There's an old maxim (or perhaps I just made it up): Never let updated information get in the way of a good idea for a cartoon (especially if you've already drawn the cartoon). Heading into the election, polls and general consensus had inflation as the number one issue among Michigan voters. But afterward, apparently that wasn't entirely the case. As reported by MLive:
"Bernie Porn of EPIC/MRA, another pollster, said he found that while Michiganders cited inflation as their top issue of concern, at 28%, it was abortion that drove them to the polls, with 43% citing that as their top issue in the election itself."
Okay, so although this news may render today's cartoon not 100% accurate, I stand by the point: Among the mistakes Michigan Republicans made in these midterms, invoking inflation without having an actionable plan was a big one. They seemed to have depended on voters just thinking that "Republican" was synonymous with "fiscal responsibility." Maybe that was true 40, 50 years ago, but it's certainly not today. And so not actually having a plan to fight inflation turned out to be problematic.
John Auchter is a freelance political cartoonist. His views are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Michigan Radio, its management, or its license holder, the University of Michigan.
