t got a clue what happens once they color in their circles for the person with a (D) behind their name. None of my friends would ever get an abortion, nearly all support gun rights, not one thinks businesses should be looted with impunity, not one enjoys paying more than legally required in taxes, and I am certain not a single one would harbor an illegal alien in their own home. So why do they vote for the party that endorses each of these ideas?

If I am being nice, it’s ignorance, but ignorance in adults is a pitiful excuse. There is no reason why a working, voting American can’t and shouldn’t keep up with the basic platform policies of their elected officials. If I am being honest, then, it just comes down to moral confusion and a liberal dose of stupidity. Pun intended.

As you observed with several poll results, though, the sheep are slowly waking up. BLM support sinking to 44% seems remarkable considering the institutional monopolies in media, education, culture, and Big Tech. The fact that 56% of respondents weren’t entirely supportive of the organization, despite the one-way concerted messaging, speaks to the inherent value system of many Americans. We rightly recognize injustice, and the zealots in BLM are nothing if not focused on enacting injustices against decent people.

In addition to the forced cultural narratives, the other side of the same coin reflects on the political institutions losing any remaining luster. In March of 2020, Alex Berenson notes in his book Pandemia how almost all Americans supported the initial two-week lockdowns in the naive-but-then-understandable effort to flatten the curve. I know I was onboard with it. We simply didn’t know what we didn’t know. Now, the powers that be certainly knew, but how would the average citizen have known any better? In those two weeks, Berenson notes how polling overwhelmingly supported the move, and cell phone data shows how leaving one’s residence essentially stalled, save for the necessary travel to work and grocery stores.

Of course, it didn’t take long to figure out that the dire predictions of Covid missed the mark, medically speaking. Politically, Covid has been squeezed for every last drop of power juice. By April of 2020, enough data from the United States and the rest of the world gave us benchmarks that haven’t moved much. We knew by the second week of national euphemistic stay-at-home orders (we actually knew in mid-March, thanks to the second and less publicized report by Neil Ferguson) that kids essentially weren’t in harm’s way and that the elderly, obese, and medically fragile were disproportionately at risk to the highly-attuned spike proteins. Yet somehow, it took all of 2020 and now all of 2021 for enough people to finally wake up.

The 200,000,000 Americans that have been jabbed are now realizing the initial two-dose regimen that was supposedly meant to prevent both illness and viral transmission does neither, and yet in order to remain definitionally vaxxed they must continue submitting to more and more pokes. It’s clear even the magical booster won’t provide indefinite coverage, so with each new mandate, how many more people realize that a fourth vaccine won’t do much good if the first three didn’t? So the vaccines, while they maybe – and it’s a BIG maybe – had a noble purpose at first, they have clearly failed. What’s more, there is no squaring the circle of Democrats in politics and media fanning the flame of fear porn about the latest Omicron variant and juxtaposing their messaging with facts on the ground. While infectious, it is neither deadly nor serious to the vast number of those afflicted. It is essentially a better vaccine.

How much more can we be lied to about Covid? My guess is very little.

#4: The Judicial Branch of government is serving as an effective bulwark against leftist tyranny from the other two branches.

PF: The special election for the two vacant Senate seats in Georgia last January was devastating to the conservative movement in America. Both seats flipped blue resulting in a 50/50 split, with our doofus of a Vice-President being the tiebreaker. Both chambers of Congress are now under Democrat control, resulting in a dramatic leftward shift in the Legislative Branch of government. With Joe Biden allegedly in control of the White House – and I’m not even sure if he’s in control of his own bodily functions at this point – the Executive Branch may be the furthest left that it’s ever been. Our very democracy is hanging from a thread, dependent on the fortitude of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and the third branch of government: The Judicial Branch.

Conservatives tend to pile on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and for good reason. But we also overlook a monumental accomplishment of his, and we really must give him a tremendous amount of credit. During the four years of Donald Trump’s presidency, Republicans had control of the Senate with McConnell at the helm. During that time, Trump appointed and had confirmed (by the Senate, of course) a record number of Judicial appointments, including three to the Supreme Court. And Trump put almost as many judges on the bench in his four years as Barack Obama did over his eight-year presidency. It was truly a remarkable achievement, and one for which we should all be grateful to McConnell.

The court ruled against Biden’s attempt to shut down Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” immigration policy. Federal courts have knocked down various provisions of Biden’s tyrannical vaccine mandates, and SCOTUS will be addressing the matter as well. The judiciary has pushed back on attempts to infringe on our Second Amendment rights, with SCOTUS poised to take on the debate as well. And the left has seen multiple defeats regarding their obsession with killing the unborn, and SCOTUS may finally overturn Roe V Wade this June. Indeed, our Judiciary is the primary impediment standing between us and multiple catastrophes, and so far they’re doing pretty well.

#3: We are entering an election year.

Parker: Since we’re talking about Republicans, I will temper any optimism with the obvious disclaimer that the GOP has a predictable habit of missing wide open layups. I wrote as much here recently. I am open to the idea that the match is being thrown sometime, a lá Sonny Liston in 1965, but for the purposes of this article let’s just say they cannot read a room at all. Case in point: Virginia governor-elect Glenn Youngkin hired people with pronouns in their bios and tapped a far-left education consultant as his public school guru. If that doesn’t prompt us all to ask “what the hell?” then I don’t know what would. Youngkin won largely on leftist ideology in schools, and upon winning doesn’t seem intent on doing anything about it. It’s beyond frustrating.

Still, for the most part it seems almost unfathomable that Republican candidates don’t pick up seats in every level of government, from home associations to the U.S. Senate. Asleep at the wheel, which happens to be in the car with nuclear codes, Joe Biden has been the most embarrassing president in American history. That’s not hyperbole. Carter was inept, Trump was a social media reality show (though effective), Clinton got caught what we all know the wealthy and famous do, and Wilson was a vile racist. But none were in the same universe as Biden when it comes to sheer embarrassment in the Oval Office. It is a joke of an administration.

So, with that in mind, and having watched disaster after disaster unfold in 2021 with no end in sight for 2022 for either Biden or his somehow-more-embarrassing Veep, many 2020 Biden voters will simply stay home or, like you mentioned with independents, come back around. Both culturally and mathematically it seems impossible to not win.

What will presumably Republican majorities in both Congressional chambers do with their power? That’s anyone’s guess.

#2: Young conservatives in government far outshine young leftists; our future is bright.

PF: Republicans are stacked with sharp, young up-and-comers. The party’s undisputed leader continues to be Donald Trump but waiting in the wings and ready to take charge are scores of excellent conservatives. Meanwhile, if we look at the Democrats’ bench, they look like the political version of the 1962 New York Mets.

Ron DeSantis deservedly gets the most attention of those making up the GOP’s stable of promising colts and foals. He’s the youngest governor in the country, having just turned 43 years old. He has degrees from Yale and Harvard, including a law degree, and he served as a Naval Officer in Iraq. And most importantly, he’s governed Florida as a big-balled, true conservative. DeSantis is a stud. But there are other Republicans who are also extremely promising.

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) is only 37 years old and is already a rising star due to her performance defending Trump during the impeachment hearings. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) is only 44 years old, and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), who just turned 42 on Friday, are already well-established in the Senate. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is only 50 years old, and Sarah Huckabee Sanders is still in her thirties. And let’s not forget about Donald Trump Jr.

And who do the Democrats have? Well, they have Kamala Harris who’s about as popular as head lice. They have Sen. Liz “Pocahontas” Warren (D-MA) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) who are older than dirt and decreasing in popularity. They have the members of “The Squad,” who wouldn’t qualify for Mensa if they combined all their IQs. And of course, they have Mayor Pete, aka Secretary of Transportation Buttigieg, who spent two months playing house and changing diapers with his husband while our supply chain disintegrated.

The Democrats’ roster is in shambles, and we can be certain that the next idiot they try to parade as their new savior will be just as sad as their current cast. But the Republicans are looking really good. We have good reasons to be optimistic. 

#1: Because what other choice do we have?

Parker: I think it was this time last year, with the changing of the year and the prospect of a Biden presidency, that I wrote how it was going to be really easy for conservatives to fall into the same malaise and discontentment as had leftists under Trump. Easy, but also unhealthy. What good does unbridled anger and detachment from the process get us? I have heard many decent people, most of whom are conservative politically or at the very least live conservative lives  (yes, there is a difference), say they had to turn off the television, stop reading the news, and focus on themselves. That’s a rational approach to life and not one that I judge at all. At the same time, however, as more Americans that check out then the more opportunities leftism has to continue encroaching on our system. The irony about pulling back now is that whatever technocracy is instituted down the line, like it or not they won’t let you disengage.

No doubt, there is a fine line between staying sane and staying informed. You and I both have families, jobs, and hobbies outside of the site, and those demands provide plenty of opportunities to put mental and emotional energy in something other than Kamala Harris or AOC. When we do get into the weeds of culture and politics, we do so willingly. We also come at with an approach of problem solving. For sure, sometimes we just have to throw our hands up and scream “what the f***” and I have written plenty of pieces where I made it clear I wasn’t pleased. But, if I can put a caveat into any of that, it’s that I was momentarily upset. I am not angry by nature nor am I consumed by my passing disgust with politics. I say my piece and move on, hopefully in a productive manner. Politics is vital, but so is living a full life with family and self-actualization.

What am I trying to say with all of this? We have to be optimistic about 2022. There is simply no other choice. The world is falling apart, democracies the world over have turned to despotism, and America is once more the last bastion of freedom. Despite what we’re going through, we still have the most economic and individual liberty out there. The plus side is that putting the right people in place of government can help us gain even more. We started by saying the tide was turning. That might be pointing out the obvious, but it’s a powerful reminder that we are not alone. Tens of millions, perhaps hundreds of millions, of Americans still yearn for the values of limited government, personal responsibility, and individual freedoms. Perhaps we took America for granted for too long. Now that we see what we’re up against, the fight can begin anew.