Affordability crunch takes us back to 1974 | Letter
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An unpopular president; surging oil prices causing significant inflation; and an upcoming midterm election.
No, I’m not talking about 2026, but 1974. President Gerald Ford had just pardoned Richard Nixon in September, a decision unpopular with much of the American public who had Watergate still fresh in their minds. Oil prices surged in October 1973 after the OPEC oil embargo, which led to inflation running above 10%. The 1974 midterm elections brought a Democratic landslide victory, with the party winning 49 seats in the House and four in the Senate. Will 2026 be, quoting Yogi Berra, “like déjà vu all over again”?
Current indications suggest it may well be. Many Republican held seats in Congress appear to be up for grabs, even those in some “deep red” districts. Why? An unpopular president, Donald Trump, whose action and inaction is felt to have led to the highest inflation in years.
The question for Democrats, should they prevail Nov. 3, is: How will they govern? The temptation for many Democrats will be to hold endless congressional investigations into President Trump and his appointees for possible corrupt dealings. While I agree that there are valid concerns, is this what voters really want Congress to focus on? From everything I read, I think not.
One word comes up again and again: affordability. Democrats’ failure to address this concern may well lead to problems in the 2028 election. An out-of-touch party is soon an out-of-office party.
Samuel Rosenthal
Portland
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Tagged: election 2026, letter to the editor
