After nearly two years of trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the American people when it comes to the economy, Democrats appear to be about to pay a steep political price for attempting to govern through wishes and deception.
The latest signs of the rejection of the Biden Democrat narrative of the economy by solid majorities of Americans come from a poll conducted by the Wall Street Journal that was released Tuesday.
Recall that during a West Coast ice-cream shopping trip two weeks ago President Joe Biden announced that the economy is “strong as Hell.” You could tune into those wretched talking heads shows on any given Sunday and find top Democrat officials saying much the same thing. (Don’t really do that. It’s bad for your mind and soul. We’re just saying you could.) Just last week, Biden was decrying “doomsayers” and accusing Republicans of “rooting for a downturn.”
Those doomsayers include most American voters, according to the WSJ poll. Fifty-three percent say the economy is already in a recession, and another 27 percent say we’re likely to be in one in the next 12-months. That’s a total of 80 percent of U.S. voters. This is indeed an epic accomplishment: Biden has turned 80 percent of us into doomsayers. Just 11 percent say we are not in a recession and unlikely to be in one, barely beating out the nine percent who admit they just do not know.
Biden is wrong, however, when he accuses Americans of rooting for a downturn. The evidence shows that Americans are planning on voting against the downturn. Forty-six percent of the voters surveyed said they would vote for a Republican candidate if the midterm election were held today, ahead of the 44 percent who said they would support a Democrat. That indicates the Democrats have lost momentum since August, when they led in the poll at 47 percent to the GOP’s 44 percent.
When asked which would be the best outcome for the country after the midterm elections, 43 percent said they want to see Republicans control both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Thirty-six percent want to maintain Democratic control. Fourteen percent want each party to control one house of Congress.
The reason for the wave of support for Republicans is dissatisfaction with the direction of the country and the Biden economy. Seventy-one percent say the country is headed in the wrong direction, up from 68 percent in August and 63 percent a year ago. The same percentage say the economy is headed in the wrong direction, up from 62 percent in August and 61 percent in November of 2021.
Asked how they would rate the economy, 72 percent chose “poor” or “not so good.” This is up from 64 percent in August and 59 percent last year. Forty-one percent chose the lowest rating of “poor,” up from 32 percent in August and 26 percent a year ago. Just four percent rate the economy as excellent—although that’s an improvement from the two percent in August.
Fifty-four percent say the Biden administration’s policies have had a negative impact on the economy. Just 27 percent say the administration’s policies have had a positive impact, and 15 percent say they’ve had no impact.
By far, inflation is the lead issue in this election. Thirty-four percent of voters say it is their number one motivation for voting. Combining the top and second highest issues raises inflation to 57 percent of voters. “Threats to democracy” comes in at second place, with 28 percent saying it is their top issue and 46 percent saying it is their first or second most important issue. The Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, allowing states to pave their own paths when it comes to abortion and the rights of the unborn, comes in a distant third with only 17 percent naming it as their top issue and another 20 percent as their second most important.
On the question of which party is best able to deal with inflation, Republicans lead with 48 percent to the Democrats’ 27 percent. That’s really all you need to know as you fill out your betting sheets for election day.