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After the 2012 election I proposed the hypothesis that the oil and gas boom that accelerated during Obama’s first term (thank you, fracking) was a major factor in his successful re-election. On the surface it is significant how much of the slow employment growth that we had during the post 2008 crisis was lopsided in fossil energy and related occupations. It almost got Harris elected, too:

And as anyone who ever had Econ 101 knows, long term economic growth depends on productivity growth. Our productivity growth has lately been lagging, nowhere more noticeable than aircraft manufacturing (thanks, Boeing):

Guess where you have seen productivity growth:

Drill, baby, drill!

Chaser:

Trump’s ‘EV Mandate’ Message May Have Helped Him Win Michigan

. . . it also appears that Democrats, in their push to accelerate the U.S. transition to more climate-friendly vehicles, may have over-promised. . .

The GOP message about the dangers of EVs appeared to gain traction among Michigan voters, perhaps more so than arguments from Democrats defending EVs as good for the economy. . .

Democrats fought back against that message by pointing out that the new regulations aren’t technically “mandates” in the strictest definition of the word. . .

“Nobody’s mandating anything to you,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, told rally-goers in Michigan last month. . .

“Those sorts of word games are exactly why the Democratic brand is in tatters right now,” Hemond said. “You call it a fuel efficiency standard, where there’s only one option, those are functionally the same thing. And for people who do not participate in the discourse—i.e. most voters—they think that’s all bulls–t.”