If your news source is CNN, the New York Times, pre-Elon Twitter, or just about any broadcast television news network, you will see a blue wave coming for the November 8 midterm elections. The economy is in great shape, according to the White House, inflation is transient, energy is cheap and abundant, and life is grand for everyone. Democrats believe voters will recognize this and reward Democrats with full control of Congress in just over a week.

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A few weeks ago The Hill boldly proclaimed, “Midterms: The big red wave has crested and turned into a rising blue tide.”  Last week The Hill doubled down asserting, “Democrats widen lead to 5 points on generic congressional ballot.” The President is optimistic for a blue wave, as reported by CNBC, “Biden predicts Democrats’ odds will improve as the midterm elections approach, citing economic improvements.”

The reality is that the dismal economic conditions are what’s paving the way for a red wave. Democrats and their corporate media allies are either oblivious or attempting to gaslight voters by claiming otherwise. Wisely Republicans are channeling President Clinton’s consigliere James Carville who once observed, “It’s the economy, stupid.”

What issues are important to voters this election cycle? Democrats, taking their cues from social media and MSNBC, assume that abortion, green energy, and the nonsensical January 6 commission are top issues motivating voters. Instead, they ignore the real world that confronts most Americans daily, including their wallets, shopping carts, and savings accounts.

Outside the liberal beltway media echo chamber, Rasmussen Reports asked likely US voters what they care about and this may be far more reflective of voter sentiment and predictive of the color of the wave coming November 8.

In their Daily Presidential Tracking poll of likely US voters, they found only 23% strongly approve of President Biden’s job performance, compared with 45% strongly disapproving. With Biden as the head of the Democrat party, being underwater by 22 points doesn’t bode well for his party’s prospects next week.

Now let us look at the issues likely to determine the color of the upcoming November wave, or perhaps just a trickle, but more likely red than blue.

Start with the economy, stupid or not. In mid-October, Rasmussen Reports found that, “88% of Likely U.S. voters are concerned about the economy, including 60% who are very concerned. Just 10% aren’t concerned about the issue. A related issue, inflation, is concerning to 89% of voters.” Carville was right – it is the economy, stupid.

Education is another issue important to Americans in flyover country, although apparently not to Democrats and the media chattering classes in the DC-NYC axis where their children attend fancy private schools far removed from shootings, wokeness, gender confusion, mandates, and other modern features of most American public schools.

In my state of Colorado, for example, a big issue in the governor’s race is education as barely one-third of fourth and eight grade students are performing at grade level in math and reading.

Rasmussen found in mid-October, “77% of Likely U.S. voters believe education issues will be important in this year’s congressional elections, including 45% who expect it to be very important in the midterms. Only 18% don’t think education will be an important issue in November.” Those 18% are likely coastal chardonnay-sipping elites whose kids would never cross the threshold of a public school.

Crime is on the minds of average Americans who do not live in apartment buildings with doormen, gated communities or suburban enclaves with non-defunded police. Or as the old expression goes, “A conservative is a liberal who has been mugged.”

Rasmussen noted, “62% of likely U.S. voters believe the problem of violent crime in America is getting worse. Only 11% think the crime problem is getting better, while 24% think the problem is staying about the same.”

Will crime be an election issue? Rasmussen says yes, “83% of voters believe the issue of violent crime will be important in this year’s congressional elections, including 52% who say the crime issue will be very important. Only 15% don’t think the issue will be important in the midterms.” Those 15% are likely far removed from crime, either living in the wilderness or part of the ruling class that have “people” to protect them and their families and property from crime. Except even that may not hold true as Mr. Nancy Pelosi discovered, getting beat up in his own home a few days ago, although the emerging details of that story are becoming more tawdry by the day.

Lastly there is the hot-button issue of election integrity. Currently one must not question election integrity else be called an “election denier” and banned from social media and polite company. But you can bet your bottom dollar that if there is a red wave in November, Russian interference and election cheating will be blamed, just as it was when Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in 2016. “Election integrity” only seems to be of concern when Democrat candidates lose.

Hillary Clinton is gaslighting already according to the Washington Examiner, “After liberals spent almost two years denouncing ‘election deniers’ as domestic terrorists, Hillary Clinton sounded the alarm on so-called ‘far right extremists’ whom she says ‘already have a plan to literally steal the next presidential election.’"

Rasmussen noted several weeks ago, “84% of likely U.S. voters believe the issue of election integrity will be important in this year's congressional elections, including 61% who expect it to be very important. Just 13% don’t think the issue will be important.” The latter group including Bill Kristol and Nicolle Wallace.

Going further they discovered, “Nearly half (49%) of voters believe it is at least somewhat likely there will be widespread cheating that will affect the outcome of this year’s congressional elections, including 25% who say it’s very likely.” In other words, half the country are “fringe kook election deniers” according to big media.

The fact that 255,000 unverified Pennsylvania new voters received ballots is one of many reasons half of voters believe there will be electoral cheating in the midterms.

Democrats are barking up the wrong trees. A Politico-Harvard poll found that top issues for Democrat voters are abortion, guns, healthcare, and racism. Republican and independent voters have other more practical concerns.

The lesson, which most Republican candidates are heeding, is to campaign on issues that voters care about, rather than listening to Liz Cheney, Chuck Todd, or Morning Joe, who focus on the liberal echo chamber concerns of January 6, abortion, and global warming.

Speaking of global warming, Winter Park ski resort in Colorado, “Will pull off the earliest opening in its 82-year history on Monday”, undoubtedly aided by warming temperatures so conducive to snow. Greta Thunberg was unavailable for comment.

The Washington Post is right, “Democrats are focusing on the wrong issues.” But don’t rule out the ability of the GOP to shoot themselves in the foot as Colorado GOP Senate candidate Joe O’Dea attempted by promising to “actively campaign against Donald Trump” who isn’t running for anything  but still has massive support within the Republican Party electorate.

Rasmussen Reports again confirms the likely red wave based on a poll released last Friday, “The 2022 midterm elections are now just 11 days away, and Republicans have a seven-point lead in their bid to recapture control of Congress.”

MSNBC confirms as network crank Donny Deutsch bemoaned, “I’m really scared about a bloodbath 10 days from now”

Republicans are wisely focusing on issues which voters care about, and this portends big wins for the GOP on November 8. Bring on the red wave!

Brian C. Joondeph, M.D., is a physician and writer. Follow me on Twitter @retinaldoctor, Truth Social @BrianJoondeph, and LinkedIn @Brian Joondeph.