See, the problem is not that inflation is surging, but that Republicans would dare link it to Dementia Joe
GOP seeks to make Biden synonymous with inflation
Republicans are seizing on rising inflation as they attempt to derail President Biden’s economic agenda and take back control of Congress in next year’s midterm elections.
GOP lawmakers have highlighted quickly rising prices and strategists believe the issue could resonate deeply with a broad range of voters while congressional Democrats push ahead with plans to spend trillions more.
But many economists expect prices to cool off well before voters head to the polls, posing risks for the GOP’s strategy.
And many economists don’t. Many think inflation is going to continue to rise and we’ll get the stagflation of the Jimmy Carter era.
For now, though, Americans are reckoning with higher costs for gasoline, food, automobiles and numerous other goods and services after prices plunged during the depths of the pandemic.
Consumer prices have risen 5.4 percent in the past 12 months, according to the Labor Department, as the swift reopening of the economy pushes inflation higher.
Republicans have started referring to “Bidenflation†on the campaign trail, and GOP lawmakers are getting theatrical with their attacks.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) gave a speech on the Senate floor last week with a sign that read “The Price is Up,†accompanied by a “wheel of inflation,†making an obvious play on the “Price is Right†game show.
Is this all Biden’s fault? No. In all honesty, no. Biden has no control over the inability to mine for precious metals and make computer chips during most of 2020 and into 2021. He’s not responsible for the price of vehicles plunging…oh, wait, they didn’t. A goodly chunk of dealers started doing no haggle pricing on used vehicles, which would have been below the typical asking price, but higher than average end price. For new cars, they were still being discounted, but, most refused to go negative (yes, new does sell below cost, called a bracket deal. They do this because they make a lot of money in the service department, and have quotas to hit). Now, with the lack of new, the prices didn’t surge, it’s just most won’t sell below MSRP. Used did surge due to lack of inventory, but, is slowly coming back down.
I don’t remember food and other consumer goods pricing going down, do you? But, it is going up now, partly because the price of gas has gone way up during the Sleepy Joe era. But, see, because Biden is president, it’s not his fault, he has no control, he’s absolved, and the important part is that Republicans are seizing.
The University of Michigan’s widely watched consumer sentiment index fell 5.5 points earlier this month from a June level of 85.5, due largely to rising prices.
“Inflation has put added pressure on living standards, especially on lower and middle income households, and caused postponement of large discretionary purchases, especially among upper income households,†said survey chief economist Richard Curtin.
A Fox News poll released late last month found that 83 percent of respondents said they were concerned about inflation.
Republicans say the issue plays well for them because it impacts voters across all spectrums.
“Everyone is pissed off that they’re paying more for gas,†said one GOP operative. “Everyone is pissed off that they’re paying more groceries. Everyone is upset that they can’t find a house to buy because the housing market is through the roof.â€
Now, if Trump were still president you know he’d be Blamed, right?
A Fox News poll released late last month found that 83 percent of respondents said they were concerned about inflation.
This poll doesn’t matter. 45 percent of the country will vote for democrats no matter what. Voters are like frogs in boiling water. They are not educated or informed or have the facts….ahem Hairy, and they make stuff up, ahem Elwood, or they are like Zach who find facts they like that are in contradiction to other facts and use them to make their decision.
We must remember that Trump was demanding more and more stimulus and that he as a Republican spent like a drunken sailor too.
The left will tout Bidens massive increase in jobs and wages as a sure sign that ONLY Democrats know how to run the economy. People will look at this massively large numbers and go YEP the DEMS know what they are doing.
Inflation….nah thats the GOP’s fault because they wont let us spend enough…etc. etc.
In reality those who understand, aka the informed voter will make decisions based upon the fact that TRUMP started us on the path to inflation but congress held him in check because he was after all TRUMP. Then Biden got in office and Katie bar the Door.
So it won’t matter. Our numbers put the GOP at 54 senators in 2022 and 241 House of Reps after the midterms. When in reality it should be more like what is happening in countries around the world where for Example Labor was crushed in the worse defeat in over 100 years because the voters in England are much more educated that in the USA.
So polling does not matter and it is only about 6 senators and 40 House members that EVER are up for grabs in any election. Now one simply has to look at those seats and wonder why Republicans run states that vote Democrat and Democrats are elected to run GOP states…IE West Virgina, WISCONSIN, PENNSYLVANIA and of course others.
Presidents are riding the tiger on the economy; none of them ever control it to the extent that they’d like, nor to the extent for which they get the credit for good things, or the blame for bad.
That said, I’m perfectly happy when Republican Presidents get the credit for good things, and Democrats get the blame for bad.
I am too, Dana. The problem isn’t that Republicans act like Democrats but that Democrats have now taken on the policies of Fascists and communists. Plus, they hate America and half of us Americans. And I do mean HATE!