When The Script Is Finally Flipped

We're fifteen days away from America's latest open book test.

And it's an open book test because the answers are all right there, right in front of us. Our pain and misery over the past 19 months have been directly related to the governance, or lack thereof, of a Republican Party that controls the White House, House, Senate, and Supreme Court. It is a party that could pass whatever laws it wanted to help the American people. Inflation reduction. Healthcare improvements. Utilizing diplomacy in foreign confrontations rather than the military. Upgraded infrastructure projects, including those that utilize wind and solar power. It's a party that could have easily appointed qualified professionals throughout the federal government to run various departments in a way that benefitted the American people. Instead, the one legislative "accomplishment" we got was a bill that once again benefitted the richest Americans while simultaneously adding over $4 trillion to the national debt over the next decade. In short, Republicans governed like they always do when given the key to all three branches of government. 

Which is why you're seeing Republicans struggle so mightily on the campaign trail.

From Maryland's only congressional Republican, Andy Harris, blaming Democrats for high gas prices, to J.D. Vance blaming Joe Biden for high gas prices, to Donald Trump himself blaming Ukraine for high gas prices, there has been a concerted effort by Republican elected officials across the board to pass the buck when it comes to the current gas crisis in this country. The "Party of Personal Responsibility" is having a hard time acknowledging that its ill-conceived and thought-out war is the sole reason why Americans today have had to endure a record 158 days and counting of average gas prices being above $4 during a calendar year. With the spike in gas prices directly coinciding with the Trump Administration's failed "military operation" in Iran, even middle school economics students can understand the cause and effect of how and why we're now paying the price we are at the pump. Yet, like with any cult, it is a sin to criticize dear leader, so Trump's minions blame Joe Biden and Democrats, and Trump himself blames Putin nemesis, Ukraine, for the current situation. 

And while Trump's cult may be drinking the Kool-Aid, the majority of Americans are not. The latest ABC News poll showed 71% of Americans describing the cost of gas as "unaffordable", up from 28% in, you guessed it, February, right before Trump began his splendid little don't-call-it-a-war. The problem for Republicans has been that the high price of gas is right there in the daylight, hitting them square in the face. While they can lie about the cause of the increase, they cannot deny that an increase has occurred. No matter how dense Republican voters are, even they notice the fact that they're paying a lot more money to fill up a tank of gas today than they did nine months ago. The 29% in the ABC News Poll is right around the magic number of Trump supporters who will believe anything he tells them. The poll is essentially telling us that not only have Trump and Republicans lost the messaging on gas affordability, but they may also be losing some of their most ardent Kool-Aid drinkers as well. 

All of this checks out with what has been the exact MO of the modern Republican Party. They are uber effective as an opposition party but can't govern worth a damn when in charge. They are the party of perpetual grievance when they're in the minority. They scream from the highest hills about the ballooning national debt (crickets when they're in charge), illegal immigration, and the latest culture war issue, usually involving whichever marginalized group or groups have the least political power in modern-day America. They tell the voters about the evils of big government and socialism and communism. Every executive order by a Democratic president is one step closer to a dictatorship. A Democratic House and Senate only serve to raise your taxes, take away states' rights, and create an ongoing threat to traditional American family values. After two years in control, Democrats must be replaced, or else our country will go down a deep, dark path from which we as a country will never recover. 

Sound familiar? 

It should, because that's been the playbook for the Clinton, Obama, and Biden presidencies. But these last 19 months, we've seen the GOP struggle outside of its echo chamber to share its successes when it has been the party in control. Because it hasn't had any successes. Not for working families. Not for farmers or those in the heartland. For millionaires, sure, but they're a small portion of the population. For independents especially, these last 19 months have been a time of great upheaval and uncertainty. With Democrats out of power, Republicans have had nobody to blame for their misguided governance. They don't know how to message this because they don't know how to govern. They're so used to their out-of-power strategy that they genuinely have no idea what to do when in the majority. Naturally, they immediately enact legislation to help their millionaire donors. But after that, when it comes to helping everyday Americans, Republicans have no idea what to do. Rather than admit this, you hear them blame Joe Biden, Democrats, and Ukraine. Anything to absolve themselves of the mess they created. 

Republicans wanted to control the White House, House, and Senate. With 6 million Democrats sitting out the election along with 89 million nonvoters, they were given that opportunity. But they failed. Horrifically. As they've done throughout the 21st century, they failed to pass meaningful legislation to help everyday Americans. We all knew this would happen. But there was a large percentage of the 71% of Americans now feeling the gas crunch who didn't believe something like this could happen to them. But they should have. Elect a Republican president, get a recession. That is why 10 out of the last 11 recessions have had a Republican at the helm. Republicans own this current economy. Not Democrats. Not Joe Biden. Certainly not Ukraine. Just because they say it doesn't make it true.

And them even saying it shows just how desperate they have become.