Come on fam. What is this, 2004 redux lol. Did Kenneth Blackwell do it again.
Was I shocked by the results? Yes. Are they weird in the context of what I thought would happen? Yes. But the thing I and many people weren't talking about ended up mattering most: costs, and perceptions of costs. Inflation has fallen all year and it didn't matter. Consumer spending is red hot, wages are up, and people are still peeved every time they order fast food that used to cost $10 and it's $15.
From my vantage point, grocery prices have been back to normal for awhile. But I don't have three kids and a wife so perhaps my perspective is different from a family buying a bunch of shyt.
I was saying this to my Mom yesterday, about the family and kids., I was talking about my friends from where I grew up, and their families. Mid to low income, all have 2-3 kids. All different races, they all probably voted for Trump. I'm no kids, no wife, live in a spot downtown single, travel, go out to expensive places all the time.
Inflation bothers me on some level, but it's not like a threat to my bottom line, sometimes it's as trivial as expensive hotel rooms or expensive shoes. But, if you have a family, an ok job, and you feel like you can't get a break, and every time you go out, it hurts your heart/head to pay....that's a lot of voters.
it would be like if me, without the self awareness, telling people the economy is great. to resolve any conflict, you have to acknowledge the other side, which is a voter is saying
I don't like this economy, you don't message "well you just don't understand". When Harris said that grocery line, she was really getting somewhere, but that kind of faded. Biden never did that.