The proverbial race most often goes to the swift. But sometimes, as Aesop reminds us, the race goes to the slow but steady. Thus, we Democrats and Americans abroad can finally heave a sigh of relief after months of slow and painstaking negotiations, which have resulted in the passage and accomplishment of major legislative goals. Persistence pays.
As by now most have heard, President Biden has signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which contains all kinds of health care provisions, invests significantly in climate change/global warming mitigation (including significant financial support for greening farm and forestry enterprises), and raises revenue by closing egregious tax loopholes for big corporations and by strengthening the IRS to collect what is owed. All told, the legislation raises $737 billion in revenues and invests $437 billion, reducing the federal deficit by $300+ billion over the next decade.
Combine this with the hard-fought legislative victory for support of U.S. veterans scalded by military burn-pit exposure, last year's Reconciliation Bill investments in the economy and recent legislation to bolster American semiconductor chip manufacturers, and Democrats are boosted across the board in their midterm election campaigns.
In this same vein, Democratic support for protecting the autonomy and independence of women's health care choices was recently vindicated in Kansas. This also may auger well for upcoming elections and confirms Democratic vision and commitment to principle.
To galvanize further support in the coming weeks, the White House along with national and state Democratic Committees will deploy President Biden himself and Cabinet officials across the land to trumpet these triumphs, especially in the so-called key battleground states and in support of heated congressional elections on a state-by-state basis.
It remains for the rest of us to do our part by phonebanking, letter writing, contacting friends, neighbors, and family members near and far and, if possible, contributing funds. Democracy is worth it. If we keep on pushing, now a little quicker and steadier until election day, we might just expand majorities and win state houses, thus paving the way for greater accomplishments of the Democratic agenda.
— Ted France, DA Austria Member-at-Large