By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

You’re a political consultant aligned with Democratic congressional candidates, maybe even incumbent members of the U.S. Senate or the U.S. House of Representatives.

Your candidate has just voted to send his or her constituents a payment to help them cope with the economic impact of the COVID 19 pandemic and voted to extend unemployment benefits until September and voted for money to pay for millions more vaccines aimed at protecting Americans against the killer virus.

Is that a defensible position? Is it more defensible than, say, a Republican politician vote against all those things?

I think so. Yeah, I know it is a more defensible position.

The Senate has just cast a partisan vote that has approved a $1.9 trillion COVID relief package pushed hard by President Biden and his fellow Democrats. All GOP senators voted “no.” The measure has gone to the House, where the same thing will happen, with all Democrats probably voting “yes” and all Republicans likely turning thumbs down.

The 2022 midterm election looms just a bit down the road.

So, who’s in the better position? The Democrats who want the government to lend a hand? Or the Republicans who oppose that notion, citing its expense?

Were I an American who has suffered grievous economic misery from the pandemic, I would be far less concerned about the expense of the measure than whether my government — which I finance with my money — is ready to step up and deliver for me when I need the help.

Thus, the Democrats in Congress appear to be listening more intently to American public that favors the COVID relief package. Indeed, polling data suggest it isn’t even close, with more than 60 percent of Americans wanting Congress to come to the people’s aid.

So, President Biden is now poised to achieve his first major legislative victory. More to the point, though, is that congressional Democrats will have more on which to run as they prepare to run for their next election.

It’s coming up. Quickly.