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Apparently, Democrats don’t talk about Bruno (the Inflation Reduction Act)
With the midterm election only four days away and control of Congress on the line, now is not the time to be humble. Democrats, please don’t be shy. Republicans love screaming about letting 18-year-olds buy military grade weapons, so we need to boast when we pass the biggest piece of climate legislation (!!!) in United States history.
Yet, Data for Progress finds voters are decently in the dark about the Inflation Reduction Act (the only IRA we’re allowed to publicly support). Y’all know this wasn’t meant to be a secret, right? Like, we can absolutely tell people about this. But in our recent poll of national likely voters, we find 63% of voters haven’t seen or heard political ads about the IRA — and among those who have, 35% of voters said they were mostly positive ads and 31% said they saw mostly negative ads. Yeesh.
Would it be helpful if we talked about the IRA like we’re spreading gossip? Like, “oh my god, have you heard that the IRA allows Medicare to negotiate prices for prescription drugs with pharmaceutical companies? I can’t believe they weren’t talking to each other until now, it’s been years!” And, “please don’t say anything, this stays in the newsletter, but the IRA low-key provides tax credits for the production of solar and wind energy. I know. Insane.”
TL;DR: The IRA is a popular piece of legislation. If this were Mean Girls, it would easily be a member of the Plastics (maybe even more popular than Regina George. Or at least Karen). Data for Progress finds 54% of voters support the IRA, including 78% of Democrats and 51% of Independents.
So, why are Democrats keeping mum about this crucial, popular piece of legislation that is popular amongst voters? Right before the midterms, nonetheless? We’re not sure. If they have been talking about it, that message hasn’t been reaching voters.
We recommend that Joe Biden make a TikTok about the IRA featuring the Corn Kid. That seems like the obvious solution.
Read the full blog and polling here.
Here are some other highlights from DFP this week:
Can I ask you a question…? Did you ever associate an issue with one party?
When we think of Republicans, certainly a few things come to mind. Dr. Oz’s pathetic attempt at appealing to Pennsylvania voters through a veggie platter (crudites, if you’re nasty). The laughable lineup of celebrities that the RNC tries to wrangle together every four years (Kid Rock!! Hailey Bieber’s worst uncle, Stephen Baldwin!!!). And of course, the fantastic debate moment when Mitt Romney said that he had binders full of women (Binders. Full. Of. Women.).
Beyond cringe-worthy moments in grocery stores and D-list celebrities, specific issues make voters think of Republicans over Democrats and vice versa. A new poll from yours truly finds voters tend to associate Democrats with expanding social programs. 52% of voters associate Democrats with building new affordable housing and 54% of voters believe that Democrats support expanding Medicare to cover vision, dental, and hearing.
On the flip side, voters affiliate Republicans with restricting abortion access. 74% of voters associate Republicans with banning abortion, including 80 percent of Democrats, 71% of Independents, and 69% of Republicans. Considering that Republican governors are bending over backwards to restrict abortion access in their states and conservative justices hop, skipped, and jumped over precedent to overturn Roe and Casey, this makes sense to us.
Election day is nigh. The midterms are upon us. Mail-in ballots have been sent and people are prancing through the streets with their “I voted early!” stickers, like they’re so much better than everyone else (they are).
As results come in, it’s crucial to know which messages landed with voters and which issues they associate with Democrats and Republicans. Ahead of 2024, knowing this can help Democrats strengthen certain messages and help us understand why people voted a certain way.
But as long as Democrats are never associated with Kid Rock, at least we know we’re doing something right.
Read the full blog and polling here.
New York indoor air quality is spookier than Heidi Klum’s worm costume.
There are so many lovely things about New York City: Riverside Park, bagels, congressional primary elections that are contingent on which candidate actually goes to Barney Greengrass.
Of course, the greatest city in the world is also pretty unhinged. The subway’s attitude on the weekend tends to be “please leave, it’s a day of rest” and despite recent statements saying otherwise, the rats do in fact run this city.
While we’re here, we can add borderline indoor air quality to that list. New York City has high rates of asthma and respiratory illness which can be prevented by installing air quality monitors in public spaces. In a truly shocking turn of events, it seems voters are generally pro-breathing clean air! Who would have thought! Data for Progress finds New York voters support changing the building code to require businesses to install air quality monitors to detect and prevent outbreaks that could lead to pandemics by a +42-point margin.
Voter perceptions of this reform tends to vary by race. 88 percent of Black New Yorkers support building code reforms for indoor air quality monitors, compared to 72 percent of Latina/o respondents and 63 percent of white New Yorkers. Research shows that people of color are over three times more likely to live in communities with polluted air than their white counterparts.
Breathing clean air should be a basic human right. The air quality in the Koch family penthouse shouldn’t be any better or worse than the air quality anywhere else (actually, can we make it worse? Is that an option?). Either way, let’s improve that indoor air quality, New York City. The rats running the city are starting to get impatient.
Read the full blog and polling here.
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