I saw two stories on CNN that should raise the angst of every Progressive. If one extrapolates them, I think it could put the expected 2018 Blue Wave at risk.
I think Democratic Establishment dereliction could attenuate Blue Wave
It is clear that Democrats are still not doing all that is necessary to ensure the maximization of the impending 2018 Blue Wave that is at risk.
Yesterday Paul Ryan appeared in a press conference carried by CNN where he touted the Republican tax cut scam as the reason for the economy and companies expanding. It is clear that given that a whole year has passed without Republicans passing any bills of significance, it is impossible that the tax bill is causal.
The fact is that the underlying economy is still the one in effect under the Obama administration. If there is a Trump effect, the inability to govern by the Trump administration and the Republican Congress has hurt the economy. Forbes has an interesting comparison with President Obama.
Over the past year, the stock market has boomed, GDP growth has improved and unemployment is at an almost 17-year low. However, job gains were lower than any of the past six years and wage growth was less than last year. President Trump inherited an economy that was on a good trajectory with solid job growth and low unemployment. …
To keep these market returns in perspective, Obama’s first-year stock market returns were also strong. Trump’s Dow 30 increase of 25.1% beat Obama’s 18.8%, but when looking at the broader S&P 500, Obama’s 23.5% bested Trump’s 19.4%. …
There were 2.06 million jobs created last year, which was lower than any of Obama’s last six years. Prior to then, the economy was either in or at the initial stages of recovering from the Great Recession. … The 2.5% hourly wage rate growth was a bit less than 2016’s 2.9%. … The trade deficit rose to a level that it hasn’t been at since 2008.
Trump and the Republicans continue to lie about their economic success or prowess. Where are the Democrats not only pointing out the reality but targetting specific populations and showing that Republican policies from health care to taxes are materially hurting them?
The second CNN story was an interview with some Trump supporters. CNN visited Youngstown Ohio, a very depressed region. These were Democrats turned Trump supporters. They are not the racist voters that one equates with Trump. What is evident is that they are fed up with Democrats, so much so that they are blind to Trump’s real faults.
When CNN challenged their view of their region remaining economically depressed, they were willing to give Trump a pass. After all the other parts of the country in their opinion are doing fine. The stock market is doing fine. They expect it to trickle down to them at some time. These people disregard that the places doing fine are precisely the places that did not vote for Trump and the people who benefit from the market rise rarely include them.
This result is what occurs when one leaves a vacuum. Democrats continue to ignore these massive unsung spaces throughout the country. They do not have a narrative to show these people are on their radar in a personal manner.
The government is about to shut down. While recent polls show that Trump and Republicans will get the blame, the Republican narrative blaming Democrats is ramping up with very little substantive response from Democrats.
Unless Democrats stop doing things the same way and expecting a different result, the definition of insanity, once again they will pay the price with underperformance at the polls in 2018. The Blue Wave could become a ripple.