Halloween horror: Biden’s America

Do you like scary movies?

You don’t have to rent a horror movie this Halloween to feel spooked — just take a look at what President Biden and the Democrats have done since they took control of the White House and Congress. Inflation is clocking in at 40-year highs. It can cost Montana families over $100 just to fill up their tank. Fentanyl from the open southern border is wreaking havoc across Montana. Good-paying energy jobs have been nixed. Our small-town communities aren’t safe anymore, and cities across the country are grappling with an exponential uptick in violent crime. The current state of America is frightening.

But this time, the villain isn’t Freddy Kruger, or Michael Myers — the boogeyman in this movie is President Biden and the Democrats.

Since Biden became president and the Democrats took control of both the House and the Senate, inflation has increased by 13% across the country. In Montana, prices have risen 15.6%. The number alone is enough to send chills down your spine, but what it means for Montana families is far scarier. It’s estimated that because of inflation, Montanans are spending approximately $802 more per month. Folks are forced to tighten their budgets just so that the federal government can spend, spend, spend. And to make matters worse, while the price of gas, groceries and rent have increased, wages have not kept up, resulting in a real-life pay cut for Montanans.

And while practically everyone gets a pay cut, some lose their job completely. Biden and the Democrats’ anti-domestic energy production policies kill Montana energy jobs to appease woke green radicals. Cancelling the Keystone pipeline wasn’t enough for them – the Democrats’ so-called “Inflation Reduction Act” contains a slew of anti-made-in-America and made-in-Montana energy, like raising royalty rates for offshore and onshore oil and gas production and increasing the minimum bid for oil and gas leases fivefold. We are living in a real-life energy crisis and led by a party hellbent on making it worse.

This financial crisis we’re living in shows no signs of getting better any time soon. If you’re asking yourself why the nation is in this economic nightmare, look no further than the nearly $2 trillion tax and spending law that President Biden and Democrats in Congress passed soon after he took office. Even some liberal economists admit this reckless partisan law set off the crushing inflation that continues to hurt everyday Montanans. More recently the president managed to make things worse with his student loan giveaway. Despite the warning signs of a recession flashing in his face, the president transferred the debt of the elite to middle and lower-class Americans who are already struggling to get by under the weight of the inflation crisis. In fact, economists estimate this move alone will cost the average American taxpayer $2,500 this year.

Dwindling bank accounts aren’t the only thing scaring Montanans this spooky season. Our communities are being stricken with an epidemic of violent crime. Last year, 12 major U.S. cities broke all-time homicide records; in the first half of this year, violent crime increased by another 4.2% nationally. There are a lot of reasons behind this spike in crime, including the Democrats’ radical, dangerous anti-police agenda. But one of the most significant catalysts is Biden’s open southern border. Without a secure southern border, illegal immigrants and illegal drugs are flooding our communities, making families less safe.

Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for young Americans. In the first half of this year, almost twice as much fentanyl was taken off the streets of Montana than in all of 2021, and 58 times more fentanyl than 2019. Montana law enforcement officers have been clear — this uptick in dangerous drugs is a direct result of Biden’s open southern border. This crisis is happening right in our backyard, and it is horrifying.

The scariest part of this spooky season is that there’s no end in sight if President Biden and the Democrats stay in control. The good news? There’s an election on Nov. 8 that could help put an end to this hair-raising nightmare.

Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines lives in Bozeman.