When the reporters interview swing state voters the most common election concerns voters reported as an answer are inflation (which is worldwide and not under the immediate control of any of the U.S. candidates regardless of party) and increases in crime (which are higher per capita in most Republican states and which began and rose throughout Trump’s Presidency).
While these are realities we all feel, the fact that these issues reflexively prompt voters to say they are inclined to trust the Republicans more than the Democrats to fix the economy is a demonstration of the effectiveness of the Republican marketers at selling the unstated assumption that Democrats are to blame for these issues.
This is compounded by the lack of critical analysis by the media at directly identifying and calling attention to the unstated assumptions inherent in these Republican marketing positions and then clarifying the demonstrable facts and causes behind these issues for their media consumers. To be fair, the media too are caught in our Marketing Age society, and focusing on a tight horse race is much more exciting (and generates more views) than exploring the real issues that need to be addressed to actually solve the problems the voters are feeling. The Marketing Age has cultivated our desire for immediate emotional gratification (feeling that we did something) while blunting our ability to focus longer term on the actual effectiveness of the result, which often takes effort and time to play out.
Meanwhile, the Republicans are already saying what they are going to do if they win back Congress. They are going to open, not just one, but several Congressional Hearings into Hunter Biden, while they also are threatening to open Congressional Hearings into Joe Biden’s cabinet heads, and possibly try to impeach Joe Biden for (TBD). In fact, if they win the majority next week they are planning a press conference to announce these investigations long before they actually take power, another sign that the marketing of these investigations is more important than the actual outcomes.
After all, these investigations are clearly the first things that need to get done in the next Congress to help ease the burdens of inflation and rising crime rates.
But I have not seen even MSNBC connect the dots between the Republicans stated concern about inflation and crime and their stated first priorities if they regain Congress. And, when encountering a voter who says his or her primary issues are inflation and crime, and they are voting Republican, I also have not seen any reporter ask that voter which specific Republican actions they believe will be the most effective at solving those problems.
Even in their marketing ads the Republicans make no mention of what they are going to actually do about these issues other than “fight inflation and fight crime.” I guess we can assume from their past actions that the Republican plan for fighting these two issues involves tax cuts (the wealthier you already are, the bigger the cut), deregulation of the largest companies, and on the issue of crime, reducing regulations on gun manufacturers and sellers. Now where’s the rational connection from these actions to the original problem? How are the dots connected?
We need elected officials that are actually trying to solve these issues for the citizens, not those who rely on marketing finesse to get elected, then focus their attention elsewhere. And most media reporting in this election seems to have either been seduced by the marketing glitter, or intimidated into accepting one side’s unsupported assertions and marketing obfuscation for fear of being labeled “biased.” I know these are complex issues, but that is what the best reporters do, figure out how to educate their media consumers on important complex issues like these.