When it comes to the issues that matter most to voters, the Democrats have been taking a beating. Americans recognize that under Democrat leadership, cities are being overrun by crime and our wallets are worn out from inflation. As a result, Republicans have seen remarkable strength in races that had been previously written off.
For example, in New York, Rep. Lee Zeldin has closed the gap with Gov. Kathy Hochul and is even ahead in a new poll. There’s no doubt that Hochul is concerned about this, and she recently launched ads touting her credentials for fighting crime and unveiled a new plan to address subway crime.
But we’re also seeing Democrats try to reclaim the advantage on the economy — and it’s not going well.
Voters have been saying that inflation and gas prices are the most important issue facing the country right now, and Democrats seem to have figured out that they’re not going to stave off a Republican wave talking over and over about abortion or January 6th.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi concedes that Democrats need to improve their inflation messaging — even literally suggesting that Democrats have to “change the subject.”
“The fact is that when I hear people talk about inflation … we have to change that subject,” Pelosi said in an interview with Punchbowl News. She also insisted that “inflation is a global phenomenon” before pointing out that some countries have higher inflation rates than the United States. While some countries are experiencing similar or worse inflation, many more are not. According to Forbes, Canada, China, Japan, Australia, and Israel all have lower inflation rates than the United States.
So not only is Pelosi’s claim misleading, but it’s also bad messaging. Waleed Shahid, the spokesman for Justice Democrats, blasted Pelosi’s message on Twitter. “With all due respect, this is a terrible Democratic Party message in response to inflation and the skyrocketing cost of living from Speaker Pelosi,” he tweeted.
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Messaging from the White House hasn’t been any better. Joe Biden has claimed, without any evidence, that GOP proposals will “make inflation worse,” but even some Democrats find that message rings hollow.
“What is our message about why inflation is going to be worse if Republicans win?” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) asked NBC News. “I don’t think our economic message has been loud enough or sharp enough.”
Democrats clearly realize that they can’t avoid talking about inflation anymore, but they can’t distance themselves from the mess we’re in because they’ve been the party in charge since January 20, 2021. And on top of that, the White House has been pushing the narrative for quite some time that the economy is doing great and inflation is temporary.
In contrast, it’s Republicans who’ve been discussing the issue and demonstrating empathy for the voters who are struggling due to inflation and the high cost of gas. It’s unlikely that Democrats will find an effective message on inflation before the midterm elections, and even if they could, it would be too little too late after downplaying inflation for over a year. They can’t exactly play the empathy card without admitting they were wrong and vindicating the Republican Party’s narrative.