Dem Rep. Bustos: Dems ‘Doing a Good Job,’ But ‘It’s Not Good If the Economy Continues to Go in the Wrong Direction’

On Tuesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Chris Jansing Reports,” Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL) said that it won’t be good in general or good for Democrats “if the economy continues to go in the wrong direction.” And that President Joe Biden and House Democrats have done a good job.

Host Peter Alexander asked, “We know that the Fed is kicking off a big meeting today. The economy, obviously, remains on everybody’s mind. The President said on Sunday that he thinks the worst is over. But an article in Kiplinger yesterday said the following, … ‘It’s very likely that the downturn we have been experiencing will get much worse and the bear market is likely not over.’ If the economy gets much worse, as they warn, how problematic is that for Democrats? Do the Democrats have to demonstrate continued progress to try to keep this issue from becoming a defining one for so many voters?”

Bustos answered, “Yeah, it’s not good if the economy continues to go in the wrong direction. It’s not good for Democrats. However, we have to look at what we have done, and we have to keep talking about that. Look at what just happened for Medicare patients. We are capping their yearly expenses at $2,000. If a senior has to be on insulin, that is capped at $35 a month. Nobody else has gotten that done. We are — the President just relieved $10,000 in student loan debt or $20,000 if you went to school on Pell Grants. So, we’ve got a story to tell, but we just have to keep telling it.”

She added that “this is going to get down to doing a good job, which I believe the Biden administration is, and I believe House Democrats are as well, and taking credit for it. So, we have to talk about that, and then we have to make sure that we have the best get-out-the-vote plan in the history of our party.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett