There are several festering political issues which could have a dramatic effect on both the midterm elections and the presidential election two years later.

As a reminder, Barack Obama was handcuffed politically by a change of one seat in the Senate. He lost a filibuster proof majority that completely derailed his agenda.

What are the most important controversies, and how are politicians on both sides of the aisle gearing up to deal with them?

Inflation. It’s been a long time since this destructive economic phenomenon has plagued America. It saps the buying power of average Americans. The outrageous spending affiliated with the pandemic, coupled with a shortage of available workers is wreaking havoc on prices across the board for consumers and distorting employment statistics.

Oil prices have increased dramatically during the past year. Food prices have spiked. Many kinds of building materials have skyrocketed. And, unemployed workers are not responding to demand for new workers as the economy heats up. Many people are holding off taking new jobs because handouts by the federal government are greater than what they would receive in low-paying jobs.

Of note, inflationary pressures coupled with higher oil prices and a shortage of every type of fuel brought down the Jimmy Carter administration in 1980. Americans will not accept lines at gas stations.

Immigration. Biden is attempting to brand US immigration as a kinder and gentler system compared to the previous administration. It hasn’t worked. Illegal aliens misread the president’s message and are flooding across our borders, overwhelming our border officials and cities close to the Mexican border. Even worse, immigrants are being treated like refugees in poorer parts of the world.

The US has been unable to pass US immigration reform because the political parties have different objectives. Republicans want a fair and reasonable inflow of new future citizens, while Democrats are attempting to buy future votes from those who are entering our country illegally. The successes of the former administration have been highlighted by the problems of the Biden administration. Voters are becoming increasingly impatient with the inability to stem the tide of interlopers who are putting a strain on our social and economic infrastructures.

Defending and reforming the police. A majority of Americans are strongly supporting reform of the police but are not in favor of taking away police funding or eliminating departments altogether. Our country cannot operate without federal, state and local law men and law women. In fact, the poorest of our neighbors have the most crime and need for protection.

The war between the ultra-right an ultra-left. If the former president becomes active and influential in the impending elections, Republicans will pay a high price. There is a huge silent group of restive Republicans that don’t have the backbone to tell the departed president to take a hike. Fear of being called out by the former loudmouth-in charge is preventing a complete break with what will happened between 2016 and 2020.

On the one hand, ultra-left socialists, anarchists, spendthrifts, anti-Semites and troublemakers are driving the nation towards the Republican Party. Every day the Squad, a group of four radical, left wing congresswoman, are doing everything possible to guarantee Republicans a victory in 2022 in 2024.

The war against Covid. Progress is being made in the fight to eliminate the flu. But there is great confusion and many mixed messages coming from Biden’s sycophants.  To make matters worse, different governmental and medical authorities are flooding the airwaves with contradictory mandates. This is causing many Americans to eschew vaccines altogether, which will prolong our torment. If the disease persists into voting periods, Democrats will suffer.

Both political parties are playing with fire led by the radical elements of their caucuses. The parties that emasculate the loudest and most destructive elements in their caucuses will likely take control of the federal government prospectively.