During the last Democrat presidential debate the question was posed to candidates about the roles their spouses would play in their presidency. For Hillary Clinton, who responded that she’d probably still pick china and flowers and reserve using Bill Clinton’s expertise for special missions and economic advice, it was a win because it tapped into what many Americans suspect that when you get Hillary you get Bill, a shopper’s dream, a two for one, buy one, get one free.
Regardless of your politics, Bill Clinton is an asset to Hillary Clinton. Hardworking, definitely knowledgeable, established in her own right, Hillary knows that this undercurrent works for her and we do as well. Republicans should not hammer away at Bill Clinton because he was President long enough ago that for us his memory is coated in nostalgia and because let’s face it, for many if not most Americans, his tenure was and is perceived as a better period of financial opportunity and security than today.
Other candidates are not appealing to our American shopper know-how.
No Refunds, No Exchanges: People who advocate the First Amendment of the US Constitution are just as valid as those who advocate the Second Amendment of the Constitution. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” the separation of church and state should not be viewed as anti-Republican. It’s as important an amendment as the second amendment is to some people. In other words, stop forcing ideas based on religion down our throats.
Bye-bye Huckabee: This is where Mike Huckabee, whose opinions I like on many things lost this American shopper. When Kim Davis a government employee refused to follow the law based on her religious views against gay marriage, she should have quit her job instead of choosing to collect government paychecks by imposing her opinion on the law. Unfortunately, Mike Huckabee defended her, tapping into those against gay marriage who ignored what they’d do if they were arbitrarily denied a gun license because a government employee is against guns based on religious ideas of peace.
Lifetime Guarantee: It’s always disappointing though perhaps not surprising when those lifetime guarantees fail, like paint where it becomes an issue of how you painted, or any other means used by retailers to wiggle out of their untrue promises. Even when we still buy the stuff, most of us don’t rely on that promise.
Bye-bye Chris Christie: This is where Chris Christie lost this American shopper. During the October 28, 2015 Republican debate Chris Christie defended slashing social security in response to Mike Huckabee’s appealing reminder of the American deal—government forces you to pay in for a lifetime you get social security.
Christie answered: That in talking to seniors and near-seniors politicians should “Treat them like adults and tell them the truth…It isn’t there anymore, Mike.” Well, for average aging Americans, this was the wiggling out of the lifetime guarantee, especially since we all know the things government DOES find money for including federal employee raises.
New and Improved: Sometimes it’s just a new box. Other times one sweetener is substituted for another. Whatever the case, rarely is something that’s new and improved both new and improved. Sometimes it’s new, rarely it’s improved and usually there’s just some minor difference.
Bye-bye Carly Fiorina: Carly Fiorina lost this American shopper with her “repeal Obamacare” chant that promised a healthcare system subject to “free market forces.” Free market forces in healthcare? When was the last time that was true? Not for the duration of many American lifetimes as laws and lawmakers have been influenced to accommodate businesses with laws. None of us needs look any further than the amount of money spent by businesses in lobbying to know that Fiorina’s peddling the same old myth that there’s a “free market” in healthcare and health insurance is neither new nor improved.
Coupons that work: Coupons are great for this American shopper until they start getting bogged down with exclusions that you need a magnifying glass to read, or when your internet coupon doesn’t work, or when they’re for so little (10 percent off one item) that they're often more trouble than they're worth, or other instances where your coupon is essentially useless.
Maybe, Hi-hi, Marco Rubio: Marco Rubio’s proposal after he repeals Obamacare is appealing with his plan for a “refundable tax credit that can be used to purchase insurance,” (marcorubio.com.) In terms of the American shopper, it sounds like a plan that directly provides some monetary relief for the cost of insurance, a coupon if you will.
Tax credits don’t lower overall tax liability like deductions, they’re a fixed amount that comes off for all—at least for those who are working, if they’re enough to make a dent in what we pay and are partnered with increases mimicking the endless increases we face each year, if they’re not partnered with an increase in other taxes like President Obama’s infamous payroll tax increase we faced as workers in order to pay for his Obamacare. But at least I’ll look at a coupon.
$10 off X brand, X product: If you’re looking for X brand and X product then this is a great coupon for this American shopper. But you skip it if you’re not.
Bye-bye Ted Cruz: He’s smart but he’s too rigid for this American shopper. Like many non-negotiable stances that Republicans determined to lose elections take these days, people simply dismiss this kind of rigid specificity if they’re not sure or they don’t support an idea. For this shopper, I’m not sure I’m looking to dismantle five agencies of government or go to a flat tax (go to Tedcruz.com) the issues Ted Cruz puts front and center, so I’ll skip him.
Walmart Shopping: Walmart’s stock has tumbled recently, in part credited to paying workers more and investing in other shopping areas like online. For this American shopper, I actually have shopped in Walmart, preferring it over other cheap stores recently for two reasons, first BECAUSE it’s paying its workers higher wages and because its prices, which on many items have not been as cheap as other stores for awhile, haven’t shown a huge jump to pay for the higher salaries.
But Walmart is a cautionary tale of the idea of race to the bottom, the hard facts of going cheaper and cheaper until you can’t go any cheaper without serious cuts elsewhere or going out of business.
Bye-bye Bernie Sanders: Bernie Sanders is promising a better America for the middle class and others who have in reality been compromised by President Obama (that’s right, the rich got richer and the middle class lost ground). But for this American shopper, I worry that Bernie Sanders has Walmart syndrome and that what starts out as offering bargains for all will soon be a choice of where to cut corners in order to make sure the crowds keep coming.
The Best for Less: For this American shopper it’s difficult to imagine anyone who doesn’t want that. How they do it we don’t know, but one thing is for sure, if it’s true we’re happy getting any "best" for less money.
Maybe, Hi-hi Donald Trump: For me, this is what Donald Trump is promising. He’s not promising cheap, but the best for less. Sure, it’ll cost us but not as much and better than what we’ve got without singling out any particular group of American citizens to finance it. It’s appealing and if it works, it would be great.
