Action In August
by Kathy Goodman
August is supposed to be slow. Everyone is supposed to go on vacation and try to make the most of the final days of summer before organizing kids to go back to school, digging out autumn clothes, and getting back into the post-Labor Day swing of “real life.” George W. Bush’s Chief of Staff Andrew Card somewhat infamously said, “You don’t introduce new products in August” as he justified waiting until after Labor Day to garner support for the second war in the Gulf.
But as we all know, we live in unprecedented times. And so, August is kicking off with a bang. Senate Democrats seem to have reached agreement on using reconciliation to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, a wide-ranging bill that provides unprecedented investment to tackle climate change, control prescription drug prices, and close tax loopholes for corporations and the wealthy. The Senate was also poised to pass the PACT Act, designed to provide health care for veterans exposed to various toxins, ranging from Agent Orange to burn pits. But, in retaliation for the Democrats’ agreement to improve the life of Americans, the Republicans chose to withdraw their support from veterans by voting against the PACT Act before overwhelming pressure forced them to reverse course once again and finally vote to pass the very bill they voted against a week ago.
Now Republicans are playing defense, and there is a lot of action in Congress this week on a whole slew of pending bills to get everyone’s votes on record. Democrats are hoping to return to their districts in the August recess with a clear message of Democratic efforts to protect the rights of women, the LGBTQ+ community and veterans, battle inflation and climate change, and defend democracy, while Republicans have attempted to thwart all of those efforts.
These legislative activities, coupled with the continued revelations of the January 6 committee and the deepening investigation of the Department of Justice into the Trump Republicans’ criminal conspiracy, are moving the political climate in favor of Democrats. Virtually all traditional measures–the generic ballot, voter enthusiasm, fundraising goals, mood among independent voters–are all trending favorably for Democrats.
Normally, August would provide one last respite before the post-Labor Day fight to win the midterms. But these are not normal times. We need to use every day we have between now and November 8 to preserve our democracy and secure our fundamental rights.
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