Affordability Isn’t a “Silver Bullet” for Democrats

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Democrats are increasingly discussing affordability and blaming high costs of goods on President Trump. But Brian Beutler and Will Stancil, two liberal political commentators, say the Democrats shouldn’t be too confident about this messaging. In the latest episode of Right Now, they argue that affordability is a slippery concept. It’s not clear, in their view, exactly what Americans think costs too much or how Democrats would bring down those prices if they were in charge. Beutler and Stancil argue that Democrats are surging politically not because of high costs alone but because of a broader backlash to Trump. Democrats should move away from an economic-centric perspective and spend more time studying the cultural, social, and media factors affecting American politics, they say.