When the word “affordable” starts showing up in every Democratic press release, you know two things: election season is near, and voters are angry. Suddenly, the same people who spent years downplaying inflation, laughing off energy prices, and dismissing middle-class pain are very concerned about “affordability.”
But Americans haven’t forgotten who was in charge when family budgets collapsed under the weight of bad policy. The truth is simple: the left was silent when it mattered most. They’re only talking about affordability now because they’re hoping you won’t remember who was responsible for destroying it.
They Called It “Transitory” While You Paid the Price
During the Biden years, affordability wasn’t a talking point — it was a national emergency. Gasoline soared past five dollars a gallon, grocery prices spiked, and household energy bills doubled in parts of the country. Inflation peaked at 9.1%, the highest in forty years. The administration’s answer? Dismiss it all as “transitory.”
Even as Americans were choosing between filling the tank or buying groceries, the Biden team mocked the idea of doing anything to lower costs. When asked about increasing oil production to bring prices down, then Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm laughed — literally laughed — calling the idea “hilarious.” That wasn’t policy; that was contempt for working people. All the while, every Democrat screaming “affordability” today remained silent.
Begging the Saudis While Punishing American Producers:
When the pain finally started impacting the polls, President Biden didn’t fix the problem — he went hat in hand to Saudi Arabia to beg for more oil.
It was an act of political desperation, not leadership. And when the Saudis declined, his administration went one step further: they asked the kingdom to delay production cuts until after the midterm elections.
Think about that. They weren’t trying to make energy more affordable — they just didn’t want prices spiking before voters went to the polls. Politics before people is the pattern.
Cheering High Prices Because They Fit the Agenda:
Perhaps the most revealing moment has arrived as many on the left are secretly cheering high energy prices because they believe it would make Americans more likely to support their green agenda.
It’s a repugnant mindset — one that treats American families as pawns in an ideological game. These are the same people who’ve spent the last fifteen years celebrating the closure of nearly 400 coal, oil, and natural gas electricity plants across the country. Those closures didn’t make energy “cleaner.” They made it scarcer, less reliable, and more expensive.
Shuttering the very infrastructure that powers American life doesn’t make things affordable — you’re guaranteeing they never will be again. Every wind turbine photo op and solar ribbon-cutting comes with a hidden cost on the next utility bill.
They Were Silent When Families Were Hurting:
During those painful years, not a single Democrat mentioned the “affordability crisis.” Not one. Instead, they blamed “Putin’s price hike,” told people to buy electric cars, and lectured working families about “energy transition.” The same party that claims to stand for the middle class stood idly by as that same middle class get crushed.
Even now, as Democrats feign outrage over SNAP benefits, they’re jumping aboard planes to Brazil for the latest climate conference.
The Great Rebrand:
Now that the political winds have shifted, Democrats are trying to reinvent themselves as champions of affordability. Editorial boards like the Seattle Times are suddenly urging them to “keep affordability front and center” — as if it’s some new cause they’ve nobly discovered.
But it’s the same tired playbook. When the left says “affordable,” they don’t mean less expensive — they mean more subsidized. Their version of affordability means more taxpayer bailouts to cover the costs their own policies created. The “Affordable Care Act” apparently only stays “affordable” because taxpayers pick up the tab. Their so-called “affordable energy future” is the same illusion: higher bills hidden behind clever branding.
Same Playbook, Different Slogan:
The pattern is clear. Democrats break the system, watch Americans suffer, then pretend to care once the political costs rise. They did it with health care during the shutdown. They did it with energy. And now they’re doing it again now by pretending to care about affordability.
They’ve gone from mocking Americans for driving gas-powered cars to pretending they’re the party of cost-of-living relief. It’s the same crowd that laughed at your pain, shut down your power plant, and told you your truck was destroying the planet.
The masterminds of inflation now want applause for discovering the word “affordable.” They’re praying you don’t remember. Prove them wrong.
Larry Behrens is an energy expert and the Communications Director for Power The Future. He has appeared on Fox News, ZeroHedge, and NewsMax speaking in defense of American energy workers. You can follow him on X/Twitter @larrybehrens.