There are five Democratic House members who won their seats in 2020 despite Donald Trump carrying their districts. Those five are number one on the GOP target list, and the upcoming vote on the so-called Inflation Reduction Act will almost certainly mean their doom in November.
The fact that inflation is going to keep rising, despite a bill that’s being sold as a way to reduce it, will be very difficult to defend when the election rolls around. And for these five condemned politicians, asking them what they want for their last meal is probably not out of line.
Thirty years ago, I would have offered them a cigarette.
Rep. Tom O’Halleranm (D-Ariz.), Rep. Cindy Axne (D-Iowa), Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.), and Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) were all contacted by Fox News Digital to determine if they’re going to vote with their party. No response was forthcoming from the five doomed politicians.
Cartwright, however, announced his support for the legislation this week in a press release celebrating its passage in the Senate and claiming it would reduce both inflation and the budget deficit.
“I applaud the Senate passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which will lower the cost of prescription drugs, health insurance, and energy costs while fighting inflation, reducing the deficit, and making the wealthiest corporations finally pay their fair share,” he wrote.
“This is the action the American people have been waiting for. Now that the Senate has taken action, the House will return to pass this landmark legislation – delivering for families and communities across Northeast Pennsylvania and the nation,” he later added.
Cartright and the other vulnerable Democrats probably figure they’re toast anyway, so why not vote with their party?
Each of the five narrowly won their races in 2020, and with Congressional Democrats and President Biden hemorrhaging popularity with the American people, many are wondering if this vote on the bill could be the final nail in the coffin for any hopes these five have in keeping their seats.
Republicans are poised to campaign on any Democratic politician who votes for the legislation, claiming the bill will add middle class tax hikes and blasting the funding to allow the IRS to hire 87,000 new employees in the next decade. Any vote for the bill will likely be used in campaign attack ads in the months leading up to the midterms.
This one vote probably won’t cost them their seats. The political landscape is very unfavorable for Democrats, and other factors will certainly play into the voters’ decision to retire them.
But their votes for the climate bill will be the nails in their coffins.
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