March 21, 2022
Permission to republish original opeds and cartoons granted.
37 percent of Democrats, 62 percent of Independents say America is on the wrong track, signaling discontent with Biden and Congress ahead of midterms
By Robert Romano
37 percent of Democrats and 62 percent of Independents say America is on the wrong track, according to the latest Reuters-Ipsos poll conducted from March 14 to March 15, signaling strong discontent among Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters headed into the Nov. 2022 Congressional midterms.
And that’s bad news for President Joe Biden, who continues to languish with very low approval ratings—averaging just 40.8 percent approval and a whopping 54.8 percent disapproval in the latest average of polls taken by RealClearPolitics.com.
In the last two Congressional midterm cycles of 2018 and 2014, former Presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama were similarly registering discontent in the Reuters-Ipsos poll on the question of right-track, wrong-track.
In March 2018, 26 percent of Republicans and 67 percent of Independents said the country was on the wrong track. Trump and Republicans went on to lose 42 seats in the House of Representatives, but picked up two seats in the Senate, keeping control there.
Similarly, in April 2014, 39 percent of Democrats—Independents were mentioned in this poll—said the country was on the wrong track. Obama and Democrats went on to lose 12 seats in the House of Representatives and nine seats in and control of the Senate.
So, what we are seeing in 2022 matches pretty well with prior administrations’ performances in polls leading up to Congressional midterms. Whenever one party claims the White House, members of the opposite party will immediately begin telling pollsters that the country is on the wrong track. Republicans will generally oppose the direction of the country when a Democrat is in the White House, and vice versa.
Normally, in midterm elections dating back to 1906 through 2018, the party that occupies the White House usually loses on average 31 seats in the House, and about three seats in the Senate. If that happens, Republicans will easily reclaim Congress this year.
But where the difference is made in terms of Congressional midterms, certainly how passionate the opposition party is about voting certainly makes a difference, but also how disaffected members of the incumbent party are — which consistently results in them staying home when it comes time to vote. The degree of disaffection determines how badly the incumbent party tends to lose in the midterms.
And with 7.9 percent inflation that appears destined to go double digits, the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan that left hundreds of American citizens who are still stranded in the country and a failed legislative agenda that included not much else than trillions of dollars of too much spending, that disaffection will continue to cast a long shadow all the way to November.
Robert Romano is the Vice President of Public Policy at Americans for Limited Government.
Video: Fed's reaction to inflation suggests recession and hard economic times may lie ahead
To view online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikcqt0vLOxk
ALG urges HHS Secretary Becerra to follow the No Surprises Act law
March 18, 2022, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to follow the terms of the No Surprises Act law after a federal judge struck the down the law’s implementation:
“Secretary Becerra and the Biden administration sided with big insurance companies by using the rulemaking process to turn the bipartisan No Surprises Act into government price controls by another name. Thanks to Becerra’s incompetence, a federal court threw out those rules and told HHS to go back to the drawing board to implement the law the way Congress intended. Any lawmaker who supported the No Surprises Act should be furious that Becerra tried to turn it into a giveaway to insurers by adopting price controls that would shut down rural hospitals and make it harder for patients to see a doctor when they need one.”
To view online: https://getliberty.org/2022/03/alg-urges-hhs-secretary-becerra-to-follow-the-no-surprises-act-law/
ALG Editor’s Note: In the following featured commentary from Fox Business’ Larry Kudlow, the Biden administration is ignoring sanctions on Russia when it comes to their role in mediating the Iran nuclear deal:
Larry Kudlow: Just when you think the Biden insanity can't get any worse, they disprove you on Iran nuke deal
By Larry Kudlow
Just when you think the Biden insanity can't get any worse, they disprove you. Now comes Iran.
The Bidens are apparently about to make a deal with one of America's greatest enemies, Iran. They also happen to be Israel's greatest enemy. Israel is America's greatest ally in the Middle East, maybe in the whole world, but the Bidens don't believe that. They'd rather choose Iran over Israel. They'd rather choose Iran over Saudi Arabia.
The Saudis have a checkered story to be sure, but by and large they are an American ally in the Middle East. They won't return Biden's begging-for-oil phone calls because the Bidens turned their backs on Saudi Arabia by looking the other way as the Iranian-backed Houthis wage war in Yemen.
The Iranians proudly chant "Death to America" and "Death to Israel." So naturally, the Biden administration, perhaps conducting the worst foreign policy in the history of the U.S., decided to back Iran with this Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, known as the JCPOA.
The Iranians of course lie, cheat, and steal about their nuclear development. They won't let the UN or anyone else inspect key areas and of course, their Revolutionary Guard Military Arm that basically runs the country is the biggest backer of terrorism in the Middle East. Think Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthis.
So of course, in the middle of the Russia-Ukraine war, after Biden finally declared Putin a war criminal yesterday, after President Zelenskyy begged Biden to be a true leader of the free world, the Biden administration is rushing pell-mell to finish this Iran deal while nobody is really looking at it.
There is so much secrecy surrounding this, but I am going to speculate on a couple of reports.
First, the Washington Free Beacon, which claims it got ahold of Russian and Iranian documents, is reporting a $10 billion carve out of Russian sanctions that will permit a Russian construction company to build a nuclear site in Iran. The $10 billion would come by unfreezing Iranian assets in some South Korean and Japanese banks.
I like the Free Beacon. I can't confirm all of this, but I will quote State Department spokesman Ned Price, who said on Tuesday, "We, of course, would not sanction Russian participation in nuclear projects that are part of resuming full implementation of the JCPOA."
But, Mr. Price, why wouldn't we sanction the Russians? We're sanctioning them in Ukraine, because the Russian president is a war criminal and his military machine is committing crimes against humanity, but we're going to let him build a nuclear reactor, in Iran?
I think we all have to process this thought, because it is beyond insanity. It is unbelievable, but Price said it, so there must be something there. Hat's off to the Free Beacon. There are other reports that an additional $11 billion in frozen assets will be unfrozen and shipped to Iran in return for four hostages, which of course provides an incentive to take more hostages, but actually, if these reports are true, in round numbers, the U.S. will be providing more financial assistance to Iran than to the Ukraine.
You would say, that's not possible. I would say that's not possible. We would both say this is an incredible story.
Press secretary Madame Psaki argued that an Iranian deal is in our national security interests. In fact, she said it's in the security interests of the whole world.
Right, those freedom-loving, democracy-cherishing, peaceful-living Iranians are going to save the world. Right, Madame Psaki? Right, President Biden?
Here's the final insult. Even though this would be a treaty, which should be debated in advance of the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate, the Bidens are going to try and go around the Senate just the way Obama-Biden did for the first Iranian deal in 2015. So, let's bust the Constitution while we're embracing one of the most destructive terrorist countries in the world.
My god, the cavalry better get here soon. That's my riff.
To view online: https://www.foxbusiness.com/media/kudlow-just-you-think-biden-insanity-cant-get-any-worse-they-disprove-you