DV Journal

You can’t watch TV without seeing a commercial from Sen. Bob Casey Jr. blaming inflation on corporations with “Greedflation” and “Shrinkflation” as the catchwords.

However, a new report is debunking Democrats Casey and President Joe Biden, who also uses the terms. According to the report from Americans for Prosperity, Casey has “cherrypicked” the data and does not account for corporate expenses before calculating profits.

The report, “The Bidenflation Blame Game: How Big-Spending Politicians Scapegoat Business,” by Kurt Couchman, AFP senior fellow in fiscal policy, andAFP Economic Policy Analyst Ilana Blumsack, lays the blame for inflation squarely on government spending rather than lawmakers’ businesses for higher prices or downsizing products.

Couchman told DVJournal “Congress and the White House need to get the spending and the debt under control. That is the urgent requirement for getting inflation and interest rates back under control. We need Congress to get serious about fixing the budgeting.”

Congress spent a lot and borrowed a lot during the pandemic and immediately afterward.

“And, of course, there had been rising deficits before that, but the pandemic spending splurge, all borrowed money, really drove up the debt,” said Couchman. “The Federal Reserve had to buy a lot of that debt. And then, it was the American Rescue Plan Act, $1.9 trillion of new borrowed spending, when the Democrats took control of everything that was the metaphorical straw that broke the camel’s back. That’s when we saw inflation immediately in March 2021, when they passed that thing, and then they kept building on it. They kept spending more and more money that we didn’t have. So that added to the inflationary fire.”

“The Biden administration approved $6 trillion in new debt,” he said.  In addition to the American Rescue Plan, there were the Inflation Reduction Act and the Chips Act.

“And it only cooled off when Republicans gained enough seats to win control of the House of Representatives,” Couchman added.

As for Casey and Biden’s contention that the blame for inflation lies with greedy corporations, Couchman said that is not true.

His report shows corporate profits have remained relatively stable.

“Sen. Casey from Pennsylvania had claimed corporate profits were driving inflation over the last couple of years,” said Couchman. Casey’s November 2023 inflation report “just didn’t pass the smell test,” he said. “I looked at his methodology, and he used some funny timing. He looked at the second quarter of 2020, which was when the economy was pretty much locked down. And then compared it to two years after when we had basically recovered. And it turned out that he used a measure that wasn’t actually corporate profits because it excluded a bunch of really significant expenses, and profits are revenues minus costs.”

When you factor that in, “you see that corporate profits have only grown along with the broader economy,” said Couchman.

Casey did not respond to a request for comment.

Nate Sizemore, a spokesman for Casey’s Republican opponent, Dave McCormick, said, “Bob Casey is grasping at straws to distract voters from the truth. He rubber-stamped trillions in wasteful federal spending, fueling the war on energy, and creating the sky-high inflation crushing Pennsylvania families. Come November 5, voters across the commonwealth will hold Casey accountable for his disastrous economic record.”

AFP Regional Director Ashley Klingensmith said, “Real leaders own up to their failures when they’re wrong. What we’re seeing from members of Congress—including my senator, Bob Casey—is an immature and deceptive excuse to cover up a lousy voting record. Sen. Casey and many other lawmakers have voted in lockstep with President Biden but aren’t willing to own the consequences, apologize, or change course. But we at AFP-PA will ensure that Pennsylvanians know his voting record and encourage them to call his office and tell him to stop voting for an agenda that’s actively hurting the Keystone State.”

Couchman said there are major ramifications since the country’s debt is now nearly 100 percent of the gross domestic production (GDP).

“It’s estimated by the International Monetary Fund and others that somewhere between 70 and 80 percent of GDP is when debt drag starts to happen,” he said. “We’re at about 100 percent of GDP.” This could slow economic growth because “the government debt is crowding out the private sector.”  And people are starting to worry about whether the federal government can pay its “timely interest in principle on the debt,” causing uncertainty.

The housing market is already affected by higher interest rates on mortgages, credit cards, and car loans.

All this came from “too much spending, which came from bad decisions by Congress and the president,” he said.

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President Joe Biden released a letter Monday saying he would ignore calls to give up his campaign for a second term and stay the course.

“I wouldn’t be running again if I did not absolutely believe I was the best person to beat Donald Trump in 2024,” the 81-year-old incumbent wrote, noting with nearly 3,900 delegates, he is the “presumptive nominee of our party by a wide margin.”

The calls from members of his own party for him to leave the fray came after a calamitous debate performance last month.

Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Montgomery) is among those who are standing by the president, appearing with him at a Black church in Philadelphia on Sunday.

In her remarks at that church, Dean called Biden “an amazing man.”

“Take a look at what has been accomplished under this president. And I can tell you close up, and personally, the contrast couldn’t be greater.  I served two years before you became president with the former guy. They were very dark days in our country. We cannot go back.  It would only be worse,” said Dean.

“Democracy is on the line. There’s no greater patriot than Joe Biden to serve us,” Dean said.

Rep. Susan Wild (D-Lehigh) disagrees. She has been among those ready to throw the elderly president overboard in favor of a more electable candidate as Biden’s sinking poll numbers might influence her own reelection chances.

A poll sponsored by Democrats for the Next Generation and conducted by Emerson College in the days immediately following the first presidential debate shows Biden losing to Trump in each of the six swing states by an average of 9.4 percent of the candidates’ vote count, or four percentage points of the total votes. That poll showed Biden is down 5 percent against Trump in Pennsylvania 43 to 48 percent.

A Commonwealth poll showed Biden has a 55 percent disapproval rating among state residents.

In his latest newsletter, Franklin & Marshall College poll director Berwood Yost calls it the “Democrats’ dilemma.”

“Last fall, 41 percent of Pennsylvania’s voters thought President Biden was too old to serve another term, compared to 4 percent who thought Mr. Trump was too old and 43 percent who thought they were both too old. That sentiment was unchanged throughout the early phases of the campaign, and it is difficult to imagine it has improved since the debate,” Yost wrote.

“There is no right answer, and I’m not in any way calling for a particular outcome,” he told DVJournal. “I simply wanted to point out the issues confronting the president and his party. We haven’t polled on any other candidates yet, so we can’t be sure how a change would affect the race, which is what makes a change risky.”

Long-time Democratic consultant T.J. Rooney believes Dean is on the right track.

“Early in my service in the General Assembly, an older member suggested the most successful politicians knew that ‘Every private thought doesn’t require a public utterance.’ I believe that’s true in this case,” said Rooney. “Nobody in the Pennsylvania delegation should be among the early voices calling for the President to step aside. Most people, at least at this juncture, don’t care what the members think. Why in the world would we be eager or quick to turn on ‘one of our own’?

“Rep Wild is particularly troublesome in that both the President and First Lady have traveled to the Lehigh Valley to help her out. I assume they won’t be doing that anymore,” Rooney added pointedly.

Not surprisingly, Republicans see things differently.

David Winkler, Dean’s opponent, said, “Madeline Dean seems more focused on maintaining temporary power than prioritizing the well-being of all Americans. She lacks credibility on this subject when she avoids addressing our campaign’s call to debate, denying the people the opportunity to hear from both candidates on crucial issues.

“President Biden deserves a peaceful retirement and quality time with his family. Advancing age is impeding his ability to lead effectively. It is concerning to witness what appears to be neglect or exploitation of his elderly status by the Democrat elite,” Winkler added.

State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-Lower Macungie), who is challenging Wild, said, “It’s time for Susan Wild to tell the truth. While the American people are worrying about President Biden’s ability to do the job, Susan Wild is worrying about her political future. On a call with fellow Democratic representatives, Wild worried aloud about her own electability as a result of Biden’s unfitness for office. This comes after months of assurances from Susan Wild that President Biden was in great shape and requests that we ‘trust’ her about that.”

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Calls of “We love you, President Biden,” filled Mount Airy Church of God in Christ in Philadelphia as the president made a campaign swing to Pennsylvania on Sunday.

Some Democrats called for Biden to bow out of the race in the wake of a disastrous performance in the debate against former President Donald Trump last month. However, on July 7, Biden visited a Black church in Philadelphia hoping to showcase his continued strength among African American voters.

Biden, who lived in Scranton before moving to Delaware when he was 10, considers Pennsylvania his second home and has come to Philadelphia often, including eight visits this year.

Biden was supposed to speak at the National Education Association annual conference in Philadelphia on Sunday. But Biden’s campaign cancelled that event after the NEA’s own unionized employees filed unfair labor practices complaints over how the teachers union treats its own employees. Biden would have had to cross a picket line, so the campaign sent him to a friendlier forum.

The 538 poll average on July 7 showed Trump leads Biden by 3.2 points in Pennsylvania despite all those visits.

Biden thanked the pastor, Bishop J. Louis Felton, and the congregation for welcoming him.

“It’s good to be home,” said Biden. “I got my start as a public defender in the civil rights movement.”

“Our purpose is to serve others,” Biden said. “That’s our purpose. To know everyone is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect, to know faith without works is dead. We’re all called to be doers of the world.”

“In this nation, that means keeping our eyes on the north star, the very idea of America,” Biden said. “We’re all created equal in the image of God. And deserve to be created with dignity and respect our entire lives. We’ve never fully lived up to that. But we’ve never fully walked away from it either. That’s because of you and generations before you who led the church from slavery to freedom.”

Biden mentioned his accomplishments in dealing with the pandemic, having the lowest Black unemployment, and his plans to “make housing affordable.”

Along with ensuring “you can follow your dreams without the burden of student debt.”

“To keep our communities safe by getting weapons of war off our streets,” he said. “To give hate no safe harbor.  While there are those who want to erase history, Kamala and I want to make it. Black history is American history.”

“I’ve been doing this a long time, honest to God I’m never more optimistic about America’s future if we stick together,” he said. “We must unite America again. That’s my goal. And may God bless our troops,” he said.

Some Democratic politicians, including Sen. Bob Casey Jr., Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, and Congresswoman Madeleine Dean, attended the church service as well. Dean travelled with Biden on both of his Pennsylvania stops Sunday, as did one of the president’s most loyal supporters, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman.

“There is only one person in the country that’s ever kicked Trump’s ass in an election —and that is your president,” Fetterman said. “He’s going to do it twice.”

Kenyatta, who is running for auditor general, said, “Joe Biden has delivered for Pennsylvania. Now we have to deliver for him and Democrats up and down the ballot to beat back the radical Project 2025 agenda of Donald Trump and Republicans.”

“Yesterday, Joe Biden couldn’t even be bothered to shake the hand of a Black supporter in the crowd, but today he’s continuing his minority pandering tour in Pennsylvania where his approval rating has dropped to 33 percent.  Clearly, Black voters are no longer buying the desperate and disingenuous faux outreach from Democrats,” said Janiyah Thomas,  director of Team Trump Black Media.

Republican Dave McCormick, an Army veteran running against Casey, said on X, “Today, Bob Casey is campaigning with President Biden in PA. Biden is not capable of serving as our Commander-in-Chief, and Casey knows it — he will lie all the way thru Election Day if he thinks it will help him win.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley said, “Joe Biden only has 33 percent approval in the Keystone State because his policies have failed Pennsylvania families. From crippling inflation and housing prices that are making life unaffordable to police shortages and deadly fentanyl that are making communities less safe, it’s no wonder why Pennsylvania voters are lining up to Make America Great Again by supporting President Trump.”

“Short visits in front of overwhelmingly friendly groups are not going to alleviate the concerns the American people have about Biden’s ability to do the job – let alone run for another term,” said Christian Nascimento, chair of the Montgomery County GOP.

Casey was also with Biden to an ice social rally near Harrisburg later Sunday. His campaign did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday.

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As Pennsylvanians get ready to watch the first presidential debate Thursday night, they’re being treated to scary anti-immigration ads that castigate President Joe Biden over his open border policy, saying it’s led to the deaths of American women.

Conservative nonprofit Building American’s Future (BAF) says the ads are running in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, as well as Pennsylvania.

The ad campaign, “Joe Biden’s open border—a nightmare for American women,” tells the story of how an illegal immigrant who was already wanted for murder was released into the U.S. by the Biden administration. He allegedly went on to kill Maryland mother of five Rachel Morin.

The video ad anchoring the buy, entitled “Again,” closes by saying: “Rachel Morin. Laken Riley. And countless others. They should be alive. Joe Biden’s open border — a nightmare for American women.”

“Again” tells how the immigrant from El Salvador allegedly raped and killed Morin, leaving five children without their mother. Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez was charged last week. Morin had been on a run when she met her demise.

“Again,” a 60-second digital ad, follows “Run,”  Building America’s Future’s viral ad featuring Laken Riley, who was also jogging when she was killed by an illegal immigrant. “Run” aired during Biden’s State of the Union address. “Run” garnered even more attention after CNN refused to air it. It was the only major cable news network that refused to air it.

The media buy also includes mobile billboards and 2D projections on famous buildings displaying portions of the ad in major metro areas of Atlanta, Greensboro, N.C., and Philadelphia. The paid media campaign around the debate runs from June 26 – 28 and will total more than $200,000.

Polls show Biden is vulnerable on the border chaos issue. A Morning Consult poll released earlier this month found former President Donald Trump with a 7-point advantage over Biden on who voters trust more to handle immigration. Among independents, Trump has a 22-point lead.

”These ads reinforce what almost all of us know: our southern border is wide open and too many of the people who snuck in have no regard for our laws or our lives,” said Guy Ciarrocchi, a conservative strategist and columnist for Broad+Liberty. “The ads explain the real impact of unsecured borders. The goal is less about having Biden voters change their minds; but rather, to remind those leaning to Trump why they can’t vote for Biden.”

Those concerns are apparently shared by Hispanic voters as well. A recent Equis poll of Latino voters in seven battleground states — including Pennsylvania — found 41 percent trusted Trump on immigration, as opposed to 38 percent for Biden.

“The disaster on the southern border Biden has caused is on a lot of minds. While it doesn’t require a lot of reminders, every opportunity to point out the horrible consequences of Biden’s failed policies is important,” said Charlie Gerow, a longtime Republican consultant.

The “AGAIN” spot says:

“It just keeps happening…

Laken Riley wasn’t the first.

And in Joe Biden’s America, sadly, she won’t be the last.

REPORTER: Also this morning, a major break in the murder case of a Maryland mother, the suspect was in this country illegally. He’s expected to be charged in the murder and rape of Rachel Morin.

Illegal immigrant Victor Hernandez.

He was wanted for murder… but Biden let him in.

REPORTER: Entered the country illegally after reportedly murdering a young woman in El Salvador.

REPORTER: He assaulted a 9-year-old girl and her mother at a home in Los Angeles.

Now, he’s charged with raping and beating Rachel Morin, mother of five, to death.

Rachel Morin. Laken Riley. And countless others. 

Joe Biden’s open border — a nightmare for American women.”

Biden’s campaign declined to respond to a request for comment.

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The following is a suggested opening statement for President Joe Bide at the upcoming June 27 debate with former President Donald Trump.

For an opposing viewpoint see: “Counterpoint: What Trump Should Say at the Debate (But Probably Won’t)

My fellow Americans,

Every four years, you hear this is the most important election ever. These claims pale compared to what we now face. Our very democracy is at risk.

The Republican Party, a formerly great institution, has been corrupted by my opponent. While I may not have agreed with all their policies in the past, I respected their integrity. This is no longer true.

Past Republicans and Democrats differed in philosophy but not in allegiance to the Constitution. They aspired to honesty and justice. At the federal level, that is gone. We now have a Trump party. If Donald Trump disagrees, the issue is dead.

After much work by Democrats and Republicans on our Mexican border’s complex problem, we appeared to have reached an agreement. The agreement included everything that Republicans previously wanted. Unfortunately, Trump, concerned that he might lose a political edge, advised his party against it, and they obeyed. So solid, non-partisan legislation in the country’s best interest, but not in the interest of Donald Trump, died.

My opponent has all the makings of an authoritarian president. Do we want a leader like those he admires — Russia’s Vladimir Putin, North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, or Hungary’s Viktor Orban? Like them, Trump’s supreme requirement is loyalty — unquestioning loyalty.

Trump believes he is above the law, laws that are pillars of our Constitution and of civil society. He is corrupt and corrupts people around him. His former lawyers and advisers have been convicted of criminal acts while serving him. Many are currently in prison; others have admitted their guilt and await trial. And, at the head of the pack is the former president, a convicted felon awaiting sentencing. Can you imagine? Is this the legacy we want to vote for, to tell our children we support?

The man is now running on a platform of retaliation and vengeance. His goal is to punish his enemies, and he has been very clear about this. Is this democracy?

The potential damage of a Trump win in November would be enormous, including the power to fill Supreme Court vacancies with extreme conservatives.

You may not see me as the ideal age for a president. Still, my staff knows I listen, am intellectually sharp, and bring a wealth of experience. I’m a thoughtful, careful, critical decision-maker. With me, you will, once again, be electing a president with a solid team of dedicated public servants who work not to please my ego but for all Americans.

In contrast, Trump’s Cabinet and White House advisers had the highest turnover rate of any administration in American history. Many who have worked with him believe him to be incompetent and unethical. And they have forcefully said so.

I am proud of our accomplishments in the last four years. We reduced the deficit, capped Medicare drug costs, passed an infrastructure bill with many of its benefits yet to come, deployed more border agents, increased police funding, raised taxes on the rich, sent aid to Ukraine, canceled student debt for thousands, and, very significantly, supported women’s rights in every way we could. Not bad for an old guy, huh?

At the end of Trump’s term, unemployment stood at 6.2 percent, and on my watch, it has been below 4 percent for the last two years. Inflation rose to over 13.5 percent at its peak two years ago but has dropped to less than 3 percent in recent reports.

But that’s not good enough. The economy may look good on paper, but it doesn’t feel that way for many Americans. The cost of food, rent, home purchases and energy are stressing many. I will specifically work to reduce the areas of inflation that most affect everyday Americans.

My fellow Americans. With your vote, you alone can stop Donald Trump from making this country an autocracy. Look closely at this man’s character, egotistical need for admiration and attention, biases, and crude behavior. And yes, the fact that he is already a felon facing sentencing with additional indictments and trials to come. Sitting out this election is not an option.

In Biden, you get a man of integrity who is willing and eager to work across the aisle — who, along with my team, is dedicated to democracy — a democracy in danger. My fellow Americans, we have much to look forward to, but we need the right leader.  I am that person.

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When Delaware Valley Democrat Ben Kamens celebrated his taxpayer-funded student loan bailout on social media, the Democratic communications professional meant it as a paean of praise for President Joe Biden. Instead, he sparked a social media firestorm that led to more than 23 million views and thousands of snark-filled posts denouncing Kamens, a Lower Merion High grad, as a symbol of the Democrats’ out-of-touch privilege.

Kamens used his X (formerly known as Twitter) account to post a letter from his student loan company reading “Congratulations! The Biden-Harris Administration has forgiven your federal student loan(s) listed below with Nelnet in full.”

“This is why elections matter,” Kamens posted. “Thanks, Joe Biden!”

His debt was listed at $8,250. Kamens later posted that his job allowed him to pay it down ahead of schedule with a monthly payment of $400. “I’m happy to let the government cancel it,” he said.

Within hours he was a social media phenomenon.

“No doubt the working people of America are thrilled to step in because…you couldn’t be bothered to pay off $8,250 in principal in 14 years—which is $589/year,” wrote National Review editor-in-chief Charles C.W. Cooke.

“‘The government’ didn’t pay for that – *I* did, after already paying off my own loans of course, b/c contracts and character matter,” posted Dr. E.J. Antoni, a Heritage Foundation economist. “Or at least they used to…”

Kamens earned a Bachelor of Arts from Temple University. His LinkedIn lists Penn State University as a school that he attended, although it appears that he didn’t earn a degree there.

He’s done well since graduating from Temple.

Kamens worked for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, according to his Facebook page. He was a Democratic National Convention Committee staff member in 2016 and 2020, too.

Kamens’ X profile said he serves in “Comms on Capitol Hill.”

What it doesn’t say is that he’s been communications director for Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) since 2023.

“According to LegiStorm, this staffer is making $91k/year, not including annual bonuses,” wrote Maggie Howell, who worked for former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). “I cannot wrap my head around how he qualifies for Biden’s program.”

“Why are we paying off his loans when he is obviously well and able?”

“Imagine working in comms and tweeting this with the address of a half-a-million-dollar house,” added journalist Bethany Mandel. “It’s a Donald Trump campaign ad.”

Mandel was partially right. The Bucks County house at the mailing address that Kamens included in his post is estimated to be worth almost $600,000, not half a million.

Critics of the student loan bailouts backed by Biden and most congressional Democrats say Kamens is a perfect example of why the policy is wrong.

First, data consistently show college graduates have higher incomes and are wealthier on average than their non-college-graduate peers. They’ve also enjoyed higher employment rates and work in higher-status jobs. Spending a combined $870 billion to $1.4 trillion — the total cost of all of Biden’s student debt bailout proposals, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget — to benefit these disproportionately affluent, White citizens makes little economic sense, critics say.

Second, there is the “moral hazard” question. What happens when you reward people for not paying their bills and use the money of their neighbors who paid theirs to cover the costs? What will the next generation of students do when they see how it turned out for borrowers like Kamen?

And finally there’s what Cooke calls the political “classism” of Biden’s policy.

“Why does Biden not want to do the same thing for loans on trucks owned by plumbers? Why not for credit cards or auto payments or mom-and-pop credit lines? The answer, I’m afraid to say, is disgustingly classist: Because Joe Biden and his party believe that college students are better than everyone else.

“Because Joe Biden and his party believe that college students are of a finer cut. Because Joe Biden and his party prefer college students to you, and they think that those students ought to be rewarded for that by being handed enormous gobs of your money.”

Kamens could be the poster child for this view of student debt bailouts.

Before joining Kaptur’s office, he had a brief spell with the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, a group that seeks to limit the proliferation of nuclear devices.

Kamens is known in Democratic circles on Capitol Hill.

He served in a variety of positions with Democratic leaders including former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Congressmen Sean Patrick Maloney and Andy Kim from 2019 to 2021. He was then-Congressman Jesus “Chuy” Garcia’s press secretary and digital director from September 2021 to August 2022.

Kamens’ current and former bosses are longtime supporters of student loan forgiveness.

In fact, Kamens was Garcia’s press secretary when Garcia called for the cancellation of student loan debt in December 2021 and January 2022.

“Biden is using taxpayer money in an unconstitutional scheme to pay off allies of his own party who are making over $200,000 a year,” conservative commentator Stephen L. Miller, host of the VS Media podcast, told DVJournal. “People should take note of this.”

A person at Kaptur’s office who said his name was ‘John’ after a long pause told DVJournal to email Kamens for a comment. Kamens did not answer the email.

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When President Joe Biden took office, he embarked on a multi-trillion-dollar spending spree. It contributed mightily to an inflation spike of 9.1 percent in June 2022, the highest rate in more than 40 years.

In response, the Biden administration hit the panic button, only to come up with an even worse solution: Another multi-trillion-dollar spending spree. This time, the president rebranded a bloated package of bills that Democrats had already been struggling to pass, christening it the “Inflation Reduction Act.”

That wishful name certainly didn’t stop inflation, which is headed upward again this year. What it did do is deliver a slew of economically illiterate Democratic priorities, including several that were sold to the public as ways to lower healthcare costs for patients.

But the real-world impacts of the now two-year-old law tell a different story.

Case in point: monthly premiums for Medicare Part D. Part D is the insurance program that provides prescription drug coverage to more than 50 million older Americans. The IRA made structural changes to Part D that have caused premiums to skyrocket. These massive price hikes are likely to cancel out much — if not all — of the “savings” seniors were promised.

Seniors have seen a 21 percent increase, on average, in premiums for standalone prescription drug plans in 2024. And at three major Medicare insurance providers — Cigna, Humana, and Aetna — premiums have gone up by 33 percent to 57 percent in a single year. It would certainly upset family finances if the cost of groceries or gasoline went up that much in just 12 months, and health insurance is no different.

Worse, in 2025, Medicare premiums will almost certainly get even more expensive as the administration’s new policies take full effect. One analysis projects a staggering increase of nearly 50 percent next year.

This kind of hit to household budgets would be hard to bear at any time, but this moment is especially inopportune. Older people have watched their savings accounts shrink in value after multiple years of inflation. And many live on fixed incomes, so they’re among the hardest hit by the rising cost of living. It’s no wonder that high monthly premiums are among enrollees’ top complaints about Medicare, along with cost-sharing requirements for doctor visits and other medical charges.

The tragic irony of the IRA “reforms” is that aside from concerns about price, Medicare patients are generally satisfied with the program. They enjoy having the flexibility to choose among a variety of Part D plans. But the number of standalone plans has fallen to an all-time low, which means some seniors will struggle to find one that fits their needs and offers an affordable premium.  In short, through bad policy and deceptive rhetoric, Democrats are making Medicare less popular and more expensive.

Clearly, Biden’s strategy for lowering healthcare costs isn’t working. His administration should rip it up and start again.

As the clock ticks down to the 2024 election, a new Muhlenberg College poll has former President Donald Trump with a narrow three-point edge over President Joe Biden, 44 to 41 percent. But the poll found that if independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is on the ballot, he takes 18 percent of the vote, leaving Trump and Biden tied at 35 percent.

The same poll of 417 registered voters conducted between April 15 and 25 shows three-term incumbent Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) at 45 percent to Republican challenger Dave McCormick’s 41 percent.

The poll is the second within the past month to show McCormick is closing the gap against Casey, after Emerson College’s April survey found Casey’s lead had narrowed to just four points.

Political observers say both Biden and Trump are well-known to the public and it’s unlikely that many voters will shift their views in the remaining six months until November.

“I imagine we will see little ebbs and flows between Biden and Trump’s poll numbers over the next six months, but I would be surprised by any major shifts given how cemented the candidates are in most voters’ minds. Just like 2016 and 2020, the race in Pennsylvania is likely to be very close,” said Muhlenberg political science Professor Christopher Borick, director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion.

Quantum Communications CEO Charlie Gerow said, “This poll confirms that Donald Trump leads in Pennsylvania by an increasingly significant margin. That’s not surprising. The Biden economy is hurting ordinary Pennsylvanians, and they are going to vote against him in November.”

“Biden’s approval ratings continue to sink as Americans and Pennsylvanians in particular see someone who simply doesn’t have the capacity to lead,’ Gerow added.

The poll also found that Biden’s 2024 campaign to win Pennsylvania, a key swing state, is being undermined by poor job approval ratings (35 percent). And, only 33 percent of voters believe that Biden deserves a second term.

However, Biden and Trump both must contend with high unfavorable ratings among Pennsylvania voters. Some 57 percent disapprove of Biden and 55 percent hold similar negative views of Trump.

“The Presidential race will have an impact on the Senate race in terms of keeping the Senate votes fairly close to the presidential results, but by no means determine the winner. There is room for both Casey and McCormick to build enough separation from their presidential candidates that they can find a path to victory even if their party loses the presidential race,” Borick said. “A significant portion of voters either haven’t heard of McCormick, or have no opinion about him, so both his and Casey’s campaign will be active in defining him for that audience.”

Gerow said, “The poll also shows that Dave McCormick has an excellent shot at defeating Bob Casey. Casey’s lackluster record will be contrasted by McCormick’s service in the military,  as a job creator and as someone who has accomplished a great deal.”

“Bob Casey has spent his entire adult life in politics pushing the Democrat party line while his family got rich off his Senate office—that’s why he’s in the race of his life against Dave McCormick. Pennsylvanians need a senator who will put them first, not a career politician like Bob Casey,” said National Republican Senate Committee Spokesman Philip Letsou.

An election survey of Pennsylvania voters ages 50 and older conducted by Fabrizio Ward & Impact Research on behalf of AARP was also released this week. Not surprisingly, those voters are concerned about Social Security, Medicare and the cost of prescription medications.

In the 2020 elections, older voters accounted for 55 percent of all Pennsylvania voters and in the 2022 mid-terms, they comprised 62 percent of the state’s voters. Eighty-five percent of voters ages 50 and older say they are “extremely motivated” to vote in this election.

Among these older voters, Trump leads Biden by 52 percent to 42 percent. Casey leads McCormick 48 percent to 44 percent.

Elizabeth Gregory, a spokeswoman for McCormick, said, “Pennsylvanians from across the commonwealth are joining Dave’s movement to send a 7th-generation Pennsylvanian, combat veteran, and PA job creator to the Senate to deliver new leadership and fresh ideas. From day one of this campaign, Dave has been laser-focused on uniting the party and training our fire on career politician Bob Casey, who has voted for Joe Biden’s failing agenda 98 percent of the time, fueling a border crisis that has killed over 4,000 Pennsylvanians from fentanyl, violent crime, record inflation and regulations that are killing the commonwealth’s energy sector. On November 5, Pennsylvania will retire empty suit Bob Casey and send Dave McCormick to the Senate.”

The Casey campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

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With early voting beginning in September, lawyers for 27 Pennsylvania legislators are asking the U.S. Supreme Court for an expedited appeal of a federal court’s decision to throw out an ongoing election case.

The “Bidenbucks” case, brought by lead plaintiff Rep. Dawn Keefer (R-York) and other members of the Pennsylvania Freedom Caucus, claims President Joe Biden’s executive order requiring government agencies to get involved in registering voters is unconstitutional.

The legislators also contend Gov. Josh Shapiro’s executive order changing the state’s motor voter law that automatically registers people to vote unless they opt out — as opposed to allowing would-be voters to opt in, the practice before Shapiro’s order — is unconstitutional.

In March, U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer Wilson ruled the legislators did not have “standing” to bring the case.

Stewart Whitson, legal director  of the Foundation for Government Accountability, called this Pennsylvania case “the most important election integrity case in the country.”

In an interview with DVJournal, lawyer Erick Kaardal with Mohrman, Kaardal and Erickson, who represents the Republican legislators, said they “have a duty to regulate the time, place and manner of elections. And the president has usurped the lawmaking authority of the Pennsylvania state legislators.”

At issue is Biden’s order requiring all federal agencies to develop a plan to increase voter registration and increase voter participation or get-out-the-vote efforts.

Acting on Biden’s order, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced federal health centers nationwide, including Pennsylvania, get involved in voter registration activities. The Department of Education’s “Dear Colleague” letter to universities, including those located in Pennsylvania, directing them to use Federal Work Study funds “to support voter registration activities,” whether they occur “on or off-campus.”

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development likewise instructed more than 3,000 public housing authorities, which manage approximately 1.2 million public housing units across the country, including Pennsylvania, to run voter registration drives in those units, the suit said.

The suit said other agencies, such as the Department of Agriculture and the General Services Administration, began similar initiatives. The GSA, which administers federally owned buildings, including those located in Pennsylvania, is now available for voter registration drives by third-party organizations.

Kaardal said the time, place, and manner of elections are the responsibility of the state legislatures, with the governor vetoing or signing bills or Congress passing legislation. He said the president is not empowered to make changes to election law through executive actions.

“Back when the constitution was framed and ratified, remember we’re not talking about the Bill of Rights here. We’re talking about the Article One of the constitution, the elections clause. The elections clause was written so presidents could not use federal agencies to help a president get reelected.

“President Biden is saying, ‘I can use the agencies to register voters,’ and we’re saying, ‘That’s not what the constitution says,’” said Kaardal. “For the country, it’s really important that the Supreme Court takes [the case] and decides the standing issue so we can get on with the injunction against the executive order because it’s just a brazen violation of the elections clause.

“It’s President Biden usurping the lawmaking authority of both the state legislatures and Congress,” said Kaardal.  And that executive order is “very focused on certain demographic groups. We don’t want federal agencies weaponized to do voter registration drives and get out the vote on particular demographic groups.”

That’s a violation of the equal protection clause, he said.

In his petition to the Supreme Court, Kaardal said that after the 2020 election, where “more than $400 million of Zuckerberg-Chan Foundation donations that were selectively distributed to by partisan third party, non-governmental organizations,” the Pennsylvania legislature wrote a law to prevent this.

Pennsylvania received more than $20 million of the “Zuckerbucks” ahead of the 2020 election, with Delaware County garnering $2.2 million.

Kaardal believes the high court will rule on his petition next week.

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It’s no understatement that Bidenomics may be Republicans’ saving grace this November.

As President Biden’s failed economic policy continues to plunder the American pocketbook, young and old Hispanic voters are looking for solutions. There is an apparent realignment from the progressive left to the conservative right.

Florida’s Marco Rubio, a third-term Republican senator, has prioritized highlighting Bidenomics. “Efforts to convince Americans that the economy is fantastic is almost insulting because that is not the reality,” Rubio said.

Under the Biden administration, long gone are the days when someone making $65,000 a year could achieve the American dream. For context, the median household income of a Hispanic family is $59,000 a year.

“Hispanics throughout the country remember the days when we had a president who prioritized creating American jobs and addressing the needs of American workers. They remember a time when we had a president who prioritized bringing manufacturing and industry back to the United States,” Rubio added.

If Republicans continue to highlight this administration’s economic policy, they will find that it’s a winning issue with Hispanics and other minorities. Bidenomics may be the saving grace for less prepared Republican candidates.

The GOP has made strides with Latinos, raking in 35 percent of the Latino vote in the last election, compared to 26 percent in 2000. A Washington Post poll has consistently shown Hispanics prefer Republicans to Democrats on solutions to inflation.

For what seems an eternity, right-wing pundits continue to hammer Biden on the effect of inflation on household budgets. For those who say that it’s like beating a dead horse, have you been to the grocery store lately? Stellar employment numbers are keeping the Federal Reserve from lowering interest rates. This is a large part of the equation driving up costs and increasing the cost of borrowing.

Republicans are not alone in delivering this message. Advocacy groups continue to be outspoken opponents of Biden’s economic disaster.

“Despite what President Biden would like to have Hispanics believe, the state of the union for the Hispanic community is not strong. Hispanics are bearing the brunt of a historically high inflation rate exacerbated by $5.5 trillion in new spending over the last three years. Under Bidenomics, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult for many Latinos to pursue their version of the American Dream,” LIBRE said in response to Biden’s State of the Union in March.

It’s not just Hispanics that have turned former swing states into Republican strongholds. The GOP has made inroads with African-American women and other minority voters. According to a Gallup survey, Democrats’ lead over Republicans on the African-American vote has dropped by 20 percent in the last three years.

Outspoken Freedom Caucus member Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) has repeatedly mentioned that Bidenomics has failed Black America. “I would tell you right now that Black America or any segment of America is struggling under this president because our economy is not nearly where it should be,” Donalds said.

Donalds has continued criticizing the president’s policies for stunting American economic growth.

“What helps Black Americans is, frankly, what helps all Americans, and that’s a robust economy that is thriving and growing,” he said.

Rubio, Donalds and LIBRE’s efforts to fight Biden’s economic policy and inform voters is precisely what is needed from conservatives. Hispanics and Blacks are tired of having their pocketbooks raided.

The administration has focused economic policy on spending, which many believe is the primary cause of inflation. For many, inflation will remain the deciding factor in whom they support in November.

This shift may propel the Republican Party to victory in November.

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