Nancy Pelosi has been measuring the drapes in the Speaker’s office (figuratively) for the last year or so. Liberals across America have been experiencing Trump derangement syndrome, since they failed to install Hillary Clinton in the White House to complete all the (liberal) things that Barack Obama had started. The libs would like to begin to set things straight again by taking back the House of Representatives this fall (the Senate is probably too big a stretch.) Then they want to humiliate Donald Trump in 2 ½ years with a stellar candidate like Elizabeth Warren, or Joe Biden, or Bernie Sanders, or Oprah Winfrey, or maybe even Hillary again.
But in my view, things are starting to trend in the opposite direction. Policies that have been fought for and implemented by this Republican Congress and Republican President are working, and the American people more and more are realizing it.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, for example, is working. The vast majority of Americans are paying less in taxes than they were. They can keep more of their hard-earned money, and do whatever they want with it. That’s re-energizing the economy and creating jobs.
Unemployment levels are at all-time lows, across all demographics. For example, more African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans are employed than ever before. Yet not one Democrat voted for this common-sense tax policy. And Democrat candidates are announcing, that had they been in Congress, they would have voted against it too (like my opponent.)
Along with the reduction in taxes, reducing burdensome regulations is the other reason we’re seeing the economy take off. President Trump famously said it was his goal to get rid of two unnecessary regulations for every new one coming out of Washington. We’re far surpassing that goal, and it’s been nothing but positive for the economy.
So what about this much-hyped “blue wave” that Democrats in Congress and their friends in the media have been predicting for the last year? Is it coming or not?
Well, let’s take a look at two indicators. First, the president’s approval rating. According to RealClearPolitics which takes an average of all the other polls, six months ago President Trump’s approval rating was a miserable 37%. Now it’s almost 45%. Not great, but certainly heading in the right direction.
Then there’s the congressional generic ballot. What the heck’s that? Well, that’s “if the election were held today, would you rather have Democrats or Republicans control Congress?” Six months ago, Democrats held a 15 point edge – that’s huge. A tsunami, armageddon, a huge wave for Democrats. Now it’s only a 3 point edge for Democrats, which, since historically Democrats aren’t as likely to vote as Republicans, means there’s really no edge for Democrats at all. It’s a jump ball. And since Republicans currently hold a 23 seat advantage in the House, it means there’s a reasonably good chance Republicans will hold the House after all.
But hey, this is only June, and the election is in November (well, early voting actually begins in October, but you get my drift.) Anyway, the bottom line is, the much ballyhooed “blue wave” is far from a sure thing.
And that’s surely a relief, unless you think we’d be better off having in charge again someone who believes that we should pass a bill “to find out what’s in it”, thinks that $2,000 to an average American family of four is “crumbs”, says that “Hamas is a humanitarian association”, and claims that “natural gas is a clean, cheap, alternative to fossil fuels.” God help us.