What Many Pols Are Thankful for This Weekend -- “The Sunday Political Brunch” - November 28, 2021
Mark Curtis, MINDSETTER™
What Many Pols Are Thankful for This Weekend -- “The Sunday Political Brunch” - November 28, 2021
‘Tis’ the season to give thanks. When I talk about what pols are grateful for, I define pols to mean, politicians, handlers, strategists, donors, candidates, lobbyists, and yes, the reporters like me who cover the whole circus. Let’s “brunch” on that this weekend.
“What I’m Grateful For” – Someone once said, “The streets are like a beautiful mistress. They can kiss you or they can kill you, but they’ll never bore you.” After 40-plus years of being a political reporter, analyst, and author, I can pretty much agree with that statement. When I was a reporter in Washington, DC, one of my stations was WSOC-TV in Charlotte. So, I had to cover Sen. Jesse Helms (R) North Carolina and Sen. Strom Thurmond (R) South Carolina. A liberal friend once said to me, “You must have hated that!” Quite the contrary. Each man often said provocative things (that offended some and emboldened others). They were lightning rods, who created headlines. Even if I didn’t agree with them (which is not part of my job), they made my life and job fascinating.
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“What Republicans are Grateful For” – Much of the imagery that has played out during the Biden administration’s first year is viewed as gold to the opposition. The collapse and fleeing from Afghanistan, the crush at the Southern Border, and the view of gas pumps pricing out at $4.00 per gallon, will be helpful to the party out of power. You can expect to see all three images in the Congressional midterm election ads. Republican candidates will use all three as leverage against incumbent Democrats and in races for open seats.
“What Democrats are Grateful For” – It’s really a matter of timing, but the Trump administration had far less time to roll out the COVID-19 vaccines. Everyone was dependent on the drug companies to make them and then get federal approval. So, the GOP had about an eight-month window. By the time the midterms come, Democrats will have had about 22 months. Again, no one’s at fault here because you can’t manage the vaccine’s delivery timing. (Trump’s Achilles Heel was in not setting a mask-wearing example, and then getting COVID-19). But if COVID is far more under control in 2022 than it is right now, then advantage Democrats. Also, the fact that unemployment is now at a 52-year low, may also help. But the counterpunch to that may be high inflation. Stay tuned.
“Timing the Markets” – There’s an old saying in the investment business, “You can’t time the markets!” The point being is that you might be the savviest financial advisor there is, but you really can’t predict the market fluctuations in advance. The same is true in politics. Responding to something like an unexpected pandemic, is something largely out of any president’s immediate control (like inflation). So, Biden may get points for a much wider and deeper vaccine distribution and it’s something that may help his side in 2022 and 24. We’ll likely see those images in many Democrat candidate ads next year.
“The Voting Public” – After the intensity of the off-year election coverage with big Republican wins in Virginia, and a narrow Democrat win in New Jersey, the average person has probably had enough for right now, and will gladly embrace all the Christmas TV ads, replacing political ads. Until we get into the Spring 2022 primary season, the public may be largely spared the political attack ads, ad nauseam. But when they do come, the floodgates will open. Enjoy the “commercial break” for now!
“Roll Out the Barrels” – This week President Biden authorized the release of 50 million barrels of crude oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Normally, such a release is due to wartime or a natural disaster. In this instance, the goal is to help flood the markets with a glut of gasoline, in the hopes of bringing down prices. Several analysts I have listened to say it would take a minimum of two weeks to see any benefit. So, no drivers get lower prices for Thanksgiving travel, but may see some relief by Christmas. But if the efforts and results aren’t more long term, this type of inflation is detrimental to the party in power, ala President Gerald Ford in 1976, President Jimmy Carter in 1980, and President George H.W. Bush in 1992.
“Let the Finger-Pointing Begin!” – Republicans were quick to pounce. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) Kentucky and Minority Leader said on the Senate Floor, “President Biden canceled our own Keystone-XL pipeline but cleared the path for a new pipeline for Vladimir Putin.” That’s a reference to the Biden Administration’s support for a European pipeline path that would potentially help Russian energy supplies. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R) West Virginia said of the reserve release, “Today’s announcement to release 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is simply an effort to mask the fallout of President Biden’s terrible energy policies.”
“What Say You, Democrats?” – Moderate Sen. Joe Manchin said the U.S. needs to do more to ramp up domestic energy production saying, “Hard-working Americans should not depend on foreign actors, like OPEC, for our energy security.” But Manchin referred to it as an “important policy Band-Aid for rising gas prices,” saying it was not a long-term solution. Senator Chuck Schumer (D) New York and Majority Leader, was much more energetic in his response saying, “President Biden’s announcement is good news for American families and will strengthen our economy… of course, the only long-term solution to rising gas prices is to continue our march to eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels and create a robust green energy economy.”
Who do you think is to blame for the spike in gasoline prices, and how would you fix it? Please click the comment button and let us know!
