Something Worse Than $4 Gas
What could be worse than having to pay $4.15 for a gallon of gas? How about the Democrats regaining control of Congress this November?
They’re on track to do it, too.
President Trump beat the not-so-dynamic duo of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in large measure because a majority of Americans were fed up with increasing prices — and decreasing freedom. They supported the president and Republicans generally because they were seen as the alternative to increasing prices and decreasing freedom. Incredibly, the Democrats are now seen by many voters — including many who voted for Trump and Republicans — as the alternative to increasing prices and decreasing freedom. If that false impression isn’t corrected, Democrats may do to the Republican Party what the Republican Party and President Trump did to the Democrats.
And then they’ll do to America what voters had hoped to prevent them from doing by voting for Republicans in the 2024 elections.
American voters — most of them — still want to make America Great Again.
Yes, it’s exasperating. But it’s also not hopeless. American voters — most of them — still want to make America Great Again. The GOP’s task between now and November is persuading them that the GOP is still committed to doing that. Part of the way to do that, arguably, is to remind voters about what the GOP has already done. (RELATED: America’s Socialists Have Already Lost)
For instance, the GOP can remind voters that it wasn’t Democrats who passed the largest tax cut in American history. The extension of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that was passed during President Trump’s first term prevented what would otherwise have been a $4.3 trillion tax hike on taxpayers, including $2.6 trillion in tax reductions for households reporting less than $400,000 in income. Republicans also eliminated taxes on tips and overtime, helping many working Americans. However, these cuts will expire in 2028 if not renewed — and it is as certain as night following day that a Democrat majority will not renew them. (RELATED: From Truman to Trump: Why Election Polls Keep Getting It Wrong)
Another thing Republicans did was to cool down EV fever — the push to force EVs on people — by eliminating the federal subsidy and by kiboshing the so-called Endangerment Finding that was behind the push. The Endangerment Finding gave the EPA the authority to regulate carbon dioxide as a harmful “emission.” EVs got credit for being “zero emissions” — even though manufacturing EVs and generating the electricity they need generates lots of CO2 “emissions.” Kiboshing the Endangerment Finding has saved American taxpayers at Least $1.3 million, according to Americans for Tax Reform. (RELATED: Team Trump Is Touting Its Wins. As It Should.)
The national debt is an issue that Republicans need to address, because the growing debt impacts the biggest issue for voters — inflation. Debt levels are soaring. The current Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the total value of all goods and services produced by the American economy, is about $32 trillion, while our national debt is over $40 trillion. This is a problem much more serious than high gas prices because it raises the cost of everything. Getting government spending under control is key to getting inflation under control, but if Democrats get control of Congress, there’s as much chance of getting spending under control as Mitch McConnell doing 100 push-ups on live TV. (RELATED: The $40 Trillion National Debt and the ‘Budget Hawk’ Ruse That Led to MAGA)
Individual freedom is another issue on the ballot this fall.
The controversy over Flock cameras highlights a chipping away at the Fourth Amendment. The Bill of Rights articulates natural rights currently under attack, including not just the right to privacy (which isn’t actually articulated) but the more foundational right to the presumption of innocence. Flock (and Axon and Ring) cameras presume everyone is guilty of … something. They probably are, too — because it’s almost impossible to leave the house without doing something that is technically illegal. Such as not coming to a complete stop at every stop sign, or making a right on red. Many such petty illegalities are routinely committed every day by millions of Americans. Cameras everywhere would catch us all — all the time. Most Americans do not want America to become the next East Germany. Republicans are more credible opponents of such a regime than the Democrats. Does anyone remember what things were like during COVID?
Republican candidates need to remind them — and warn them.
The GOP must reconnect with young voters, too. President Trump won them over in 2024. One way to win them back would be to let them vape. The president promised on the campaign trail to get the federal government out of the vape-regulating business, which helped him get many under-30s to vote for him. But, so far, the Food and Drug Administration has resisted his efforts to make this happen. Trump had to fire his prior head of the FDA, Marty Makary, because of Makary’s resistance to allowing grown adults access to flavored vaping products.
The freedom to vape may not be a top-line issue for many over-30 Americans, but it could be because it’s another example of the mentality that government is our parent and we are idiot children. Let the Democrats own that. Let them be the party that treats adults who want to buy cough syrup like drug fiends — and young adults who want to vape like crack addicts.
Let the Republicans make the case that they are the leave-you-alone party and the midterms might just turn out the way Republicans hope they will.
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