Republicans Saved by Democrats' Vanity Projects—Again.
The Democrats promised to focus on affordability in November—for two days.
Earlier this week, I told you about a Politico story that should send ice through Republican veins: Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters at a news conference Monday that the first bill the Democrats plan to pass if they win the House in November would focus on lowering costs, and Democrats are already working on legislation to tackle the biggest struggle Americans are currently facing.
Luckily for the Republicans, that story is already dated. Throughout the week, high-profile Democrats—high-profile progressives—have been coming out and publicly eschewing on the affordability agenda for their usual vanity projects.
Jeffries had sent a letter to all House Democrats announcing five working groups focused on developing affordability legislation targeting housing, gas and utilities, groceries, caregiving, and health care. “Each of the working groups will meet this week to begin discussions about what will go into Democrats’ H.R. 1 — shorthand for a majority party’s signature bill,” Politico reported.
This is exactly what the Republicans and the Trump administration should be doing and aren’t.
But by Thursday, Politico was no longer reporting on the Democrats’ triumphant H.R. 1 bill—it was now “Democrats’ H.R. 1 problem” in a new Politico story (my italics).
“Not all Democrats agree affordability is Job 1,” Politico reports. “Other top Democrats interviewed this week said they hoped the party would prioritize other issues in a signature bill to kick off their return to power, including voting rights, anti-corruption measures and rolling back Trump initiatives,” per Politico.
Ah.
Rep. Jamie Raskin wants voting rights. “We must secure and guarantee the right to vote and to have free and fair elections because that is the basic premise of democratic society,” Rep. Jamie Raskin told Politico. “We are constantly trying to escape the undertow of voter suppression, extreme gerrymandering, and attacks on the election process.”
Rep. Yvette Clarke said she’d like to see the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act revived in any new H.R. 1. as well as “comprehensive immigration reform.”
Rep. Adriano Espaillat wants H.R. 1 to claw back funding for ICE and redirect it to Medicaid and affordable housing.
Rep. Brad Schneider wants the party to undo Trump’s tariffs in their first action.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is on the health care working group, wants “guaranteed health care.”
Then there’s Rep. Ro Khanna, believed to be considering a presidential run in 2028. He laid out his agenda on a podcast later in the week, and it included the usual progressive priorities: Abolish ICE, expand the Supreme Court, and a billionaire’s tax.
Once again, Republicans are being saved by Democrats’ inability to focus on the things that matter most to the American people.
I’m not saying none of these are good causes. I am saying that the Democrats are already splintering on how to take advantage of this moment with a coherent message of economic populism.
People can’t eat voting rights and they can’t put Abolish ICE in their car to drive their kids to soccer practice. A billionaire’s tax will never be enough to cover universal health care. And just how exactly does expanding the Supreme Court bring down the cost of groceries and gas and raise wages?
These are the things voters are looking to hear a substantive plan on. Sadly, there doesn’t seem to be one on either side of the political aisle for now.
The “affordability” campaign feels like it was generated in a focus group, without regard for the underlying causes. The Democrats are the prime advocates for the forces that create unaffordability. They want more taxes and regulations, which raise prices. They want deficit spending for more free benefits, which causes inflation. They want mass immigration, which increases housing costs and lowers wages. It’s like arsonists campaigning against fires.
The bill will sound like "costs, go down!". How about them stopping driving the costs up? Didn't we already get the "affordable" health care?