The Case For Biden, Pelosi and Schumer (Ugh)

And an invitation for tonight's Office Hours

The Midterms are 102 days from now, here’s my case for the Democrats

We are now in our political season where each side cherry-picks evidence to make their best case. This is not about right or wrong. It’s about winning. So, set aside the real-world consequences of Democrats failing to deliver on big ticket items like voting rights, the Pro Act, raising the minimum wage, debt forgiveness and major health care reform, even though Democrats controlled the White House and both houses of Congress. Can Democrats win? Do they deserve to win?

I believe they can and deserve to win.

And it’s looking better for Democrats. Better than anyone could have predicted only a few months ago.

In the Senate, Democrats could pick up one or two seats. Perhaps more!

• In Pennsylvania, a July 28th Fox News poll shows Democrat John Fetterman leading Republican Dr. Oz by eleven points in the race for an open Senate seat currently held by Republican John Toomey.

• In Ohio, Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan seems poised to beat Hillbilly Elegy author J.D. Vance in the race for an open senate seat currently held by Republican Bob Portman.

• In Wisconsin, if Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes wins the Democratic nomination on August 9, new polling shows he could defeat the Republican incumbent Senator Ron Johnson whose approval rating is below 40 percent.

• Even Republican seats in Missouri, Florida and North Carolina are competitive.

• Meanwhile, seats held by Democratic incumbents like Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan, and Colorado Senator Michael Bennet show no signs of flipping red in November.

So, that’s good news.

Keeping the House, however, is going to be a heavy lift for Democrats.

Republicans need only a net gain of five seats to get control of the House. Finding those seats should be easy considering 29 out of the 33 toss up districts in November are held by Democrats. Making matters worse, three out of five voters want Speaker Nancy Pelosi to retire.

So, can Democrats make a convincing case to voters for another two years of leadership in the House and Senate?

Yes. Not a good case. But yes.

I believe Democrats can make a case that says a little bit more than just, “Republicans are far worse.”

Democrats can lay claim to modest victories that when placed side by side suggest a significant wave of accomplishments. All of this in fewer than two years:

• The Inflation Reduction Act is still in its infancy, and could be derailed by Sinema, but this week Senator Joe Manchin signed on. While it doesn’t come close to Bernie’s “Build Back Better” it promises to reduce greenhouse gasses by 40 percent while pouring billions into alternative energy. Also, it reverses a George W. Bush law that prohibits Medicare from negotiating drug prices with Big Pharma. Again, it’s not great, but, if it passes it’s something to flaunt come November.

• The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act was signed into law last month, and it is the first major piece of gun legislation since the Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994. Granted, assault weapons are still for sale, but they’re now much harder for convicted domestic violence abusers to get their hands on. Buyers under the age of 21 will be subject to more stringent mental health background checks, and it sets aside $750 million to help states enforce Red Flag laws. Again, it’s not great, but something to run on.

• The Chips and Science Act of 2022 has passed both houses and President Biden is expected to sign it into law. $52.7 billion will be given to American semiconductor manufacturers ensuring our chip makers are competitive with the rest of the world. Yes, it’s corporate welfare, especially galling since companies like Intel and Nvidia are doing just swell. But it also earmarks $180 billion over the next five years for scientific research. Bernie opposed this bill calling it a $53 billion bribe for the chip companies to keep their manufacturing jobs here in America. So again, not great, probably shouldn’t have passed without our government gaining an equity stake in these companies, but something to run on in November.

• On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Just like The Chips and Science Act of 2022, it’s something Democrats can run on so long as voters never discover it’s more or less another government handout to Big Business. The bill injected billions into America’s crumbling roads and bridges while upgrading our power grid and water supply while transitioning to clean energy by planting electric vehicle charging stations along our roads.

• Within Biden’s first 100 days, The American Rescue Plan Act was passed putting almost two trillion dollars into the economy and placing money into the pockets of real Americans. Most economists agree it was one of the biggest spending programs in history and kept millions from falling into poverty. (Unfortunately, much of that spending expired with tragic consequences for children and single moms.)

Biden can take credit for

• Ending the 20-year debacle in Afghanistan. It was bloody getting out but would have been bloodier staying put.

• Using executive power he mandated, until the court reversed it, that all federal employees get vaccinated for Covid.

• Rolling out Covid vaccines, making them readily available and free for practically everyone.

• Making it easy and free for all Americans to get Covid tests mailed to them.

• Making it easy to get masks.

• Creating a sense that we’ve turned the corner on Covid. While Covid is more infectious than ever, it’s not nearly as deadly.

• Rejoining the Paris Climate Accords.

• A Justice Department that has arrested and charged nearly 800 participants in the January 6 Capitol riots.

• Appointing a National Labor Relations Board that is worker friendly, resulting in a record number of applications to join a union.

• Appointing Lina Kahn to head the Federal Trade Commission. Kahn promised to enforce antitrust laws, and this week sued Facebook.

Pelosi can take credit for

• Impeaching Donald Trump twice.

• Putting together a January 6 committee that exposed both Trump’s and the Republican Party’s limitless appetite for violence.

• Forcing floor votes on abortion, same sex marriage and contraception to get those rights codified into law while exposing how dangerously conservative the Republican Party is by voting against them.

• Holding hearings that exposed how manufacturers of AR-15’s market their weapons to white nationalists.

Finally, I am no fan of Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schumer.

Their failure to push for real progressive reform is primarily responsible for the sorry state of our country.

But I am a Democrat. The Democratic Party is what stands in the way of a Fascist Republican regime that favors guns, oil, greed and fear over the safety and liberty of the American people.

While the Democratic Party leaves much room for improvement, the Republicans have tipped into the abyss.

The only law Republicans believe in is martial law.

I am not hopeful.

But the Democrats can buy us time.

Republicans are just going to get us killed.

The midterms are in 102 days. Vote Progressive. But also vote for a Democrat.

Even Henry Cuellar is better than anyone Republicans have to offer.

See you tonight at 8:00 Eastern for Office Hours!

David Feldman