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Another Georgia Poll Puts Democrats in Five-Alarm Fire Territory

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On Wednesday, RedState reported on a Quinnipiac poll out of Georgia which showed some disturbing results for Democrats. Contrary to the assertion that Georgia’s Senate and gubernatorial races “lead D,” Republicans Herschel Walker and Brian Kemp led Democrats Raphael Warnock and Stacey Abrams, respectively.

But while those slim leads were good news for Republicans in the grand scheme of things, another poll has been released that paints a far bleaker picture for Democrats. Georgia’s flagship (and most far-left) newspaper, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, put out a survey in conjunction with the University of Georgia that is great news all around for the GOP.

Both Kemp and David Perdue hold comfortable leads over Abrams, who has received tons of national press since announcing another run for the governorship. Kemp does better than Perdue by comparison, but both are in a good position as the race stands today. You’d certainly rather be them than Abrams, given the political environment, the historical trends, and the numbers we are currently seeing.

Things weren’t much better on the Senate side of things. Walker leads Warnock with a 47 percent to 44 percent result, which is somewhat of a rebuke of those on the right who insisted Walker was a sure loser. He seems to be resonating, to this point at least.

As to Joe Biden, Georgians are not a fan. He’s clearly becoming a major drag in the state, holding only a 33 percent approval rating with a 61 percent disapproval. Seventy-one percent of Georgians also believe the country is on the wrong track.

Of course, a lot can change. Kemp is a known commodity, so if he wins the primary, he’s probably in good shape for the general election. It’s not like he or Abrams lacks name recognition to the point where you expect drastic swings to occur. With Walker, I haven’t seen him actually perform on the campaign trail yet. Is he a dynamic speaker? Will he have a bunch of gaffes? How’s his command of the issues? Will Trump’s support offer a boost? I just don’t know the answers to those questions at this point, so I think we’ll have to wait and see how things go.

But if you want absolute proof that this poll is terrible news for Democrats, all you have to do is look at how the AJC chose to report it. Note all the numbers I shared above and how important they are to the mid-terms. Now, here is what the AJC thought was the most important story from their own poll.

Biden’s sky-high disapproval? Abrams getting trounced? Warnock trailing? None of those were worthy of being the headline for the AJC. Instead, they felt that “Trump could be a drag for Georgia” was the most important news from this poll, though the results don’t necessarily show that. After all, wouldn’t Walker be trailing if that were true?

That kind of obfuscation is purposeful and points to how deep of a hole Democrats are finding themselves in as the midterms draw closer. As I said in a prior article, Georgia is supposed to be different. It’s supposed to be where Democrats overperform compared to the rest of the political environment. Most election raters have the Senate race as “lead D.” But if Democrats end up getting blown out on election night in the Peach State, it could be one of the biggest wave elections in the nation’s history.

Polling out of Hotly Contested Georgia Offers a Window Into Democrat Woes

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Clearly, election night this coming November is not shaping up to be a good one for Democrats. The historical trends alone all but guarantee they lose the House of Representatives, and the contemporary trends are no better, pointing to a large Republican wave that could also decisively shift power in the Senate.

Yet, in the midst of all that darkness for Democrats stands the state of Georgia. Sure, they are probably going to get beat in Florida and Arizona, but Georgia is supposed to be different. It’s trending the opposite way, representing an oasis in the political desert for a party that will be thirsty for a big win in November.

Except that may not actually be the case. We finally have some polling out of the hotly contested state of Georgia, and though things are close, it’s not good news for Democrats. I’ll explain why that is soon enough, but first, here are the numbers.

The dynamics of these results are interesting. On the one hand, Trump-endorsed Herschel Walker is leading Democrat incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock by a point, with the former nearly reaching 50%. On the other hand, Trump-maligned incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp is leading his primary challenger and is actually up two points on Stacey Abrams in a head-to-head matchup.

David Perdue is not an exciting figure, so it doesn’t surprise me that Kemp would be leading him by a sizable margin. And in the end, wailing and gnashing of teeth from those who hate Kemp aside, there is going to be little to no difference in governance between the two. Nothing is gained by turning the mid-terms into a misguided revenge tour, and I think whoever represents the best matchup against Abrams is who should be preferred. To see her lose again would be one of the highlights of election night.

Regardless, forgetting the intraparty fighting on the Republican side, I see these numbers as bleak for Democrats. This is supposed to be the state that they are favored in, but it appears things are a toss-up at best and lean-Republican at worst. Further, Quinnipiac was a poll that way overestimated Democrat support in Georgia (and many other states) in 2020. If there’s any kind of left-leaning house effect left in their methodology, Walker and Kemp could actually be up 3-4 points right now.

Throw in the large enthusiasm advantage the GOP currently has, and the Republicans should probably be favored right now. That’s a disaster for Democrats. Georgia was their Alamo. They lose there on election night and it means a full-scale collapse has occurred.

In the end, I’m bullish on Republicans doing well. I understand that Georgia has become more difficult to win because of shifting demographics and the growth of the Atlanta metro area. Still, I’m not at all convinced the state is any more lost forever than Florida was when it turned blue for a time, and the political environment for Democrats in November is going to be horrendous. If the Republican candidates are doing this well in Georgia this far out, that’s nothing but good news for the GOP.

Nancy Pelosi Makes a Panic Move and Sets up a Showdown With Her Own Party

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The coming midterm elections are not looking good for Democrats. In fact, short of some kind of divine intervention, Joe Biden’s party is going to get absolutely boat-raced. It could stack up to be a wave election that makes 2010 look like child’s play, and I don’t say that lightly.

In the midst of that hostile environment, numerous Democrat incumbents have announced their retirements, which is usually a sure-fire sign of coming doom. You may recall all the articles from 2018 noting how Republican retirements were a very bad sign. Indeed, they did precede a blue wave, and the reverse is now occurring in 2022.

Just how bad are things? Nancy Pelosi may have given us a hint today with this cringe video (she apparently found the old “Full House” set), in which she announced that she’s running for re-election.

The move also marks a likely reversal on her prior pledge to hand over her leadership position. I say that because there’s essentially no chance Pelosi is running for re-election at her age just to sit on the backbench. You only go forward in politics, and Pelosi isn’t the type to concede power to anyone.

So, why do I think this is another bad sign for Democrats? Because I don’t think Pelosi would be running again if she felt she could safely retire without it being a giant white flag for her party. It’s one thing to have marginal members retire. It’s another to have the House Majority Leader call it quits while staring down the barrel of a major election defeat.

With that in mind, I’m not at all convinced Pelosi will actually serve out another two-year term. It seems perfectly possible to me that if and when Democrats get blown out in November, she’ll change her mind. As I’ve said before though, to do so before the midterm vote would be catastrophic, and she knows it.

But let’s say she does intend to serve another full term. If that happens, it’s going to set up a major showdown with the progressive wing in the House, which has been patiently waiting to take the reins from the former establishment. They’ve swallowed Pelosi’s leadership for years now with the promise that she would finally hand things over after this year’s election. Now, that promise looks to have been broken, and it’s going to result in some major infighting when the time comes to vote on leadership.

Still, politics aside, there’s something deeply disturbing about an 81-year-old politician refusing to hand over power like this. Blame it on people living longer than they used to or something else entirely, but the American government has been turned into a quasi-oligarchy, where decrepit geriatrics rule the roost, enriching themselves, and serving until they kick the bucket.

That’s not healthy for our society, and it’s a trend that needs to stop. I don’t care what party you are from, I don’t want you in a high position of power if you are in your 80s. Retire and spend time with your grandkids like a normal, non-psychopath. The idea that Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, and the rest of the 80-plus crew are the best this nation has to offer strikes me as ludicrous. We can do better, America.

Nancy Pelosi Makes a Panic Move and Sets up a Showdown With Her Own Party

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The coming midterm elections are not looking good for Democrats. In fact, short of some kind of divine intervention, Joe Biden’s party is going to get absolutely boat-raced. It could stack up to be a wave election that makes 2010 look like child’s play, and I don’t say that lightly.

In the midst of that hostile environment, numerous Democrat incumbents have announced their retirements, which is usually a sure-fire sign of coming doom. You may recall all the articles from 2018 noting how Republican retirements were a very bad sign. Indeed, they did precede a blue wave, and the reverse is now occurring in 2022.

Just how bad are things? Nancy Pelosi may have given us a hint today with this cringe video (she apparently found the old “Full House” set), in which she announced that she’s running for re-election.

The move also marks a likely reversal on her prior pledge to hand over her leadership position. I say that because there’s essentially no chance Pelosi is running for re-election at her age just to sit on the backbench. You only go forward in politics, and Pelosi isn’t the type to concede power to anyone.

So, why do I think this is another bad sign for Democrats? Because I don’t think Pelosi would be running again if she felt she could safely retire without it being a giant white flag for her party. It’s one thing to have marginal members retire. It’s another to have the House Majority Leader call it quits while staring down the barrel of a major election defeat.

With that in mind, I’m not at all convinced Pelosi will actually serve out another two-year term. It seems perfectly possible to me that if and when Democrats get blown out in November, she’ll change her mind. As I’ve said before though, to do so before the midterm vote would be catastrophic, and she knows it.

But let’s say she does intend to serve another full term. If that happens, it’s going to set up a major showdown with the progressive wing in the House, which has been patiently waiting to take the reins from the former establishment. They’ve swallowed Pelosi’s leadership for years now with the promise that she would finally hand things over after this year’s election. Now, that promise looks to have been broken, and it’s going to result in some major infighting when the time comes to vote on leadership.

Still, politics aside, there’s something deeply disturbing about an 81-year-old politician refusing to hand over power like this. Blame it on people living longer than they used to or something else entirely, but the American government has been turned into a quasi-oligarchy, where decrepit geriatrics rule the roost, enriching themselves, and serving until they kick the bucket.

That’s not healthy for our society, and it’s a trend that needs to stop. I don’t care what party you are from, I don’t want you in a high position of power if you are in your 80s. Retire and spend time with your grandkids like a normal, non-psychopath. The idea that Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, and the rest of the 80-plus crew are the best this nation has to offer strikes me as ludicrous. We can do better, America.

Inflation Is Coming for Drug Prices Next, and the Biden Administration Could Do More About It

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After his sarcastic dismissal of Fox News’ Peter Doocy on Monday, it’s clear that President Joe Biden is not terribly worried about inflation.

As I mentioned yesterday, the perceived (whether rightly or wrongly) nature of the Biden administration is a big drag on the rest of the party. He could be doing more across the board – at the gas pump, the grocery store, on every new and used car lot – and it looks like you may see some price hikes coming for the drug stores next. Big Pharma has announced price hikes on some of the most popular and most prescribed medications in America.

Major drug makers like Gilead Sciences, Pfizer, and Purdue announced that they are raising prices on 460 medications by an average of 5 to 6 percent. As well, these price hikes will include drugs like the HIV drug Biktarvy, breast-cancer drug Ibrance, the heart-failure drug Vyndamax, and even the controversial painkiller Oxycontin. All those will see price increases of up to 7 percent.

This year the increases are more or less in line with the 6.8 percent inflation everyone felt at the pump and the checkout counter last year, but a bunch of last year’s price hikes were not. And nor were price hikes before that. A report from the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) found that in 2020, drug makers did the same thing, raising prices and costing American consumers an additional $1.67 billion at the pharmacy counter.

The companies in question say they’re doing this not just because their costs are going up (the reason every other business out there says they’re raising prices), but to fund research into new medications.

“The modest increase is necessary to support investments that allow us to continue to discover new medicines and deliver those breakthroughs to the patients who need them,” a Pfizer spokesperson said, according to Axios.

That sounds nice, but first of all, it’s not really how normal companies finance R&D (often they’ll raise more capital, or borrow it, or take the money out of existing line items).

Second, it is at odds with AbbVie – a drugmaker that has notably attracted the attention of Congress and which makes anti-inflammatory drug Humira – whacked patients with a 7.4 percent price increase when the overall economy was experiencing less than 2 percent inflation. And their explanation wasn’t inflation (obviously) or R&D. Rather, they suggested it was to make up income they’d lost because of less drug usage during the first year of COVID. Previously, AbbVie had raised the price of Humira alone 470 percent since 2003.

Was that for R&D?

Drug manufacturer AbbVie. (AP/Reuters Feed Library)

Nope. Its CEO’s bonus is tied directly to the sales of Humira, which also happens to be the highest-selling medication in America. AbbVie made $16 billion in 2020 from Humira alone. R&D makes a useful talking point, as does inflation.

But the truth is there’s more going on here. And the bottom line is, R&D efforts or inflation or not, the consumer always ends up paying more. Big Pharma is hard at work to limit any discounts on drugs on the back end, too, by going after figures like former President Trump who made drug pricing a big issue in his 2016 campaign and subsequent administration or trying to eliminate or curtail the 340B drug discount program.

The subject of which brings us right back to AbbVie and Humira.

Recently, AbbVie announced that it would restrict discounts on drugs like Humira to rural hospitals and clinics in working-class, frequently dark red communities under the aforementioned drug discount program. That, like the pre-inflation price spikes, is just about filling up the bank account.

They will claim they’ll be less interested in restricting discounted sales if only providers will hand over patient claims data, which AbbVie wants so it can argue that it doesn’t have to give the discounts in the first place but also would probably force providers into violating federal privacy law. That’s a neat trick if you’re AbbVie. If you actually use the drug, and especially if you’re uninsured, it’s also a pricey one that basically leaves you with only GoodRx as a solution.

With drug prices set to add to Americans’ inflation woes President Biden’s only plan seems to be vague threats to hit meat producers with antitrust lawsuits and to keep trying to pursue a BBB bill that is flawed, and also probably dead.

President Trump made reducing prescription drug prices a key initiative of his administration, signing several executive orders and doing things like setting ceiling prices for drugs providers like AbbVie agreed to make available at a discount in certain instances as a sort of swap for getting access to entitlement monies, which they Big Pharma has lobbied to expand Medicare Part D and Obamacare.

As Biden stares down a red wave in 2022, higher drug prices are sure to further drag down his already plummeting approval ratings and put his faltering administration in even more jeopardy. Inflation is a very real concern for Americans, drug prices are a part of that and Biden is a man without a plan.