Decades-high inflation pops the Democrats’ bubble

NEWS AND OPINION:

Well gee, that’s a shame. Now that inflation has officially reached a 40-year high, the news is not good for the Democratic Party.

“Republicans got fresh ammunition to pummel Democrats on inflation Tuesday, with President Joe Biden’s party having little time and few tools to turn around voters’ sour view of the economy before the midterm election,” reported Bloomberg after the Consumer Price Index for March was unleashed Tuesday, revealing that prices had surged by 8.5% in the past year.

“A sense of pessimism rises as inflation becomes the main concern for small-business owners,” reported NBC News.

“Inflation hurts, better get used to it,” advised the Wall Street Journal.

“Inflation is such a powerful issue in politics because, unlike, say, foreign policy, it touches every person on a daily basis. You notice when it costs more to fill up your car. Or shop for groceries. Or buy just about anything,” wrote CNN columnist Chris Cillizza.

His report was titled “Inflation is crushing Joe Biden and the Democrats,” by the way.

Meanwhile, Mr. Biden went to Iowa to talk up his economic agenda at an ethanol plant in Menlo, a small town some 50 miles west of Des Moines.

“President Biden has laid the inflation blame on just about everyone: Meat-packers, oil companies, the supply chain, chip shortages and now Vladimir Putin,” said Fox Business News analyst Stuart Varney.

The president will now make frequent references to the expression “Putin’s price hikes,” Mr. Varney suggested.

“That’s a political excuse. It doesn’t address the root causes,” he noted.

FOR THE LEXICON

“The Inflation Election of 2022.”

This convenient phrase comes from Wall Street Journal analyst James Freeman, who notes that inflation is the dominant issue for voters nationwide.

“Which politicians will be held accountable?” Mr. Freeman asked in a report published Tuesday.

“If Democrats want to try to avoid the loss of their majorities they must act quickly to encourage the supply side of the economy, and also need the Federal Reserve to reduce the widespread pain afflicting consumers, savers and businesses. There’s very little time before the political reckoning becomes inevitable,” Mr. Freeman wrote.

Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee has declared that the White House is now home to the “Let Them Eat Cake Presidency” — of course referring to a historic comment attributed to Marie Antoinette, queen of France in the 18th century.

A CANDIDATE’S PREDICTION

Derrick Van Orden describes himself as an “American patriot, retired Navy SEAL, husband, father, grandfather, and Christian.”

He is also a candidate for U.S. Congress in the 3rd District of Wisconsin who has raised $900,000 for his campaign and won the endorsement of, among others, Sen. Tim Scott.

The South Carolina Republican noted that Mr. Van Orden is “exactly the type of person we need in Congress to end the disastrous one-party rule in Washington and put our country back on the path to prosperity.”

The candidate appears to be mission-ready.

“President Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have proven they are unwilling or unable to do what they need to do to provide American families relief. People can’t buy gas and groceries on the same day, energy costs are rising, and yet the career politicians making decisions keep passing the buck,” Mr. Orden said in a statement shared with Inside the Beltway.

“It’s a failure of leadership, and it’s why we are going to flip the U.S. House in November, to act as a check on the radical policies impacting families across the country,” the candidate advised.

IVY COVERED HALLS

Well, so much for Old Glory. The Young Americans for Freedom chapter at Saint Louis University recently offered to fund and oversee the installation of American flags in every classroom on the campus.

The offer from the conservative student group was declined by Erik Staberg, the student government representative who sees service requests, according to the College Fix, a student-written news organization.

Mr. Staberg could not understand why flags were needed in a classroom setting, and said he had compared notes with representatives at other universities.

“Having flags in classrooms is just not standard practice,” Mr. Staberg said.

“While there is nothing wrong with doing something different, in my opinion this project lacks a necessary motive. In thinking about whether or not to support this project, I couldn’t answer the question of why this is needed and in light of that I fail to see why this is necessary,” he advised.

“The flag is a uniting symbol for all students. In many classrooms around America, primarily in K-12, the flag is everywhere, and it blows my mind that it’s not as much in college classrooms,” Nicholas Baker, president of the Young Americans for Freedom chapter at the school, told The College Fix.

FOXIFIED

The Fox News ratings victory continues. During the week of April 4-10, the network marked its 60th straight week as the top cable news channel, drawing an average of 2.4 million primetime viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. MSNBC has an audience of 1 million, and CNN attracted 692,000.

Fox News also aired 97 of the top 100 cable newscasts during the week, and emerged as the most-watched network in the entire cable realm, besting such non-news rivals as TBS, HGTV and ESPN.

The ratings standouts for the week included “The Five,” with 3.5 million viewers and “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” which followed closely with an audience of 3.4 million.

POLL DU JOUR

• 41% of U.S. adults think President Biden should take more of a leadership role in trying to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine; 53% of Republicans, 39% of independents and 33% of Democrats agree.

• 34% overall think Mr. Biden’s approach to resolving the situation is “about right”; 10% of Republicans, 32% of independents and 56% of Democrats agree.

• 25% overall say Mr. Biden should take less of a role in the Ukraine situation; 37% of Republicans, 28% of independents and 11% of Democrats agree.

SOURCE: A CBS News poll of 2,062 U.S. adults conducted April 5-8.

• Follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.