OPINION:
Historically, midterm elections favor the party out of power, and with President Trump’s approval rating falling to a record low of 33% according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll, things do not look good for Republicans.
It is fair to say that the mood of the country is sour with the ongoing conflict in Iran boosting prices at the pump and at the grocery store.
However, the president is correct that once this war is over, the American economy will rebound. Fundamentally, growth remains strong under Republican leadership through a combination of tax cuts, deregulation, energy dominance and fraud elimination.
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Democratic leadership will reverse that.
In Maine, Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson does not know the difference between Medicare and Medicaid, although he is committed to the socialist policy of “Medicare for All.”
When asked Sunday by CNN’s Dana Bash about the proposal, Mr. Jackson acknowledged that people who like their private insurance would lose it to the public system. To pay for the federal program, he proposes cutting funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and national defense, as well as taxing millionaires and billionaires.
Clearly, Mr. Jackson has not looked at the math. His proposed budget cuts amount to only $123 billion — a figure raised during the interview — against a plan estimated by fiscal analysts to cost taxpayers up to $40 trillion.
He said getting out of the war with Iran will save the country money, but when asked how he would end the war and secure the Strait of Hormuz, Mr. Jackson had no answer.
“Iran controlled [the Strait] before [the war] and the places anywhere near it,” Mr. Jackson told Ms. Bash.
“No, they didn’t — it was open,” Ms. Bash corrected him.
“Well, Iran had the ability to do what they’ve done before we started bombing them, and things were fine. I’m sure if we move out of Iran, things will stabilize, and prices will probably go down,” Mr. Jackson replied.
In other words, we should lean on Iran’s goodwill to restore global oil markets.
Mr. Jackson has no idea what he is talking about, from “Medicare for All” to the Iran war. He gives no indication that he is qualified for the U.S. Senate seat, especially when the alternative is Republican moderate Sen. Susan M. Collins, who has helped bring nearly $1.5 billion in investment to Maine since 2021.
In each of their four debates, Ms. Collins had to explain to Mr. Jackson just how the government that he wants to represent actually works.
Then there is Democrat Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota. She wants a promotion to U.S. senator after serving as second-in-command to Gov. Tim Walz, during which the two oversaw what federal prosecutors estimate was $9 billion in taxpayer funds lost to fraud across various state-administered social services and federal programs.
In the heist that Mr. Walz and Ms. Flanagan allowed to take place, dozens of individuals, mostly of Somali descent, looted taxpayers out of approximately $250 million intended for child food assistance alone, the country’s largest pandemic relief fraud scheme.
Now, Ms. Flanagan is asking Minnesotans for permission to put out the fire that she started. Republican opponent Michele Tafoya has pointed this out and has vowed to tackle government corruption, regardless of political party.
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed is potentially a national security threat. He seems to sympathize with the Muslim Brotherhood, as our pages have thoroughly documented. Although he does not identify as a Democratic Socialists of America candidate, he has certainly aligned with many of the organization’s policy positions, which include defunding the police, abolishing ICE, supporting “Medicare for All,” phasing out fossil fuels and having a real hatred for Israel.
When asked which country, Israel or Iran, was a greater threat to the U.S., he argued that both nations have proved dangerous.
His Senate opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers, has said that Mr. El-Sayed’s refusal to distinguish Israel, an American ally, from Iran, the world’s No. 1 state sponsor of terrorism, is “utterly disqualifying.” I agree.
In Texas, Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico called God “nonbinary” and asserted that there are “many more than two biological sexes” during 2021 Texas House floor debates, and described the American flag as a “complicated symbol” during a podcast appearance.
When asked on the “Superbloom” podcast in 2023 what he loved outside of his family and close friends, Mr. Talarico replied: “I love — and I’m just going to say this because it’s on my mind — the trans children who showed up yesterday at the state Capitol to advocate for their humanity.”
As part of the Texas Legislature, Mr. Talarico voted against a state law that banned gender transition medical treatments — including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormone therapy and surgeries — for minors. His views are radical for most of America, to say nothing of the Lone Star State.
When pressed, Democrats running for office this cycle have no solution to the affordability crisis other than more government spending. That was tried during the Biden administration and led to annual inflation spiking to a 40-year high of 9.1%.
All the Democratic candidates share the desire for lax immigration enforcement, which will lead to America losing its cultural identity. Most have called for defunding the police, which was tried after 2020’s “Summer of Love,” leading to increased crime and lawlessness.
All believe in some variation of the Green New Deal, which will raise gas prices.
Yes, frustrations are running high, but the Democrats’ proposed solutions to your problems will not solve them. They will only make things worse. Their record proves it.
• Kelly Sadler is the commentary editor at the Washington Times.
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