In the aftermath of the recent midterm elections, prognosticating and polls were anything but accurate. The election was touted to be such a big win for Republicans, it would resemble a red wave or tsunami heading for Washington in January, 2023.
The red wave prediction was not without precedent. In past years the ruling party always suffers losses during the midterms, possibly because the pendulum of politics in the past has always moved from one side to another. Obama lost 63 House seats in 2010, while Trump lost 43 seats eight years later. To add to the confusion, the troubles the country are facing: economically, religiously, culturally and politically. It was assumed by the pundits those important factors would lead the majority of voters to reject the policies of the Democratic party.
As the vote counts come in, the Democrats can celebrate even though they lost the majority in the House of Representatives. The Democrats over preformed in Senate and Gubernatorial contests. Obviously, the country did not reject their message wholesale, as was predicted.
You can’t help but scratch your head and wonder how Catholics and Christians vote for a party which openly tells voters they want to kill babies in the womb and even after birth. It’s inconceivable how voters turn a blind eye to a candidate who is not cognitively able to hold the position of a United States Senator. It’s hard to believe the majority of the country are not outraged by child mutilation and the sexualization of the nation’s innocent children. It’s hard to explain how the middle class already struggling to buy gasoline and groceries could even think about voting for a party which will continue the assault on the middle class by policies aimed at defunding them. It’s hard to imagine how voters are OK with the rise of crime in their communities and the debacle happening on the southern border.
A post mortem will be done by the Republican Party, and there will be a lot of reasons as to what might have gone wrong. Trump will be blamed as well as questionable candidates and other reasons will surface as well. The consultants will submit their reports and forward their invoices posthaste. Through all of it, the most glaring point will never be addressed—The Inflation Proof Voter.
It was once said elections are all about the economy—stupid. The adage still holds true as it did in 1992. In order for so many people to vote against their Christian beliefs; ignore inflation; hope violence will not affect their family; accept a loss of personal freedom and the harming of children, money must play a pivotal role. The group in the country in which the economy does not take a severe toll are the civil servants who enjoy a level of security not found in the private sector. As a side bar, not one of these employees suffered financially during COVID as did many of their fellow citizens.
When you consider how many people employed in the country are part of the public payroll both federally and locally, the number is huge and growing (remember the 87,000 new IRS agents). Even though there are defund police sentiments out there, there is no talk ever about defunding other civil servant jobs. These employees are paid by the government and their pensions are assured. Those employees do not have to rely on IRAs for their future financial security as does the employee in the private sector.
Along with future security, the increased cost of living due to inflation will be paid to these governmental employees, making their livelihoods somewhat inflation proof. When your paycheck and pension is tied to the “giving” government, you might just disregard your principles for a while in lieu of a sure thing. Why do you think the national teachers’ unions financially support only the Democratic party? Adding to the problem are all the other unions who are in lock step with the Democrats with the same reasons listed above.
To add credence to the argument, take a look at the state maps and notice that in most toss up states, the blue voters in urban areas far outweigh the red. The opposite is true in more rural areas of these states. Urban areas have a greater amount of the population which equates to more governmental paid jobs.
It would appear a good number of voters are dedicated to big government because it is directly linked to their ability to make a living. If the Republicans wish to stay relevant and win over new voters to shrink the government, then they must take seriously the inflation proof voters and convince them an election is more than an economic issue.