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Republicans have a chance to retake the US House and Senate in November’s midterm elections.
According to a recent poll, eight in 10 Americans rate the economy as “only fair” or “poor,” and more than two-thirds say the economy is getting worse, not better.
Today, About: We sit down with conservative voters in three key states to hear what they think and motivate them to vote.
Guests
Bill Pooleworks in sales for a local radio group.
Michel Logue, corporal who served in Iraq with the 3rd Battalion 25th Marines. Administrator of Union Township in Clermont County, Ohio.
Lupe Harper, owner of a Tex-Mex restaurant in Erie, Michigan.
Interview Highlights: Conservative Voters Reflect on Issues Shaping Their Vote
Inflation
Michel Logue“Is that guiding my vote specifically? No, not necessarily. Is that something I’ve focused on? Absolutely. in the country and what it’s done to the American middle class, sadly, that is all we expected from the presidency and administration of Joe Biden.
“And…he’s a transitional president who’s gone from record highs in the economy to record lows. A record high in making our communities and our cities safer, to more crime and violence. And so, c It’s all about talking to our constituents, and our constituents and our Ohioans that we recognize when we see this.
“It’s now that when you go to the store and do your grocery shopping, your grocery bill now looks like a utility bill. Your utility bill now looks like a mortgage. Your mortgage, I mean, people can’t even buy houses anymore. And now you’re creating a rental class of Americans. And it’s disturbing, the direction this country is going and what’s being allowed to do to destroy the middle class.
Bill Pool: “The economy and inflation is probably the #1 problem for most people in the upcoming election. And kind of going back to what Michael said, I agree that a lot of our problems come from not only from the Biden administration, but from the composition I mean, from the Biden side, the policies of reducing government land available for oil production, creating a lot of bureaucracy for government leases, eliminating offshore, ending to the XL pipeline.
“These are all contributors to the problem of the economy, because fuel prices have gone up. And then the legislature and the administration together poured billions of dollars into the economy. I think, a lot of that was And that’s just simple economics 101. No more dollars to run, no more products or services And, you know, that’s inflation.
“And then you add to that middle class people whose 401(k)s have been cut by more than 20% or more. I think there’s a lot of us. If we weren’t talking about anything else, I think that’s is enough to piss people off, not just conservatives.”
Lupe Harper: “Inflation 100% guides me and how I vote. My company has always guided me how I vote. And personally, my faith too. How it affected me is very difficult at this time of maintaining margins, profit margins. The only reason we have those is because of the impact of labor on the business. So it’s been very difficult for the last three years.
On Congressional Policy and Action
Bill Pool: “I’m going back to pumping money into the economy that isn’t needed. But also just deficit spending. And I’m putting the blame on the feet of Democrats and Republicans. Our fiscal responsibility seems to have just disappeared. There are a handful of conservative congressmen and senators talking about it and paying attention.
“But the number of those is tiny compared to our politicians who are willing to go wild, to spend our money. And in my opinion, to do so, in some cases irresponsibly. And certainly in very many cases ineffectively. saying that’s the first thing I’d like to see. And frankly, I don’t see that happening even after the mid-terms.
Michel Logue: “The spending packages… A $1.9 trillion spending package went through reconciliation. It wasn’t bipartisan. It was done in the first two months or so of the Biden administration, while $900 billion of CARES Act funding in November of 2020 under President Trump was still being executed, still not being spent There was so much money pumped into the system that it was not being executed, it was not spent.
“But there were basically special spending programs and cuts to that $1.9 trillion spending that went through reconciliation, not a bipartisan approach. That was the jet fuel to start kickstarting the rapid inflation that we’ve seen. The other thing is that clip you played there, it’s blaming it on Putin.
“‘Putin’s price hike is the reason.’ It’s changing. It’s just shifting the blame. It comes in and cuts the Keystone pipeline, day one it comes in and makes it more regulated, bureaucracy for American families and businesses and energy sectors to actually produce We were energy independent, which has a double benefit on what we do as a country and on our economy within our own country, bringing inflation down and effectively having deflation. also gives us bargaining power.
Lupe Harper: “I’m not sure about Congress, but I’m okay with the spending that’s happened. I’ve seen it in business. Yeah, some of us needed it. Others didn’t. didn’t understand. But I see a lot of expenses in other areas. For example, the border areas. I don’t understand where all this money comes from, to house these people, to transport these people. I don’t understand why it has not been stopped or reduced.
On Trump’s support
Michel Logue“If he runs again in four years, he can bring America back…rebuild it a third time.” Because right now, nothing is built, nothing has come back, nothing is better. is, if he chooses not to run, we have a deep, deep bench of people like Governor Ron DeSantis, Tom Cotton. I mean, it goes deep. And so the Trump effect is real.
“You even hear Congressman Ruben Gallego in Arizona talk about wanting to be more like Trump and pushing back. Senate and the White House, and they didn’t deliver for their constituents. They did not deliver for their constituents on their salaries. They didn’t deliver on their security. They did not deliver.
Lupe Harper: “I would say that’s not a factor in whether I vote for the candidate or not. I find it amusing, however, that people give Trump so much credit for supporting these candidates when there’s so much against Trump. And yet he has this influence, this positive influence on the support for these people. A lot of other negative things that have come out against him, I don’t see them anymore.
“Where are they? And were they real? And so I don’t know if people saw further. And so he has a positive influence on these things. And I didn’t mean it was funny, but I think it’s a good thing that he obviously has some influence. And all the negative relationships that he’s supposedly involved in, people don’t look at that, obviously, from what’s going on.
Bill Pool: “Me personally, it may not have as big of an impact as it does for some conservative voters. But to answer the question, you know, Trump has tremendous influence. He was in North Carolina recently supporting our candidate for the Senate, Ted Budd. And he you know, all you have to do is look at what the current administration and what the bureaucrats, the militarization of the DOJ and the FBI. You wouldn’t make that kind of effort to prosecuting someone if they weren’t the absolute Democrat’s nightmare. … I don’t like his style, but I like what he does politically, how he defends himself and his politics.”
