One thing is clear as we enter the final weeks of the 2022 elections, Democrats are hot garbage when it comes to gaslighting voters. They sold the farm on this cycle, becoming all about abortion and a little August spending bill. After 18 months of gross incompetence when it comes to governing, with multiple pieces of legislation sacrificed over ideological purity tests from the far left wing of the Democratic Party, are we shocked we’re in an economic recession? During that period, we’ve endured an energy crisis—pain at the gas pump, levels of inflation we haven’t seen in decades, and a rising crime issue. Our southern border is also out of control, with illegal aliens contributing to the spike in criminality across the country.
And yet, the Democrats’ default is to blame voters for perceiving that crime is out of control and that their paychecks’ purchasing power has been immensely degraded. We’ve always paid high prices at the gas station as well. Democrats have always lied, but it was never this brazen. One must conduct a simple Google search to debunk every Democratic Party line as we approach Election Day. Even as some Democrats now try to address inflation, it’s too late. No pivoting can be effective here, as the campaign narratives are now entrenched in voters' minds. Even more entertaining is that Democrats are split on how to address inflation, which tells you everything you need to know about how this party views the economic pain most folks are experiencing (via NBC News) [emphasis mine]:
“What is our message about why inflation is going to be worse if Republicans win?” Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., told NBC News in an interview. “I don’t think our economic message has been loud enough or sharp enough.”
“We’ll have to message it better in the next three weeks ahead,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in an interview with Punchbowl News this week, when asked about inflation.
In response, the spokesperson for Justice Democrats, a progressive group, tweeted, “With all due respect, this is a terrible Democratic Party message in response to inflation and the skyrocketing cost of living from Speaker Pelosi."
With gas prices up again and a potential recession looming, voters are once again telling pollsters that inflation is the most important issue facing the country, reversing the boost Democrats enjoyed over the summer when the public was more concerned with issues like abortion rights and threats to democracy.
Democratic pollsters and strategists are sounding the alarm. Even as President Joe Biden and some candidates sharpen their focus on inflation, many Democrats are worried it may be coming too late.
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Even now, party leaders are divided on whether to focus on empathizing with voters’ pain on rising prices, which risks validating the GOP message on inflation, or to focus on explanations for why they are not to blame for a complex global economic phenomenon.
“Inflation is there, but it’s global and not as bad as it is in some countries,” Pelosi said in the interview with Punchbowl News, echoing a common Democratic talking point.
That may be sound economics, but it’s poor politics, say another camp of Democratic officials and strategists.
They argue the party needs to start by validating Americans’ concerns about the economy, then articulate clearly what they will do to help.
“Inflation never should have been downplayed,” said Mike Lux, a Democratic strategist who has researched voter views in post-industrial areas that have drifted Republican. “Working-class folks are getting hit hard by inflation and we need to make clear that we understand what is going on, we know that people are having a tough time and we are with them in this fight.”
The core of the Democratic Party is over-educated, white, wealthy, and urban/coastal-based. You can see why most of their base doesn’t see an issue. No working people make up the party's backbone anymore, so liberal America is aloof on the economic nightmare engulfing working families. The main problem with addressing inflation is that it could play into GOP campaign narratives. It’s not a narrative—it’s reality. Second, I can assure Democrats that explaining why they’re not to blame for high inflation won’t work, even if we traveled back to May. When you’re explaining, you’re losing, and undoubtedly it would be soaked with condescension and falsehoods.
Suffice it to say Election Day 2022 will not be kind to liberals. The level of discontent with the Biden administration and its policies will usher in a House Republican majority and maybe even a Republican Senate. Inflation and crime have led to a campaign renaissance under Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania. In Nevada, Latino voters don’t seem poised to vote for incumbent Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto. Due to the poor economic climate, pollsters there say that Hispanic voters might stay home this year, dooming Democrats’ chances of keeping key offices. Nevada’s police union also issued Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak a vote of no confidence, and the most prominent teachers’ union opted not to endorse him this year.
Democrats, as they’ve done since this current session of Congress was gaveled, have wasted time on minutiae, leaving them with no legislative record to defend. Joe Biden’s pervasive incompetence hasn’t helped either—it’s systemic with this White House. There is not a single crisis he has resolved. His vice president is a brain cell away from being declared invalid, and the man looks increasingly old, sick, tired, and, worst of all, incapable of executing the office's duties.