There’s no point sugarcoating it. Republicans took a shellacking in Tuesday’s elections.
But I’m not particularly bothered by Republicans losing. Political parties aren’t sports teams, and I have no special attachment to either one.
What bothers me is when elections produce governments less likely to defend free markets, individual liberty, and limited government. Republicans are generally more sympathetic to those principles than Democrats, even if their record of actually delivering on them is decidedly mixed.
So, yes, there were some disappointing results. Here in Texas, Greg Abbott’s defeat was one of them. Whatever my disagreements with him, I’ve generally considered Abbott a competent governor.
Ken Paxton’s defeat, on the other hand? I won’t be shedding any tears.
And that’s the first silver lining.
Perhaps voters are finally growing tired of terrible candidates.
Paxton is a case in point. After years of scandals, allegations of corruption, and questionable conduct, his defeat is a welcome reminder that character still matters. Being sufficiently loyal to Trump shouldn’t give someone a free pass on everything else.
And let’s face it, there’s a certain stench around national politics right now, too. The appearance of self-dealing, the favoritism, the endless excuses for conduct that would be condemned if the other party were responsible. One doesn’t have to be a Democrat to be troubled by any of that.
If voters are beginning to demand better, that’s something worth celebrating.
Perhaps a healthier Democratic majority
There’s another potential silver lining in the Democratic victory itself.
With a substantial majority in the House, Democratic leaders should be less dependent on their small but vocal Democratic Socialists of America-aligned faction to get legislation passed.
That matters. When a party has only a narrow majority, a handful of extremists can hold everyone else hostage, demanding concessions far beyond what their numbers justify.
Republicans have experienced plenty of this themselves in recent years.
A larger Democratic majority should give party leaders more freedom to say no to their own extremes.
Whether they’ll actually use it is another question. But at least the opportunity exists.
Californians appear to have rejected a wealth tax
Perhaps the most encouraging ballot result came from California, where voters appear to have rejected a proposed one-time 5% tax on billionaires’ wealth.
Meanwhile, a separate measure that would make it much harder to introduce similar taxes in the future is leading.
That’s quite a result in one of America’s most progressive states.
The wealth tax was sold as a way to make billionaires pay their fair share. But taxing wealth rather than income is a terrible idea. It encourages wealthy people to take their money, businesses, and jobs elsewhere. And once government discovers a new way to tax people, does anyone seriously believe it will stop with billionaires?
Even California voters appear skeptical.
A healthy skepticism about taxes
California was hardly alone.
In Iowa, voters approved a constitutional amendment requiring a two-thirds legislative majority to increase income taxes.
North Carolina voters approved a constitutional ceiling on income-tax rates and limits on property-tax increases. Florida voters backed substantial property-tax relief, while Arizona voters supported limits on grocery taxes.
In Arkansas, voters rejected a proposal that would have made it easier for local governments to hand out taxpayer-funded incentives to favored businesses.
I particularly like that last result. Corporate welfare is still welfare, even when politicians dress it up as economic development.
The message? Government shouldn’t assume it can keep reaching into taxpayers’ pockets.
A rebellion against borrowing
Voters also showed remarkable skepticism toward government borrowing, particularly in Texas.
In Irving, all four school-bond propositions, totaling more than $950 million, were defeated. Nearby, Plano voters rejected a tax package intended to help finance a new arena for the Dallas Stars.
I’m perfectly happy for the Stars to have a wonderful arena. I’m less enthusiastic about taxpayers helping pay for it.
Collin County voters rejected more than $800 million in proposed bonds, along with a separate $600 million Collin College package. Dallas voters turned down $443 million in public-safety borrowing, while school-bond or tax proposals failed in Keller, McKinney, Cypress-Fairbanks, and numerous other districts.
Similar rejections occurred elsewhere around the country.
Not every one of these projects was necessarily unworthy, and not all would have increased tax rates. But voters were clearly unwilling to give government a blank check.
That’s a healthy instinct.
Some victories for liberty, too
Not every encouraging result involved money.
Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly approved greater transparency requirements for the governor and legislature. They also rejected an attempt to shut down legal recreational marijuana sales.
Idaho voters rejected a proposal that would have stopped citizens from using ballot initiatives to pursue marijuana legalization.
And Arizona voters backed a requirement for public approval before governments introduce automated traffic-camera enforcement.
Different issues, certainly. But they share a common theme: a healthy skepticism of government power.
That’s something I wish both parties would embrace more consistently.
A return to sanity on girls’ sports
There were also encouraging results on girls’ and women’s sports.
Nebraska and Arizona voters approved measures protecting female sports categories. Similar proposals were leading in Washington and Colorado as of Wednesday.
What’s striking is that this isn’t exclusively a conservative or Republican position, despite how the issue is often portrayed.
Prominent feminists and longtime liberals, including J.K. Rowling and Martina Navratilova, have been arguing for years that girls and women deserve fair sporting competition.
One can support the dignity and rights of transgender people while also believing that biological sex matters in competitive sports.
The results, especially in traditionally Democratic states, suggest that this position enjoys considerably broader support than the partisan rhetoric would have us believe.
Perhaps voters are simply demanding a little common sense.
The voters are more interesting than the parties
None of this changes the basic verdict. Republicans had a terrible night.
Nor was every result encouraging. California voters also supported higher income taxes on wealthy residents, and plenty of government spending proposals passed elsewhere.
But the results offer a useful reminder that the American electorate isn’t nearly as predictable as our red-versus-blue political commentary suggests.
Voters can be thoroughly fed up with Donald Trump, Ken Paxton, or the Republican Party without abandoning their belief in lower taxes, limited government, individual liberty, and plain common sense.
They can reject bad candidates without rejecting every idea those candidates claim to represent.
And perhaps, just perhaps, they’re growing a little less tolerant of corruption, incompetence, and politicians who confuse personal loyalty with public service.
That’s what matters to me. Not whether Republicans or Democrats win, but whether the ideas and principles that produce a freer, more prosperous society are winning.
And on Tuesday, despite the Democratic wave, quite a few of them did.
That’s something worth celebrating.
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