Budowsky: Biden and Democrats march to the midterms

President Biden’s skill as commander in chief is dramatized again by the successful strike against Ayman al-Zawahiri, an architect of the attacks against America on Sept. 11, 2001, even as Biden unifies and lifts the NATO alliance in defense of Ukraine against the invasion by Russia.

The core vision of House and Senate Democrats, as President Kennedy  once brilliantly said, to build a rising tide that lifts all boats is dramatized by  congressional action to support lower prescription drug prices that will help more than 131 million Americans protect their health and lower their cost of living.

And to achieve dramatic, long overdue action to combat climate change. 

And to enact the CHIPS bill to create American jobs  by restoring American leadership in the semiconductor industry.

And to support our veteran heroes who endure preventable diseases from burning pits of trash on military bases and other illnesses resulting from their combat service.

And to fight like hell, before the midterm elections and thereafter, for the rights of women, working people, minorities and young people.

As these critical midterm elections approach, all political journalists should go to RealClearPolitics generic polling summaries and report on substantial gains made by Democrats from July into August. Count the Democratic leads. Count the Republican leads. Report the facts. Focus on Democratic Senate strength in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Georgia — just for starters.

There is no question that in the last month Biden and Democrats in Congress have gained strength. The question is whether this growing strength continues.

Regarding the CHIP bill, the president, congressional Democrats and Republicans who supported the bill deserve great credit; those Republicans who opposed or obstructed it will have to answer to voters. It will create jobs in America. It will strengthen American semiconductor companies and workers and all other companies and consumers that benefit from chips. It will strengthen national security and improve long-term American supply chains, lowering long-term inflation.

Regarding the bill to dramatically improve veterans’ health care, Biden, who has a passion for this cause, and congressional Democrats and Republicans who support it, all deserve great credit. Those Republicans who oppose or obstruct it for political reasons should be ashamed, as the great veterans advocate Jon Stewart and many veterans are saying; those Republicans will have to answer for this to veterans and military families back home.

Regarding the critical reconciliation bill,  the Inflation Reduction Act, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) deserves great credit along with Biden for this effort, as will Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) if his support remains firm, as I believe it will. And Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) will receive national acclaim for her enormously important role in making these good things happen with a yes vote, if she votes that way.

According to Georgetown University, more than 131 million Americans use prescription drugs.  Virtually every one of them will benefit personally and financially, as their families who love them will benefit if this becomes law. Those who oppose the measure , however, will pay a heavy price at the polls.

The landmark climate change proposals in this bill are critically important to the future of the Earth and humanity at a time of grave environmental danger. Major support for alternative energies, and support for those who make electric cars and  the consumers who drive them, will reduce the need for Mideast oil, create good jobs for American workers, and reduce the cost of gas at the pumps.

As Biden and Democrats march to the midterms, they stand for these policies that create jobs, lower inflation, back vets, protect the Earth, and help more than 131 million Americans save money to stay healthy — to build a rising tide that lifts all American boats.  

Budowsky was an aide to former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas) and former Rep. Bill Alexander (D-Ark.), who was chief deputy majority whip of the House of Representatives.