The Republican Party needs a winning message – not just for the 2022 midterms, but for the 2024 general election, as well. Nothing could be more powerful than fighting corruption.

The country is terribly divided right now. It’s accentuated by the fact that the parties, and those who defend them, are so aggressively at each other’s throats about, well… everything.

It used to be that the two parties wanted the best for America, but disagreed on how to get there. Now they disagree on the fundamental direction of the country, and many will tell you we can’t come back from that.

But those are the parties and those who go to bat for them. It doesn’t represent the bulk of Americans – those who just want to live their lives and focus on their friends and families. Those are the people that have to be reached. That have to be convinced.

And there’s one thing everyone can agree on:

Our politicians and our parties appear to be largely corrupt, and they can’t be trusted. Nearly everyone is suspicious of our ruling elite, questioning their motives, wondering how they become multimillionaires on low six-figure salaries, wary of how they secure and protect their power, and sick of their inconsistency and fear when it comes time to stand up for what many believe to be what’s right and against what’s wrong for our country.

This needs to be the Republican message. Sure, they can run on economic policy, rebuilding our education infrastructure, foreign policy, etc. But until you get the foundation of the house in order, nothing else much matters.

The Republican Party needs to run against government corruption. But not just run against it. They need to have a plan to weed it out and kill it and the backbone necessary to do it.

They need to be willing to cut chunks of unelected bureaucrats from the payroll. They need to be willing to expose the corrupt – even those in their own party, i.e., Mitch McConnell. They need to be willing to investigate and prosecute. Let me say again… prosecute.

As I wrote recently, it’s the equivalent of “actions have consequences” reform. They need to be willing to punish those who’ve broken the law and public trust to reestablish harsh consequences – meted out equally – for any politician who abuses their position and public trust.

As it stands, many believe the reason the “deep state” has been after President Trump for more than six years was because he ran on weeding out the corrupt, and unsurprisingly, the corrupt went into action to destroy him. I think this is objectively plausible.

This is a winning platform for the Republicans because the base, and conservatives in general, are naturally skeptical of government and already believes they’re largely corrupt. This message will initially resonate with the base – but only if it comes with some proof that the party means it and is serious about weeding it out.

Possibly more importantly, this message will also largely resonate with average Americans who generally vote Democrat, and here’s why: Because this campaign can’t be geared toward Democrats, but both parties. This has to be about cleaning out both the Republican and Democrat parties.

Notice has to be served. This campaign should make anyone affiliated with our government nervous. For too long, they’ve labored under the notion that they can’t be fired and will never be held to account. This has to change. We need to shift the focus back to the citizens being in charge and our elected and unelected appointees working for us.

If executed properly, this campaign will be powerful not just because everyone should be able to unite behind it, but because any politicians who don’t get on board will at least appear to be resisting it because they have something to hide.

This campaign carries with it the benefit of actually helping all Americans and restoring faith not just in our elected officials, but our country, as well. To be successful, it must carry with it such reforms as:

  • Election reform
  • Elimination of government unions
  • Term limits
  • Government employees being subject to the same laws they make
  • Required amount of time spent in their home districts
  • Job descriptions for all positions
  • No personal or hidden investments for elected officials or their staffs
  • Repeal of the 17th Amendment
  • Separating party power from members of Congress
  • Complete transparency of campaign donations and meeting documentation

I’m sure everyone could come up with many more, but this is a solid start.

This campaign has already been road-tested by Donald Trump who largely ran on this platform, without being quite as deliberate about it. And by deliberate, I mean he didn’t overtly target both Democrats and Republicans.

Execution of this campaign would put the faction of the Republican Party behind it very close to third party status. But again, those who wouldn’t get on board would almost be calling themselves out as having something to hide.

This campaign has already proven to be effective, and I think it may be the only campaign with the potential to unite enough of this country to help us mend some of the fences and bring enough like-minded voters together to overcome the swamp that DC has truly become.