Perhaps hate is too strong a word, but I am so disgusted by Washington, D.C. and just about all the politicians there. Democrats just lost a shutdown fight they tried to claim no responsibility for and then — with the help of the press — pivoted to Jeffrey Epstein. It turns out one of Epstein's major private boosters was the author Michael Wolff, who plotted against President Donald Trump with Epstein.

Michael Wolff, like Michael Avenatti before him, was a regular Brian Stelter guest on CNN. CNN and MSNBC have gone wall-to-wall with coverage of the new Epstein revelations, of which there is actually not much new information. They just hope to pin it all on Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, in MAGA Land, the president suddenly supports the H-1B visa program, telling Fox News's Laura Ingraham that Americans are not talented enough to do the work that needs to be done and Americans cannot just be taken from the unemployment line to the manufacturing floor. He also, after months of saying tariffs were not to blame for higher prices, announced he'd be cutting the tariff on coffee to bring down the price of coffee. But wait! Tariffs do not raise prices, he assured us a few months ago.

In the magical world of Washington, D.C., anonymous whistleblowers who blow whistles against Democrats are ignored by the press, while those who blow whistles against Republicans are valorized. And tariffs do not raise prices, but tariff cuts cut prices. Americans get the government they deserve, but this government is dumber than a raccoon in a moonshine barrel. Maybe I do really hate them all.

Democrats broke the economy. They want no responsibility for breaking the economy. They would rather talk about Epstein than the economy. Mind you, when Democrats were in charge of the economy, Republicans spent a lot of time talking about Epstein. Now that they are in charge, Republicans want nothing to do with the very Epstein scandal they weaponized against Democrats. Now, Democrats want to weaponize Epstein against Republicans, while ignoring the economy they broke. It is a pretty strong admission against interest that Democrats have no solutions for the economy.

Republicans, now not talking about Epstein, but dodging the Epstein story they blew up (remember, Pam Bondi had the list on her desk and she was going to release it until she did not), are also dodging their lame duck president continuing to crater an economy that former President Joe Biden first cratered. Eighty-year-old presidents seem great at wrecking economies — not offering solutions to fix the economy. In Trump's first term, before hitting Biden's age, he had a booming economy, with everyone employed and the cost of living low. After Biden steered the economy into an iceberg, Mr. Trump has decided to, instead of replicating the successes of his first term, put the ship of state in reverse, then full speed ahead back into the iceberg.

Trump is too dogmatically tied to policies he now admits are raising prices and Democrats are too ashamed of their prior performance to admit their errors and chart a new course. So, Jeffrey Epstein it is!

Walmart says the cost of a Thanksgiving this year is 25% less than last year. The president championed that news. What Walmart did not say is that it subtracted six items from the list it used last year in order to get a reduction in prices. Had Walmart included those six products, Thanksgiving would be more expensive this year. The president seemed not to know that fact and Democrats seemed not to care because Epstein, Democrats have concluded, is a more potent issue than Mr. Trump's handling of the economy.

Americans are hurting. The cost of living is up. Inflation is higher than it should be. Grocery prices are increasing. People are struggling to make ends meet. Defaults on loans are increasing. A greater number of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck than just a few years ago. Neither Democrats nor Republicans seem to have solutions, just conspiracies and blame. Don't be surprised if Americans go either hard right or socialist left as both parties fail to meet the moment.

To find out more about Erick Erickson and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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