🤫 Dems' inflation plague

Plus: Russia's agents | Monday, March 14, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Climate Power   Axios Sneak Peek By the Axios Politics team ·Mar 14, 2022 Welcome back to Sneak. Smart Brevity™ count: 991 words ... 3.5 minutes. Edited by Glen Johnson.     1 big thing: Battleground inflation plagues Dems Data: Bureau of Labor Statistics; Table: Thomas Oide/Axios Price hikes affecting Americans nationally have been even worse in battleground states since the beginning of the pandemic, Axios' Sarah Mucha reports. Why it matters: Some of the most sensitive voters politically are the ones feeling price hikes most sharply. During an already volatile midterm year for Democrats, inflation concerns have prompted the party to focus its messaging on lowering costs and cutting taxes. The details: Axios calculated the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index from February 2020, just before the pandemic, to last month, which provided the latest data available. The difference was then compared to the national average. The CPI's U.S. city average in February 2020 was 257.97; in February 2022, it was 281.15 — a growth of 8.2%. Inflation in urban areas in Florida, Georgia and Arizona has been significantly higher than that U.S. city average. In the Atlanta area, the change was 11.7%. In Florida, the Tampa- and Miami-area differences were 11.8% and 10.2%, respectively. In the urban areas in Arizona, the difference was 10.7%. In West Coast cities, including the Nevada battleground of Las Vegas, the difference was 8.4% — just higher than the U.S. national city average. Thought bubble: The higher rates in these battleground areas stem from the fact they possess characteristics correlating with high inflation, Axios' chief economic correspondent Neil Irwin says. They earn higher salaries, tend to bid up rents and have sufficient disposable income allowing restaurants and stores to raise prices. Keep reading.     2. White House trip highlights China concern Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   National security adviser Jake Sullivan left the president's side and the information nerve center at the White House to fly to Rome for a meeting today with senior Chinese Communist Party diplomat Yang Jiechi. Why it matters: A principal's schedule is the Rosetta Stone to their concerns. As Axios World's Dave Lawler and Axios China's Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian write, Sullivan warned of "consequences" if Beijing materially supports Russia's war effort in Ukraine, a senior U.S. official briefed reporters. Big picture: China is already providing its most powerful partner with tacit support. U.S. officials are now trying to draw red lines to prevent a full-on superpower proxy war, Dave and Bethany wrote for tonight's edition of Axios World. Driving the news: The FT's Demetri Sevastopulo reports the U.S. has warned allies in a diplomatic cable that China has "signaled its willingness" to provide Russia with weapons. Those include surface-to-air missiles, according to the report. While China's next moves remain uncertain, fears are growing that Washington and Beijing could end up arming either side in a brutal land war — potentially escalating and prolonging it. Far beyond the battlefield, such a move would herald an even more adversarial era in U.S.-China relations, says Hal Brands of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Sanctions and economic decoupling would "find a new gear," and remaining hopes of a constructive relationship would evaporate. The U.S. official declined to comment on the potential arms transfers but said Sullivan shared "deep concerns about China's alignment with Russia" and warned of the "potential consequences of certain actions." Beijing has denied receiving any such request from Moscow and has not armed parties to other recent conflicts. Keep reading. 👓 Go deeper: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will address Congress virtually on Wednesday.     3. Charted: Russian agents Data: The Justice Department; Chart: Baidi Wang/Axios Russian interests have the fewest registered American agents in years, as the country's invasion of Ukraine makes Kremlin-aligned political interests toxic in Washington, Axios' Lachlan Markay notes. Why it matters: With tensions at their highest since the Cold War, there are few people remaining — officially, at least — to plead Russia's case in D.C. The details: Currently, there are only four registered foreign agents representing Russian entities in the U.S. That's the fewest since 2017, when the Foreign Ministry's D.C. lobbying firm ended its contract. The four remaining are all state-run Russian propaganda organs: three are involved in airing "Sputnik" radio broadcasts, and the fourth is the production company behind Kremlin-backed TV network RT. They too are facing heavy pressure. RT recently announced it will wind down its U.S. operations. The big picture: For many K Street firms, Russia work is now a liability. Some House Democrats have considered blacklisting lobbyists who continue to represent Russian clients.     A message from Climate Power Clean energy is the key to real energy independence     By investing in clean energy here in America, we can speed up the production of cheaper, cleaner energy — like wind, solar and electric vehicles — that will expand our energy supply and lower costs for consumers and businesses. Watch Climate Power's new national ad to learn more.     4. Worthy of your time First lady Jill Biden addressed the 16th annual International Women of Courage Awards ceremony at the State Department. Photo: Leah Millis/Pool/AFP via Getty Images   📸 Politico's legal team wrote Sen. Josh Hawley's (R-Mo.) campaign committee a cease-and-desist letter, asking it to stop selling a mug with a photo of him raising his fist at the Capitol on Jan. 6. It was taken by a photographer for Politico subsidiary E&E News, Axios' Andrew Solender reports. 🗳️ Jennifer Carnahan, former chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota and wife of the recently deceased Rep. Jim Hagedorn (R-Minn.), announced she's joining the crowded GOP primary to succeed her late husband. ☢️ Every Senate Republican except Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) signed a statement vowing to do "everything in our power to reverse" an Iran nuclear deal, if they feel it doesn't do enough to block Iran's path to nuclear weapons, threatening to try to force a Senate vote. 🤝 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), a member of the progressive "Squad," at a town hall meeting in his district celebrating the one-year anniversary of the American Rescue Plan. 🐘 Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) floated the idea of an independent run for president with the aim of siphoning votes from former President Trump, telling the Associated Press, "Never rule anything out. But my hope would be to be able to find the salvation of the GOP." 📊 Former Vice President Dick Cheney is viewed favorably by just 39% of voters in his home state of Wyoming and unfavorably by 48% in a poll conducted for a PAC supporting a GOP challenger to Cheney's daughter Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), which was flagged by Axios' Jonathan Swan.     5. Tweets du jour Via Twitter   Marina Ovsyannikova was a profile in courage today when she rushed Russian state TV to protest the war in Ukraine. She posted a preemptive video explaining her actions. She could face a prison sentence of 15 years. Via Twitter     A message from Climate Power Clean energy is the key to real energy independence     By investing in clean energy here in America, we can speed up the production of cheaper, cleaner energy — like wind, solar and electric vehicles — that will expand our energy supply and lower costs for consumers and businesses. Watch Climate Power's new national ad to learn more.   📬 Thanks for reading tonight! Subscribe to Sneak or any of Axios' other free local and national newsletters through this link. Like this email style and format? It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 200 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Suite 1300, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: