Every Issue Is an Economic Issue Now
The constitutional argument lost. The grocery store won.
February 24, 2026 | 3 min read
Stop saying "rule of law." Start saying "chaos tax." The economic frame beats the constitutional frame by 25 points. Voters feel price instability before they feel constitutional crisis.
We tested 30 messages on the administration's Supreme Court workaround on tariffs. The gap between winners and losers was 25 points—and the dividing line was simple: economic chaos lands, constitutional process doesn't.
"Chaos tax" outperformed "unconstitutional overreach" by double digits. "Whiplash tariffs" beat "separation of powers." The flash poll confirmed it: tariff opposition runs 52-41, and 56% agree it's a "tax on consumers" versus 38% who accept the protectionist pitch.
Even among voters who support tariffs in principle, 41% still oppose these tariffs because of the "unpredictable, on-again-off-again" implementation. The policy isn't the problem. The chaos is.
This pattern showed up everywhere we looked. In California, Democrats hold a 26-point generic ballot advantage—but incumbents are underwater by 13 on re-election. The reason: housing affordability polls at -43, cost of living at -39. When we asked voters what matters more—"lowering costs" or "protecting California values from federal overreach"—affordability won by 29 points.
In TX-32, Trump's approval sits at 27-72. Only 8% hold a "somewhat" opinion—the soft middle effectively doesn't exist. But even in a district where turnout is the only game, the intensity of opposition correlates with economic anxiety, not constitutional concern.
The administration is betting that process arguments won't stick. They're right—but not because voters don't care about outcomes. They care deeply. The outcome they're tracking is "why did my grocery bill go up."
WHAT THIS MEANS IN 10 SECONDS
For campaigns: Your tariff message should start with "prices" not "precedent."
For lawmakers: Oversight hearings land better when they're about consumer impact, not executive overreach.
For advocates: "Chaos tax" is the phrase. Use it.
Methodology: Message testing (n=1,200) and flash polls (n=623 national, n=800 California, n=500 TX-32), February 18-23, 2026.
Want to know what economic frames work in your race? Talk to us →
