Gas prices and affordability drove widespread Republican losses in midterms

Ok, Republicans, you got run over by a Mack truck. Your day of sulking is over.

Now what?

First, acknowledge to voters that you understand what just happened. There are many reasons you lost – ICE raids, the war, lousy candidates and tariffs, to name a few.

MEHEK COOKE: REPUBLICANS FAILED THE AFFORDABILITY TEST. THIS IS HOW TO WIN VOTERS BACK

But nearly every pollster agrees the landslide came because of gas prices and “affordability.”

Drivers fill up at a gas station as fuel prices remain elevated following the Labor Day weekend. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Good news, Mr. President.

DEMOCRATS SAY THEY’LL MAKE LIFE AFFORDABLE. YOUR WALLET MAY DISAGREE

You can do something about that right now. I mean not next week. Now.

You should hold a national presidential address tonight conceding that voters are angry and financially stressed out. Tell Americans you hear them and then pledge that every policy you make over the next two years will be determined by whether it helps working-class Americans, farmers, ranchers and small businessmen and women pay their bills.

TRUMP PLEDGES TO VETO ‘INSANE’ DEM BILLS, PINPOINTS ISSUE PARTIALLY TO BLAME FOR REPUBLICAN LOSSES

Any Green New Deal congressional legislation that makes energy more expensive, you will veto.

You should announce to the country that you are issuing an immediate emergency executive order to bring gas prices at the pump down by 50 cents a gallon or more.  

Democrats may challenge Trump on whether he has the unilateral authority to do so. He should, in that case, demand that, when Congress reconvenes Nov. 9, that the House and Senate pass this emergency legislation to bring down gas prices. If Democrats block this action, they would be telling voters they aren’t serious about delivering Americans relief at the pump. 

ENERGY SECRETARY WRIGHT SAYS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OPEN TO SUSPENDING FEDERAL GAS TAX AMID PRICE SURGE

This could all be accomplished by temporarily suspending the federal gas tax of 18.4 cents a gallon until gas prices nationally fall below $4 a gallon. This order would also suspend the renewable fuel regulations that add as much as 45 cents to the cost of a gallon of gas and diesel.

As we learned on Tuesday, Nov. 3, many of your Make America Great Again voters – the men and women who have twice elected you president – have lost confidence that you’re looking out for their interests. Exit polls show a majority of voters say their own family finances are getting worse, not better.

Challenge the Democrats in Congress who won on a promise of lower gas prices to pass a law to suspend these taxes and regulations on an emergency basis to help American families.

Tell the nation that you will work with congressional Democratic leaders on any proposal that will bring these prices down.

Tell Americans you hear them and then pledge that every policy you make over the next two years will be determined by whether it helps working-class Americans, farmers, ranchers and small businessmen and women pay their bills.

Force the hand of the incoming Senate majority leader and House speaker by asking them what their affordability plan is. Sounds like they don’t really have one. In the Biden years, Democrats shut down pipelines and refineries – which adds to gas prices.

Tell the American people that California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has recently signed legislation that bans new offshore drilling, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has banned all drilling for 20 years. This is the state with the most expensive gas in the nation.

DAVID ASMAN: DEMOCRATS EXPLOIT GAS-PRICE PAIN WHILE IGNORING THEIR OWN RECORD

New Jersey Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill warned 12 energy companies that it is illegal to import Russian oil and gas into New Jersey harbors at the risk of criminal penalties. These are policies that will raise, not cut, gas prices.

If you hate oil and gas and the industry that produces it, as many congressional Democrats do, you probably aren’t interested in lowering its price. Ask Congress to immediately pass permitting reform so we can build new refineries and pipelines to get the oil to the gas stations.

AMERICA’S BROKEN PERMITTING SYSTEM IS QUIETLY RAISING YOUR COST OF LIVING

Challenge governors to lower or suspend their gas taxes until prices are back well below $4 a gallon. California and Illinois charge more than 70 cents a gallon on top of the 18.4 cents a gallon federal tax. If you end the ethanol mandate, in some states the gas price could fall by more than $1 a gallon.

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Now that’s real affordability. That’s what voters just voted for. Is that what Democrats want?

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Find out, Mr. President.

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