It’s already been decided that the 2026 midterm elections will be won or lost on the issue of “affordability.”

Just turn on any political podcast or cable news show – or read the twice-daily ActBlue texts begging for money for the latest cookie-cutter Democrat – and you’ll hear the word on an endless loop.

Apparently we are living through an affordability crisis. In one sense, that means things are more expensive than they used to be. No surprise there. I remember when gasoline cost 29 cents a gallon – but the median family income was barely five grand. Prices rise, wages follow, and they almost never reverse. Anyone waiting for a politician to make groceries cheaper is basically investing with the Tooth Fairy.

But Democrats push “affordability” anyway as the modern-day equivalent of “a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage,” the Republican campaign theme in 1928. Of course that didn’t work out too well for Republicans, as the hopeful rhetoric was followed almost immediately by the Great Depression, which opened the door to even more grand promises by Democrats.

Louisiana governor/demagogue Huey Long took it to the limit by guaranteeing not just “a chicken in every pot,” but also “every man a king.”

Ultimately, this kind of manipulation predates American politics by a couple of thousand years. The Romans called it “bread and circuses” – feed the people just enough to survive and distract them with bloodsport in the arena.

Today’s Democrats have perfected the virtual version. No bread. No gladiators. Just slogans, promises, and outrage on demand.

The “affordability” argument is used to........

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