Six weeks from today, Americans will wake up to results of one of the most important midterms in a century.
If President Biden and Democrats in Congress win, they will move to build on the genuinely impressive achievements of the past two years. They will offer to meet with Republicans in Congress, seeking bipartisan achievements similar to those achieved in the previous Congress. They will seek special relationships with those Republicans who want to restore their party as the party of Abe Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan, such as Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who could have a major impact on the midterm elections.
If former President Trump’s picks and Republican leaders in Congress win, they will begin ludicrous and highly unpopular impeachment proceedings against Biden and block or destroy prospects for any major legislation. They will seek to turn a Republican Congress into moral police who will attempt to fully end every woman’s right to choose on reproductive freedom, and target same-sex marriage, contraceptives and other personal choices these moral police disapprove of.
Republicans will turn the House of Representatives into a snake pit of partisan investigations, political vendettas, total gridlock and intense national divisions that a majority of Americans will view as a national scandal. They will promote the views of many of their candidates who deny the results of the 2020 election, and seek to enforce that dark notion in 2024.
Every voter must fully understand — and vote accordingly — that the midterm elections involve a war of the worlds, a political crisis that will shape and define American patriotism, American democracy and America’s standing and security throughout the world.
This is the closing argument Democrats should offer the nation.
Do you want to build on, or reverse, the achievements of Biden and the Democratic Congress that
•lowered the cost of prescription drugs for tens of millions of Americans;
• created tens of millions of high-wage jobs, with a jobless rate that has fallen to 3.7 percent;
• offered dramatic improvements in health care for veterans who served our country;
• made important progress to combat gun violence that has killed countless men, women and children across America;
• made historic progress in the battle to protect the earth from climate change;
• passed legislation to strengthen the Violence Against Women Act;
• enacted the American Rescue Plan that helped Americans receive 500 million vaccinations to dramatically reduce deaths from COVID-19 — and provided dramatic economic assistance to lift America from the economic disaster caused by COVID-19;
• expanded the Child Care Tax Credit, which dramatically decreased child poverty; and
• enacted a bipartisan infrastructure law that provided billions of dollars to repair bridges and roads, and upgrade ports and airports.
These actions, and others, were achieved by Biden and congressional Democrats, some with bipartisan support, though most were opposed by Republicans.
Democrats would build on and expand these achievements. Republicans would end most of them.
The recently unveiled House Republican “plan” is not a contract for America. It is compendium of platitudes for Republican politicians who do not have real plans. They merely oppose the good works of Democrats who do, who have already done it, and will do it again.
The closing message that wins for Democrats:
Do voters want Democrats who achieved these things, or Republicans who would destroy most of them? Do voters want a president and party who sought bipartisan support when possible, or Republicans who preach the gospel of partisanship, the politics of vendetta and government of gridlock? Do voters want Republicans who nominate countless candidates who deny the election results of 2020, or Democrats who support women’s rights, equal rights, civil rights, human rights, freedom and democracy across America and around the world?
The decision, voters, is yours.
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.