Tipsheet

One Ad That Some Democratic Strategists See Running About Joe Biden's Spending...And It's Not Good

Joe Biden outlined his bold vision to get America back to work, infrastructure funded, and other so-called priorities financed. Of course, this means tax increases for everyone. Do not believe the lie that no one making less than $400,000 won’t be impacted. This is the Democratic Party. This is government. We’re in the era of tax and spend. No one will be spared. And even Democrats are worried about the Biden agenda’s ruinously expensive price tag. Strategists see that the ads are already written for Republicans (via The Hill):

A number of Democrats are beginning to fret over President Biden’s big spending proposals, worrying the steep price tag could cost the party in the 2022 midterm elections.

While liberal Democrats are cheering Biden on, moderates say the $4.1 trillion in infrastructure and social spending, coming after the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief measure, could hurt their efforts to hold the House next year.

“I can see the ads now. ‘Joe Biden the $6 trillion dollar man,’ ” said one Democratic strategist. “Most Americans want the government to work but spending $6 trillion doesn’t make political sense.”

“Democrats are like kids being given the keys to the candy store right now,” said another Democratic strategist. “We have all this candy, and we’ll worry about the stomach ache later.”

The two proposals are a $2.3 trillion infrastructure measure focused on creating jobs that would provide funding to rebuild roads, bridges and highways, as well as money for broadband, housing and manufacturing; and a $1.8 trillion plan focused on education, child care and other issues.

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Strategists understand that Biden and many Democrats want to enact meaningful policy change as the party holds control of the White House and Congress. But they are worried the spending plans could create easy targets for the GOP, and question whether Democrats are shooting themselves in the foot in terms of holding their slim majorities next year.

They may pass this gargantuan bill and lose their congressional majorities, but there’s not much the GOP can do. Are they really going to cut funding for childcare, infrastructure, and education? It’s a losing message. There are ways to spin it for sure—but the GOP hasn’t been aces in the narrative game for eons now. It will be viewed as one thing: taking away people’s stuff—which is always a political loser. Obamacare, another massive government spending and power grab, was passed. It was enacted. The GOP rode into DC on a red wave in 2010—and they never repealed it. Why? Millions of people were enrolled. It would be viewed as taking away people’s health care, people’s stuff. Unless the Republicans better their messaging game, Democrats can pass this massive bill, get shellacked in 2022, and still have their action items funded. Then again, there are several Democratic senators who said they wouldn’t back a spending bill that hikes corporate tax rates, so maybe a watered-down version might be drafted. It’ll still be disastrous, but this is the nature of our situation. Elections have consequences. I wish I could have more confidence that the GOP could put up a better fight where we come out clean on this, but I don’t. I simply don’t. Too many years of disappointment.