House Republicans plan to make the rising cost of living a key messaging point as they seek to take back the majority in 2022.
The National Republican Congressional Committee launched several targeted ads this week that tie vulnerable Democrats to inflation and excess spending.
“Inflation is a tax on every single American and is a direct result of Democrats’ reckless spending,” Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer, who chairs the NRCC, said in a statement. “We are going to ensure voters know that Democrats are responsible for the higher costs they are paying for just about everything.”
Republicans’ focus on higher consumer prices comes as Democrats seek to promote the economic achievements of the Biden administration ahead of the midterms. It also comes as the Congressional Budget Office said Thursday that Democrats’ $1.2 trillion infrastructure package would add at least $256 billion to the deficit.
Democrats are concerned about the developments and the impact on 2022 races.
Earlier this week, New York Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, who chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, signaled that inflation and the national labor shortage could be a potential roadblock next year. In a closed-door meeting, Mr. Maloney issued a stark warning to moderate Democrats that they would lose the majority if the elections were held today.
“Inflation is potentially the biggest vulnerability for Democrats,” said GOP strategist Doug Heye. “People are seeing increases in practically every facet of their life.”
In a CBS poll conducted between July 14-17, 78% of respondents said groceries and food costs are more expensive, while 80% noted gasoline costs were up, and 54% said electricity costs are higher.
The poll, which surveyed 2,238 adults, had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.
Florida Sen. Rick Scott proposed a resolution this week that would require all spending and tax-related bills to include an independent analysis by a third party on how they would impact inflation.
“The American people are already feeling the pressure of rising inflation thanks to reckless government spending,” Mr. Scott said. “And make no mistake about it, inflation is a tax. A tax that hurts our families on low and fixed incomes the most.”
The proposed rule change, first introduced by Rep. Jim Banks in the House, fell short of passing, receiving 52 of the needed 60 votes to pass.
Mr. Banks, who chairs the Republican Study Committee, has been leading a push to emphasize the impact on voters’ pocketbooks.
The Indiana Republican wrote in a May memo that Republicans should play up the rising cost of living, which polls indicate is a key concern for voters.
“We need to tie inflation to the Biden economic agenda and explain to voters how inflation is Democrats’ hidden tax on the Middle Class,” Mr. Banks wrote.
The NRCC is currently targeting 57 Democrats, who largely represent purple districts. Several of the lawmakers belong to the centrist Blue Dog Coalition and New Dem Coalition, the second-largest ideological caucus in Congress that promotes fiscal responsibility and economic growth.
Inflation ads are set to be aired against 15 House Democrats, including Reps. Stephanie Murphy of Florida, Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, and Tom O’Halleran of Arizona.
Pope McCorkle, a public policy professor at Duke University and longtime Democratic consultant, said getting the bipartisan infrastructure package passed, as well as touting President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, dubbed the American Rescue Plan, will help boost Democrats, especially if the economy is stable next year.
But the nationalization of local politics is likely to make some moderates susceptible to GOP messaging, Mr. McCorkle said.
“Things have gotten so ideologically polarized, that ironically, the people who are the most vulnerable are the people who are least toeing the party line,” Mr. McCorkle told The Washington Times. “It’s hard to have a personal economic message.”
In 2020, Republican victories in moderate Democrat districts were in part blamed on GOP-led campaign talking points that painted the party as anti-police and socialist.
Source:Washington Times
