If people want this to be acted on, then Dems need to win.
Oh, absolutely.
Both to campaign on and to act on, unfortunately.
I think there's a big difference between them making the small (but good) progress with legislation they've done this term compared to making climate a part of their campaign and bringing it up all the time. Idiots on the right will attack opponents on anything, but currently, I imagine most of the population is put off by the "she's gonna ban ur meat and stove!!1" weirdos. Sometimes not engaging is the most effective way to keep bad arguments out of the public sphere.
My understanding of a patent (in the US) is that it's only for new, novel concepts, often difficult to design or conceive.
Prior art, in this context, are just examples of this concept already in use or demonstrated. If there are already examples of the idea in use by others, then your idea isn't new (and therefore not patentable).