October 31, 2022

If your news source is CNN, the New York Times, pre-Elon Twitter, or just about any broadcast television news network, you will see a blue wave coming for the November 8 midterm elections. The economy is in great shape, according to the White House, inflation is transient, energy is cheap and abundant, and life is grand for everyone. Democrats believe voters will recognize this and reward Democrats with full control of Congress in just over a week

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A few weeks ago The Hill boldly proclaimed, “Midterms: The big red wave has crested and turned into a rising blue tide.”  Last week The Hill doubled down asserting, “Democrats widen lead to 5 points on generic congressional ballot.” The President is optimistic for a blue wave, as reported by CNBC, “Biden predicts Democrats’ odds will improve as the midterm elections approach, citing economic improvements.”

The reality is that the dismal economic conditions are what’s paving the way for a red wave. Democrats and their corporate media allies are either oblivious or attempting to gaslight voters by claiming otherwise. Wisely Republicans are channeling President Clinton’s consigliere James Carville who once observed, “It’s the economy, stupid.”

What issues are important to voters this election cycle? Democrats, taking their cues from social media and MSNBC, assume that abortion, green energy, and the nonsensical January 6 commission are top issues motivating voters. Instead, they ignore the real world that confronts most Americans daily, including their wallets, shopping carts, and savings accounts.

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Outside the liberal beltway media echo chamber, Rasmussen Reports asked likely US voters what they care about and this may be far more reflective of voter sentiment and predictive of the color wave coming November 8.

In their Daily Presidential Tracking poll of likely US voters, they found only 23% strongly approve of President Biden’s job performance, compared with 45% strongly disapproving. With Biden as the head of the Democrat party, being underwater by 22 points doesn’t bode well for his party’s prospects next week.

Now let us look at the issues likely to determine the color of the upcoming November wave, or perhaps just a trickle, but more likely red than blue.

Start with the economy, stupid or not. In mid-October, Rasmussen Reports found that, “88% of Likely U.S. voters are concerned about the economy, including 60% who are very concerned. Just 10% aren’t concerned about the issue. A related issue, inflation, is concerning to 89% of voters.” Carville was right – it is the economy, stupid.

Education is another issue important to Americans in flyover country, although apparently not to Democrats and the media chattering classes in the DC-NYC axis where their children attend fancy private schools far removed from shootings, wokeness, gender confusion, mandates, and other modern features of most American public schools.

In my state of Colorado, for example, a big issue in the governor’s race is education as barely one-third of fourth and eight grade students are performing at grade level in math and reading.