James Carville, the infamous and legendary Democratic political activist, once said, “It’s the economy, stupid.”
The term was coined in 1992 while he was an advisor to President Bill Clinton during his successful run for the White House.
Carville was trying to reach Clinton’s campaign staff. He wanted his team to convey to the audience that Clinton was focused on the issues most important to them — their bank accounts.
It’s one thing to suggest that your employees are “stupid.”
It’s another matter to suggest that the American people are “stupid” – and that seems to be President Joe Biden’s approach.
“I’m doing everything I can through executive orders to lower the price and counter Putin’s price hike,” Biden told an audience in Iowa on Tuesday. “Your family budget, your ability to fill your tank, none of it should depend on whether a dictator declares war and commits genocide half a world away.”
The White House slogan might as well be “It’s Putin’s Fault, Stupid.” He is talking to you.
Well, the American people don’t buy it.
A Quinnipiac poll, conducted in early April, showed that 59% disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy.
James Carville, the infamous and legendary Democratic political activist, once said, “It’s the economy, stupid.” (Above) President Bill Clinton and James Carville in July 1999 at the White House
Speaking from inside an ethanol manufacturing plant in Iowa on Tuesday (above), Biden announced his latest plan to lower gas prices by allowing summer sales of a relatively high ethanol blend of gasoline, called E15.
They can see what’s really going on.
On Tuesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Consumer Report Index which showed an increase of 8.5% in March compared to the same month a year ago.
This followed a 7.9% annual increase in February and marks the fastest rise in consumer prices since December 1981.
To put it in the simplest terms possible, the cost of living in America and buying food, gas, and groceries is 8.5% higher than it was a year ago.
High inflation also erodes people’s salaries. Even though workers earn more on average – their dollars don’t go away.
These are staggering numbers and it’s hard to even think about what this means for our country not only economically but also socially, culturally and politically.
When people struggle to feed their families, fill gas tanks, or live a decent life on an honest day’s wages, they understandably start to panic.
And with that panic comes anger, distress, more disappointment and, in the worst of circumstances, even violence.
As of today, the administration’s talking point is that this is Putin’s hypertrophy.
This is not only intellectually dishonest, it’s a lie.
Inflation was already heading in this direction long before Putin’s invasion and it has gotten worse.
An economist need not know that injecting $1.9 trillion into an economy that is already recovering will have consequences.
Treasury Secretary Bill Clinton Larry Summers He was shouting this from the rooftops. Former CEO Andy Puzder wrote about this for DailyMail.com.
On Tuesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Consumer Report Index which showed an increase of 8.5% in March compared to the same month a year ago.
And now, the president’s solutions to this crisis have been laughably short.
Speaking from inside an ethanol manufacturing plant in Iowa, Biden announced his latest plan to lower gas prices by allowing summer sales of a relatively high ethanol blend of gasoline, called E15.
It may be a sign of just how desperate Biden has become — past administrations have resisted sales of that fuel throughout the year, over environmentalists’ concerns that E15 contributes to smog during the hot summer months.
But by U.S. Department of Energy acceptance, E15 is sold at just over 2,300 gas stations.
According to the National Convenience Stores Association, there are more than 115,000 convenience stores that sell auto fuel and potentially 145,000 convenience stores that sell gas nationwide.
So, I don’t think we can expect the E15 policy to help much.
Twenty years after the Carville campaign schemed to focus on economic concerns above all else – it’s baffling why Biden didn’t get it.
Perhaps the entire Democratic Party has forgotten this.
Progressive figures like Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez seem to have little or no respect for James Carville and have responded to his critiques of exasperation with indignation, but Carville is a legend for a reason.
People become legends after a long period of time, it doesn’t happen overnight, and legends should be respected and, in my opinion, listened to.
To put it mildly, there is no greater American challenge facing the Biden administration than the economy and the pockets of ordinary Americans, and ordinary Americans are not stupid people.
Good politicians adapt when their policy programs don’t work. The Biden administration’s economic policies are clearly not working.
Their energy policies have only created more pain at the pump and increased the cost of energy in people’s homes.
If you believe as many in Washington do that Ron Klain, the president’s chief of staff, is driving all of this, then Democrats need to start asking why he hasn’t modified his approach.
Other than blaming Putin, what is Ron Klein up to?
They are stuck in a partisan silo where everything is running smoothly, even when voters know the truth.
One of the biggest challenges for this administration is coming up with a solution to a problem whose answer is not simply “write a check and throw money at it”.
In 1990, after a successful military action in Kuwait, President George H. W. Bush had an approval rating for the job of 80%, which at the time was considered the highest in the history of Gallup polls.
By the July 1992 election year, his job approval ratings had fallen to 29% after Clinton and his party leaders centered their message on the economy at the Democratic National Convention.
In just over a year and a half, President H.W. Bush has gone from having the highest job approval ratings to one of the lowest Gallup’s in its history (slightly better than Harry Truman and Richard Nixon at the end of their presidencies).
Biden’s approval rating is already hovering around 40%.
History repeats itself, and unless Biden and his administration seek to deal with “the economy, you idiot,” without treating Americans like “idiots,” they are doomed to repeat the history of previous presidencies that failed in their mishandling of the economy. .
