Feb. 12, 2022-
Instead of fear being used as a political weapon, most Americans now want politicians to develop an economic agenda to promote optimism, comfort and security – instead of wokeism and progressives’ overreach.
More than half of Americans are tired of the unrest created by the Left’s agenda to create doubt and fear.
For example, have you noticed President Joe Biden’s repeated scare tactic of bending forward close to the camera in a futile attempt to spread gloom and fear?
What do I mean? Watch President Biden. Often, when he appears on television, he tries to create fear whether it’s about COVID or other issues. He’s seen as heavy-handed and creepy.
It doesn’t show leadership. People are tired of his creepy tactic.
Meantime, American voters want big change. Evidence appears anywhere you want to look. Starting with polls, the Real Clear Politics average of national surveys put Mr. Biden’s approval at 39 percent and his disapproval at 54 percent.
Democrats’ liberal allies in the liberal news media – CNN, MSNBC, New York Times, and Washington Post – virtually ignored a major health study by Johns Hopkins University, which is regularly ranked among the world’s most prestigious academic institutions.
Its research showed the pandemic lockdowns only reduced COVID deaths by 0.2 per cent.
The research followed a plethora of polls that showed a bad omen for Democrats – the majority of voters want an end to the shutdowns and vaccine mandates and that President Biden was underwater in voter preferences.
Realizing the polls showed they were being hurt by their obstinacy, a number of states controlled by Democrats promptly announced an end to most of the COVID mandates. Too little, too late, and they’re forgetting about their Achilles’ heel. Many local governments schools are continuing with the mandates.
Election indicator
Starting with Virginia’s gubernatorial election, wokeism and progressives’ overreach incurred the wrath of voters as Republicans won in the 2021 elections.
High inflation and the deteriorating economy was the most-cited issue in the Virginia exit polls.
Voters were also tired of other issues: Teachers promoting critical race theory and other cultural drivel in public schools, crime and defunding police, illegal immigration, election ethics and Democrats’ expansion of the welfare state.
In other words, it was a microcosm illustrative of the trends across America.
Political shift
This movement continues to spread as inflation alarmingly surges. Even though worker wages have increased, inflation has gobbled up their paychecks. Their standard of living has worsened.
Even the truckers’ protest that originated in Canada, gets a lot of sympathy. It’s reminiscent of the truckers’ strike over skyrocketing fuel prices in the 1970s.
Now, truckers in the Freedom Convoy are angry about COVID restrictions and the mounting losses of freedoms from government tyranny.
“What’s happening this week, it looks like, is people are understanding this is about something more than just the vaccine mandate,” liberal HBO host Bill Maher said.
Conservatives and even many independents are sympathetic. They also see the president blaming the Federal Reserve and corporations for the soaring inflation instead of taking responsibility for his destructive polices.
Voters believe the country deserves a strong economy sans all the wokeism rhetoric and culture of entitlement and victimhood.
Essentially, we’re stuck with a two-party system. So, strategies to promote prosperity depend on efforts by Republicans. But the Republicans foolishly aren’t united in strategies.
Revelations about comments emanating from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are disturbing. He doesn’t plan to provide solutions, he just wants to campaign with a myriad of complaints about President Biden’s and the Democrats’ disastrous record.
But most voters now acknowledge President Biden is a failure and the economy is in awful shape compared to President Trump’s record of economic achievement. Most American voters are ready for solutions to return to the prosperity that was taken for granted prior to the pandemic.
If Sen. McConnell doesn’t change his tune, his idea to mount an attack-campaign risks the Democrats winning in future elections. America will be repeatedly stuck with liberal activists running the Whitehouse – leading to more of the same challenges with terrible results.
It’s not enough for Sen. McConnell to rant about President Biden’s failures. Sen. McConnell and his colleagues must talk about policy priorities and what they mean in order to return America to happiness and prosperity.
Strategies are warranted
American voters have short memories. In a post-COVID era, it’s conceivable the Biden disapproval ratings might disappear if inflation moderates and if the economy improves.
Plus, many independents and Democrats have long been OK with freebies and Democrat proposals – even without means to pay for things like subsidies for childcare or student-loan forgiveness,
After the prudent fiscal policies of President John F. Kennedy, and with the exception of President Bill Clinton, Democrats largely have been on a mega spending spree on impractical socialistic policies.
Republicans need to focus on helping all the middle-income and low-wage Americans who want to restore their lives back to a post-COVID normal and to take home paychecks minus the pay cuts caused by raging inflation.
It’s complex to explain, but the $30-trillion national debt adversely affects everyone. Democrats’ propensity to tax and spend presents an ominous threat to America’s security.
To counter Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s obsession for dysfunctional welfare policies, the GOP needs to focus on initiatives beneficial to families without adding to the federal debt.
Universities should be pressured to reform their budgets so students can afford to repay their student loans. They need to get back to teaching necessities to further students’ careers instead of wokeism that results in their debt.
A new slate of politicians elected to Congress could reverse all the socialistic policies passed under President Biden.
Congress and a new president could reimpose foreign policy initiatives that were so effective in the previous administration instead of bungling the Russia-Ukraine matter and letting China ride roughshod over America and Taiwan.
Quality presidential appointments could reverse the dysfunction of the Biden Administration. Woke presidential appointments could be stopped by a Republican-dominated Senate.
Return to normalcy
In the early 1960s, all of America was inspired by Camelot from the leadership of President Kennedy. Youngsters were motivated to go on 50-mile hikes, strong fiscal policies were in-place, and Americans were largely inclined to solve their own problems, and the country was respected around the world.
Two decades later, despite President Clinton’s problems, many Americans tolerated his personal failings. He helped lead the longest-economic expansion ever. Twenty-two million jobs were created with the lowest unemployment in three decades.
Think what you want about his personality, the Trump successes were unparalled. Make America great again would be a dream come true.
Instead of merely kvetching about the failed policies of President Biden and the Democrats, Republicans need to repeatedly articulate proven solutions for America’s return to prosperity. That should be the focus.
From the Coach’s Corner, see more public-policy articles here.
“The first panacea for a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency; the second is war. Both bring a temporary prosperity; both bring a permanent ruin. But both are the refuge of political and economic opportunists.”
-Ernest Hemingway
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