Budowsky: How Biden can win the midterm elections

When President Biden addresses the nation and a joint session of Congress, he could fairly ask Americans, similar to what former President Reagan once asked, are you better off then you were a year ago? Do you feel safer than you did a year ago? Are you better because of the surging growth and jobs our policies created? Will you as moms and dads be better because of dramatically increased tax cuts for child care that I and Democrats achieved in our first 100 days, in addition to the $1,400 stimulus checks you received?

Last year the nation was on the road to more than 500,000 dead Americans because of the ravages of COVID-19, and in real danger of a new Great Depression in our devastated economy.

Today America has achieved dramatic progress toward defeating COVID-19, and begun what will probably be the most powerful surge of growth and jobs in many decades.

President Biden deserves a major share of credit for understanding the urgency of achieving exponential increases in the number of Americans vaccinated, achieving the powerful revival of the American economy that he knew would follow from this, and proposing and enacting —over Republican opposition — the most far-reaching, progressive and successful economic recovery program in generations.

Historians will, and voters should, give great credit to what was achieved in the first 100 days of the Biden presidency.

Remember when President Trump predicted the stock market would crash if Biden were elected? Now Trump would not be remiss writing a thank-you note to Biden for the strong stock market, the strong jobs recovery, the continuing improvement for small business, the strong real estate market and the extraordinary recovery from COVID-19, which all benefit Trump’s business and most of the nation today!

On the morning after the midterm elections, one of the two major parties will probably wake up joyous and triumphant and the other party will wake up depressed and despondent. The difference between them will be a comparatively small number of votes in a comparatively small number of states and districts which will determine which party controls the House and Senate.

My hope on the infrastructure bill, which I prefer to call the Rebuild America bill or jobs bill, is that both parties compromise between their positions today. What is economically and politically profound, to the great advantage of Democrats, is the party-line vote that occurred on the great economic recovery bill already passed that will lift our economy to the skies this year and beyond.

Polls found that between 25 and 60 percent of Republican or Republican-leaning independent voters supported all or important parts of that Biden program. Biden and Democratic candidates for the House and Senate should focus on these voters, in public appearances and paid television ads, in West Virginia and Georgia, and Arizona and Texas, and in every state.

Biden and all Democrats should emphasize the Biden tax cuts. Yes, you read that correctly. Analysis from the Joint Committee on Taxation and other sources suggest that those earning less than $75,000 will owe close to nothing in federal income taxes, and those making between $75,000 and $100,000 will pay less than 2 percent.

Poor and middle-income Moms and Dads will be thrilled to know about the dramatic expansion of the child tax credit and support for dependent care expenses. Many middle-class workers hard hit by COVID-19 will also learn that they benefit from the increase in the earned income tax credit and will actually, in their 2021 returns, receive checks from the IRS in addition to the highly popular $1,400 stimulus checks they already received.

Biden and Democrats should talk about these real achievements at every opportunity, every day, in every way, which bring good news to voters.

The road will be hard, but the coast is clear about how Democrats can increase their majority in the House and Senate.

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.