Affordability Isn’t a “Silver Bullet” for Democrats | The New Republic
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Affordability Isn’t a “Silver Bullet” for Democrats

Political analysts Brian Beutler and Will Stancil say that Democrats may be overemphasizing affordability, in the same way they once assumed that health care fights would always deliver them electoral victories.

You can watch this episode of Right Now With Perry Bacon above or by following this show on YouTube or Substack.

Democrats are increasingly discussing affordability and blaming high costs of goods on President Trump. But Brian Beutler and Will Stancil, two liberal political commentators, say the Democrats shouldn’t be too confident about this messaging. In the latest episode of Right Now, they argue that affordability is a slippery concept. It’s not clear, in their view, exactly what Americans think costs too much or how Democrats would bring down those prices if they were in charge. Beutler and Stancil argue that Democrats are surging politically not because of high costs alone but because of a broader backlash to Trump. Democrats should move away from an economic-centric perspective and spend more time studying the cultural, social, and media factors affecting American politics, they say.