In an exclusive interview with IRNA, Myles Hoenig who is a political analyst and activist and a former Green Party candidate for Congress said on Sunday that the Democratic Party usually loses elections because of its way of handling economic hardships.
A new Rasmussen poll indicates that 61 American respondents believe Biden’s policies ended up in more inflation and 83% of them see inflation as a critical issue in November elections.
According to the poll, about nine out of 10 potential voters in the US are concerned about the inflation rise, and four out of five voters believe that inflation is an important issue in the midterm congressional elections.
Myles Hoenig is of the opinion that both the democratic and republican parties do not have any solution to the current economic problems in the US, which can be acceptable for their financial supporters.
Problems in the procurement of goods, the Ukraine war, and inflation are biting the American society and they experience the highest level of inflation in the last 40 years.
The complete interview with the American analyst and activist is as follows:
IRNA: In the Republican primaries, in two states 22 Trump-backed candidates won the nomination for the midterm elections. Do you think that the Republican Party has effectively become a Trump party? What is the role of the center-right in the party?
Hoenig: The center-right of the Republican Party is rapidly diminishing, being replaced by a vast majority of the elected Democrats if you can even call them ‘center’. Both sides play the game of ‘left’ vs right when there is no left in US politics. It is a class division and no one in Congress really speaks to those who have no authority or power. One would think of the Squad, and Sanders, but they still vote to protect NATO, expand our military empire, elect leaders who oppose Medicare for All and student loan forgiveness, etc. The Republican Party has shown a clear move toward fascism with all the elements of misogyny, Christian fanaticism, and as always, beholden unto the corporations’ bottom line, never the plight of the working class. But the latter also goes for the Democratic Party, as well.
For now, it is a Trump party. He rules the roost. Also, there is some slippage but Republican candidates still line up at Mar-a-Lago to kiss his ring, looking for his endorsement, even those who have been vocally opposed to him in the past, McCarthy, and Graham being prime examples.
We will see by the end of the Republican primaries how effective he is in moving the needle, but even with losses, Trump can spin it as the Republican (RINO) establishment going against the will of the people, his people. If his candidates should win, then we’d have to see if their fanaticism holds until the November election.
IRNA: How does the rise of Trumpists and the lingering issues related to January 6, 2021 influence the Republican Party in the 2022 midterm elections?
Hoenig: The January 6th Insurrection is an embarrassment for the Republican Party as its leadership’s statements immediately afterward are coming back to haunt them. Only the die-hard lunatics of the party and Trump-supported candidates are spouting the Big Lie that Biden stole the election. That the two parties steal the right of the full political expression of all potential voters is for another matter.
For their primaries, it’s a winning issue, but in November things are likely to change. Yet it is an issue for the Democrats to paint their opponents as completely off the wall, the lunatic fringe in our democracy, and extremely dangerous.
We have yet to have any public hearings on the insurrection, but that will not likely sway anyone to the other side. It is more likely to solidify positions as it will become very political.
IRNA: What are the most important challenges facing the Democratic Party and the Biden administration in the midterm elections of the US Congress? And do you think that the progressive wing of the party, led by Sanders would seek to challenge the mainstream democrats in the upcoming elections?
Hoenig: While the biennial mantra for Democratic voters is ‘this is the most important election in your lifetime, the mantra for elected members of Congress is ‘now is not the time’. The first mantra is accurate. Since the Democrats deliver so little, the more effective Republican Party sets the agenda and has done so for decades. Each election cycle emphasizes the rightward direction the government is going but never does the Democratic Party accept the responsibility of allowing it to happen, by design and/or weakness. The progressive wing of the party simply espouses rhetoric, as they don’t push for any real progressive legislation. One main example is Medicare for All, something the majority of Americans want and what the Squad ran on. When the moment came, a put up or shut up moment, for a vote to be on the record, the Squad deferred to the anti-Medicare for All leadership and did not propose it. They would have lost, but it would have put their colleagues on record. It would have been a first. Another matter that progressives would fight for would be the dismantling of NATO or at least US disinvolvement in it. The Squad chose to vote to keep the US in NATO, playing to the Russophobia that has swept the Democratic Party since the 2016 election, when they scapegoated Russia for Hillary Clinton being the only person who could have lost to Trump. Even Biden was able to defeat Trump (in 2020). For the Squad, and for most Democrats, it’s never the time to move towards a progressive agenda.
IRNA: A recent NBC poll has found that 63% of those surveyed disapproved of Biden’s handling of the economy, which is a 20-point increase in a year. Do you think inflation can help Republicans in the midterm elections? Do Republicans and Democrats have a clear agenda to address and solve the economic issues, beyond their election rhetoric?
Hoenig: Elections, even Congressional elections, are usually won on bread-and-butter issues. Our economy is growing- but for the corporations. Unemployment is down, but so are wages. There is no state in the Union where one can afford a two-bedroom apartment or house rental on the states’ differing minimum wages. The party in power usually loses over this issue, unless there’s a war going on and the US electorate is always behind the party at war, even if there is opposition.
Neither party has an answer that would be acceptable to their donors so the Republicans, for their part, play the culture war abortion, critical race theory, Christian fanaticism, etc. We’ll see how effective this will be this time around as even they are getting too extreme for the average voter.
IRNA: Can the repeal of the abortion law help Democrats in the midterms?
Hoenig: In every biennial election the party in power usually loses, big. Up until now, there was no likelihood of this changing, although the Senate is not a guaranteed switch. Like each side looks for an October surprise, the leak of the Supreme Court decision on abortion could very well be that one issue that motivates more Democrats to come out and vote than Republicans who support abortion restrictions, even though they are a minority, even within their party. It’s always a GOTV effort (Get Out the Vote) that wins or loses an election. Hard-core, anti-women rights candidates are likely to win in the Republican Primaries, as the most loyal and die-hard members show for these elections.
There is very little that President Biden is doing that would motivate his supporters to come out and that’s why this leak is so monumental in its likely impact on the voters. He has abandoned his campaign pledges, not surprisingly as most Democrats do that. He may like to pretend he’s that scruffy guy from Scranton, identifying with the working class, but he was always part of the corporate establishment working against the working class. As a Senator, he was known as the Junior Senator from MBNA. (a previously named bank headquartered in his state of Delaware). He may have a photo op with Christian Smalls, leader of the Amazon union workers, but his policies are anything but pro-union, much like his predecessor Obama who took a very hands-off approach to union organizing and rights, in spite of his campaign promises.
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