There’s an elephant in the room every time Democrat presidential hopefuls are interviewed by the left-leaning media — the economy.
That’s because Democrats are terrified of President Donald Trump’s unsurpassed leadership in restoring America to the number one economy in the world and driving unemployment to its lowest rates in nearly half a century.
Couple those statistics with the fact that good-paying jobs are returning, wages are increasing, and any talk about the big, bad Trump economy should blow down any chance of Democrats winning in 2020.
During the recent Democratic party primary debates, candidates were quick to talk about policy positions such as Medicare for All and identity politics. None were equipped to put forth a plan that comes even remotely close to what the GOP and Trump Administration achieved during the first two years.
“We don’t really have a robust national message right now” on the economy, top Democrat pollster Celinda Lake reportedly said. “We will tend to talk about things like paid leave and equal pay — and those things are all very popular policies. But they don’t add up to an economic message that is robust enough to win the presidency and beat Donald Trump, who talks about a very robust economic policy.”
Candidates such as Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren have emphasized taxing wealthy Americans and ramping back up the corporate tax. Her rhetoric continues to mostly fall on deaf ears among moderate voters because President Trump’s economic policies appear to have proven her ideas result in unemployment, lower wages, and negatively impact the national GDP.
Democrats have tried to entice voters by pushing for a $15 minimum wage. Although Republicans are growing more comfortable increasing minimum wage, liberal strongholds such as Seattle saw disastrous results for working people. Many lost jobs or had their hours cut because businesses could not sustain the cost or payroll taxes. Radical Democrats such as Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib are calling for a completely unsustainable $20 per hour federal minimum wage law.
During the crucial primary debates, candidates stammered and offered “yes-buts” about the robust Trump economy. Senator Kamala Harris walked away with a big party win after trouncing frontrunner former Vice President Joe Biden on segregation and racism issues. However, her shot at the Trump economy lacked force.
“This president walks around talking about and flouting his great economy, right? My great economy,” Sen. Harris reportedly said. “You ask him, ‘How are you measuring the greatness of this economy of yours?’ and they point to the jobless numbers and the unemployment numbers. Well, yeah, people in America are working. They’re working two and three jobs.”
The problem for Democrats is that these are the same economic measurements used by the left to support the inferior Obama Administration economy. It’s certainly disingenuous to claim the economy is not delivering improved opportunity. Voters see right through the “yes-but” idea that President Trump has delivered possibly the best economy in many Americans’ lifetime, but it’s somehow bad for voters.
Even insider Democrat operatives recognize that not having a viable economic platform that assures everyday Americans opportunity is a recipe for disaster.
“Our view is that Democrats would be very wise to recognize how steep the mountain is on the economy. There are things about this economy that are very popular — low unemployment, a lot of jobs, there’s been some real wage increase,” Matt Bennett of the left-leaning Third Way organization reportedly said.
“What that means is that we need a very clear economic narrative that resonates deeply with the voters that we have to win, and we better not be caught up in our own blue bubble world.”
The Washington, D.C., Third Way official may be right about Democrats failing to look beyond their big blue bubble. Biden, the former Obama number two, didn’t even open his campaign with an economic platform. Worse in terms of attracting voters, he appears to be leaning on the Obama economy that helped sweep Democrats out of the majority in the Senate, House, and Oval Office in 2016.
The mudslinging strategy of calling the president vile names or painting him as unpopular has failed in the past. Now disgraced ex-President Bill Clinton endured an impeachment trial for perjury and still got re-elected due to a growing economy.
“People will vote for somebody they don’t like if they think it is good for them,” former GOP congressman Jason Chaffetz reportedly said. “When people feel good at home, they’re going to stick with the person who has the White House.”
