Republicans have managed to make tax cuts unpopular.
The economy is doing well, the unemployment rate is way down — and none of it is helping Republicans in the eyes of voters going into the midterm election cycle.
In a stunning example of political disconnect, Republicans under Trump are receiving virtually no credit for the strength of the economy, according to a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll.
In fact, Democrats enjoy a huge 10-point advantage when voters are asked which party they'll vote for in November.
Why all the bad economic news for Republicans in the Trump era? It seems that the GOP's disastrous tax bill, which Trump once touted as a cure-all for the party's midterm election strategy, continues to be a massive campaign season flop.
Specifically, voters in swing states are now less likely to support a candidate that backed the GOP tax bill by a margin of 12 percentage points.
Incredibly, Republicans have managed to turn tax cuts into a political albatross.
Voters aren't stupid. Analyses have found the tax scam bill will hike the budget deficit over $1 trillion, and that 83 percent accrues to the top 1 percent of income earners, with 80 percent going to foreign investors.
Nationally, just 27 percent of Americans approve of it. And in key midterm states like New Jersey, where Republicans are in danger of losing many House seats, just 19 percent of voters think their taxes will go down because of the GOP bill.
Indeed, "The most vulnerable Republican incumbents in the tightest congressional races in the November elections are talking less and less about the tax cuts on Twitter and Facebook, on their campaign and congressional websites and in digital ads, the vital tools of a modern election campaign,” Reuters recently reported.
And, oh yeah, deep-pocketed donors also hate the tax bill and have cut off their donations to the GOP in protest.
With the tax bill imploding on the campaign trail, the party is now left scrambling, trying to turn the local issue of immigration along the United States' southern border into some kind of roiling national controversy that's gripping the nation. (It's not.)
Whereas Trump's erratic behavior and the churning springtime scandals made it impossible for the GOP to focus voters' attention on the tax giveaway they were so proud of. It's now clear that Republicans don’t want voters thinking about the failed initiative.
