"You Are the Last Line of Defense"

"The difference between 9/11 and 10/7 was that the catastrophe of 10/7 was followed, on October 8, by a different kind of catastrophe. A moral and spiritual catastrophe that was on full display throughout the West before the bodies of those men and women and children had even been identified."

The above is a quote from Bari Weiss delivering the Barbara Ols0n Memorial Lecture at the Federalist Society. For those that don't know, Barbara Olson was a conservative legal scholar who lost her life on Flight 77 on 9/11. Bari is on the political left but has been very critical of leftist fascism. 

She spoke very eloquently about the terrorist attacks in Israel and the ensuing wave of anti-Semitism that we are still experiencing. I encourage you to give a listen or read the transcript. It is an incredible commentary on terrorism, Western values and the left's embrace of Hamas propaganda. 

Speaking of values, the political punditry is quite convinced that abortion is a "losing issue" politically for Republicans. Of course for most of us abortion is not a political issue, it's a moral issue. We fight to protect life, not to win elections. In other words we fight to win elections so that we can can protect life. It's fair to say that we need to win politically in order to achieve policy victories, and that means bringing more people to our side without compromising principles. RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel was recently on Meet the Press and spoke to this exact issue...

Thank you friends! I look forward to our next call and speaking with you all again soon. 

Election Recap

Democrats are trying to convince the media (and themselves) that last night’s election results were good news for Joe Biden. The reality is that Joe Biden is more toxic than ever. Unlike in 2021 where Biden  hit the campaign trail for ultimately failed candidates like Terry McAuliffe, Biden was noticeably distant from 2023 candidates – and it’s no wonder with  poll after  poll showing him under water. 

Meanwhile, Republicans boasted major successes across the country, including: 

• In Kentucky, Republicans  won  every down-ballot state executive office – including for Attorney General and Auditor, who both received more votes than Democrat Andy Beshear. The RNC invested over $1 million in the state, managed over 20 staff members on the ground, and made over one million voter contacts. 

• Coming into Virginia state legislative elections, we knew that redrawn maps and massive Democrat dollars would present a challenge. Governor Youngkin took the lead on these races because of laws allowing unlimited contributions at the state level. Ultimately, Democrats outspent Republicans on television alone by over $7.5 million. Nonetheless, Republicans  won every state legislative district that previously went for Joe Biden by nine points or fewer. 

• In Mississippi, despite historic amounts of liberal dark money flowing into the state and Democrats’  assertions  that they could compete, voters re-elected Republican Governor Tate Reeves, and Republicans picked up two seats in the State House. The RNC invested in the Mississippi GOP and sent hundreds of thousands of emails and text messages to boost Republican turnout.

• In deep blue Massachusetts, Republicans  flipped  a state Senate seat. The RNC assisted with data, activated a heavy email and text campaign to our list, invested in the Massachussets GOP, had two staff deployments to help on the ground, and assisted the state party in developing and deploying a paid voter contact program.

• In New York, Suffolk County voters elected their first Republican County Executive in two decades. Meanwhile, Republicans flipped a New York City Council seat in the Bronx (the first time a Republican has won in the borough in 20 years!), flipped mayoral offices in Troy, Saratoga Springs, and Utica, and swept every city and town office in Nassau County. 

• In Louisiana, Republican Governor-elect Jeff Landry delivered over 50 percent of the vote in a 14-way primary. His victory joins that of only Bobby Jindal to win outright and avoid a runoff for Governor as a non-incumbent. 

• In New Hampshire, Republicans  flipped mayorships in  Manchester – the state’s largest city – and  Berlin. The RNC assisted with data, sent a robust email and text campaign to our list in Manchester, and invested in NHGOP to support their effort in the final weeks.

The truth is that we have a number of victories to hang our hat on. The RNC's main goal is to win in federal elections next year. Of course, there are lessons to be learned, and the RNC will continue to build on what worked and what didn’t this year. We also utilized these elections to test our field program and new data tools and inform our strategies going forward. Right now, we can take away some key lessons: 

• Republicans need to go on offense on abortion. Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel issued a  memo on this in 2022, and we  continue to encourage  our candidates to adopt these tactics. Democrats spent millions of dollars on television lying about Republicans’ stances on abortion. We need to invest in resources to fight back and put Democrats on defense. When voters are faced with a choice between a Republican that supports exceptions and commonsense limitations on abortions, like once a baby feels pain, and a Democrat who can’t name a single abortion they oppose, even up until birth, we win.

• Election integrity efforts work. The RNC recently announced our plans to have Election Integrity Directors in 15 states by the end of the year. In addition to monitoring Democrats’ efforts to tilt the rules of the game in their favor, these on-the-ground staffers train conservatives to be poll observers in their communities. We saw the success of these trainings in Mississippi, where Democrats tried to extend voting in the Democrat seat of power – Hinds County – and the Mississippi GOP kept poll watchers in place to ensure the rules were followed.

• We need to continue to Bank Your Vote. While our data team continues to analyze how many Republicans voted early on Tuesday, we will continue to remind Republicans that we have to put points on the board early to win. The RNC  announced our Bank Your Vote initiative this past June, and have rolled out more targeted initiatives in six states. 

Every election night presents new lessons to learn and helps us evolve our tactics – but don’t buy the gloom that the media is trying to sell you. Next year, Democrats will be  tethered  to the most unpopular president since Jimmy Carter. As we prepare to flip the Senate, expand our House majority, and of course, retire Biden once and for all, we look forward to reminding Americans that every Democrat is complicit in his failed agenda.

Biden Has Left America's Veterans Behind

Service members, veterans, and Gold Star families deserve a better commander-in-chief than Joe Biden. 

What you need to know:

• Under Biden’s leadership, service members, veterans, and Gold Star families have been treated disgracefully.
• Because of Biden’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal, 13 brave U.S. service members lost their lives – deaths that Biden claimed were inevitable.
• During the dignified transfer of these 13 service members, Biden repeatedly checked his watch in a blatant show of disrespect.
• In Biden’s first year as president, he completely ignored the anniversary of D-Day, and the following year waited until 8:45pm to acknowledge the bravery and sacrifice of America’s heroes.
• Recently, Biden abruptly walked out of a Medal of Honor ceremony, even before the closing benediction.
• In October, Biden doxxed U.S. special forces soldiers in Israel by sharing a photo on Instagram that showed the faces of service members on assignment.
• His administration provided unauthorized access to the military records of seven Republican congressional candidates in 2022.
• As vice president, Biden called American service members who didn’t clap for him “stupid bastards.”
• The U.S. military is currently facing unprecedented recruiting difficulties under Biden.
• The Army, Navy, and Air Force are all on track to miss their enlistment goals this year, with the Army now suffering the worst shortfall in five decades.
• Amid this shortfall, Biden is more committed to promoting his woke agenda than ensuring success on the battlefield.
• On Biden’s watch, the Defense Department is injecting critical race theory into its education programs.
• The Air Force Academy admits that “tenets of critical race theory” are taught in its classrooms and has curriculum which tells cadets to use gender inclusive terms and to avoid words like “mom and dad.”
• The Navy included far-left radical Ibram X. Kendi’s anti-American book “How to Be An Antiracist” on its 2021 reading list.
• Biden pushed a vaccine mandate on our military, firing service members with religious objections to further his political agenda.

The bottom line:

America’s veterans put their lives on the line to defend our country and protect our freedoms, and they deserve better leadership and accountability than Joe Biden. 

Third GOP Debate

At the Third Republican Primary Debate in Miami, Florida, voters were presented with a clear choice of winning Republican policies vs. the failed Biden-Harris agenda. 

What you need to know:

• Republican leadership in the White House will get our country back on track.
• Our Republican nominee will be the next President of the United States, and this debate showcased many of our great Republican candidates and their ideas for the future of our country.
• For 3 years, Joe Biden and the Democrats have delivered crisis after crisis. Voters are ready for change.
• Republican candidates on the debate stage highlighted their plan to restore America’s standing in the world and support our allies including Israel, secure our border and protect our communities, and jumpstart our economy.
• Now more than ever, the Republican Party must stand with our ally Israel and denounce anti-Semitism in our own country and around the world.
• The decision for the RNC to partner with the RJC for this debate reaffirms the importance of foreign policy – particularly our nation’s commitment to Israel - on the debate stage.
• Republicans
• Polling repeatedly shows Republican candidates and their policies are what Americans are looking for.
• 76% of the country thinks the nation is on the wrong track.
• The Real Clear Politics average of polling on Joe Biden’s foreign policy record is underwater at 57% disapproval.
• A recent CNN poll showed only 36% view Joe Biden as an “effective global leader.”
• In a Fox News poll 71% of registered voters surveyed said the current levels of security at the border under Joe Biden are not strict enough.

The bottom line:

In November of 2024, voters will send a Republican to the White House who will get our nation back on the right path after 3 years of a disastrous Biden-Harris administration. 

RNC Research

• Biden Has Left America's Veterans Behind

What We Are Reading

• Townhall, Ronna McDaniel and Matt Brooks: In Perilous Times, The Republican Party and the RJC Elevate Jewish Voices
• Axios: NewsNation to host fourth Republican primary debate next month
• North State Journal: RNC launches North Carolina ‘Bank Your Vote’ initiative ahead of 2024 elections

Thank you for allowing me to continue to serve you as your Texas Representative to the RNC! As always, feel free to reach out to me with any questions you might have at tad@toniannedashiell.com, or follow me on Facebook or Twitter at the links below. Thank you for being a strong Texas Republican, and together, let us work to Keep Texas RED!