Charlie Cooke’s admonition to Republicans for a bit of optimism in this age of doom and gloom deserves more attention. The atmosphere surrounding the party is perpetually pessimistic. As Charlie put it:
Who, among the party’s current crop of presidential candidates, seems cheerful and optimistic? I can think of just one: Tim Scott. Donald Trump is an all-caps narcissist whose last major act was to try to stage a coup. Ron DeSantis successfully played the “Morning in America” card as governor of Florida, but now sounds increasingly Nixonian. Nikki Haley is yearning for a paradise lost. Chris Christie is angry with everyone, including himself. Mike Pence would perhaps like to be upbeat, but the Trump-shaped albatross around his neck will not permit it. It’s remarkably off-putting.
He’s not wrong, and for the Trump-skeptical conservative the reasons for dooming are double. The worst offender on this list is also our party’s front-runner, and the next man up finds his campaign embroiled in chaos. For all our sakes, we can hope his campaign pivots towards something brighter and more befitting a nation such as the United States. Assuming it doesn’t, however, conservatives will be left yearning for another alternative to Trump, perhaps one who remembers how to smile.
If there is one candidate in this race who understands what it means to be a happy warrior, it’s Tim Scott. The senator’s presidential brand has been one of hope. Eternally optimistic messaging is his stock and trade, for good reason. His personal story is an aspirational one, and his strong adherence to his faith would, in a healthier America, be a boon to his electoral chances, especially in contrast with someone as irreligious as Trump. Scott’s is a message of purpose and vision. His resolve allows him to be joyful at a time when everyone is increasingly despairing. As Noah Rothman wrote in June:
He is not merely a product of America’s past but a symbol of its future — he and so many others like him are inevitable. If you honestly believed that, then you, too, would project infectious enthusiasm.
This is not to say that Scott is without his issues. On a scale of “happy” to “warrior” he could stand to embrace more of the latter. But his hopeful platitudes beat the fatalism that dominates the party. And nothing about DeSantis’s being the best Trump alternative is written in stone, especially if he continues to flail. The GOP deserves better than to be locked into a pessimistic two-man race the summer before primary voting starts, and Tim Scott deserves more consideration than he currently receives.