This is an immensely important essay - it needs furtherist possible distribution.
May Pelosi and Schumer read, ponder, and embrace the deep wisdom here.
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I just hope Pelosi steps down in 2020. She will be 80 years old. She got married a year before my mother was born. I'm 30 years old and she has run the Democratic party since way before I could vote.
I know rich liberal people think shes amazing and quite frankly I supported her 100% until 2016, but shes got to go. There are people who vote in 2020 that will have never known a Democratic party in the house NOT run by Nancy Pelosi. She may be the Jesus of Democratic leaders but even Jesus only actually preached for about 3 years.
I've always thought that the maximum anyone should be allowed to hold party positions should be 6 years. That's one Senate term and everything should cycle anew to better represent the true party, the actual people who vote for Democrats and not just the people who give money to the Democrats.
The problem is that the person who has held power the longest will have the advantage that everyone always mentioned in connection to Pelosi, the advantage of being connected to rich people who give money. I hear two things about Nancy Peolsi. 1. Shes a woman, so if you believe that she should retire you are a sexist. 2. She can raise millions and millions of dollars for Democrats, which can only be good.
See, when a Republican raises money Democrats call that evil and inappropriate influence on the electoral by rich special interests, but if Nancy Pelosi does the exact same thing it's a reason to make sure she never is even challenged to run the House.
A good beginning, Prof. Weiner. If the chief executive were elected by the House of Representatives we might understand even better the republican system that the Founders designed. The House and Senate are the first branch of government. In Article 1 of the Constitution they are assigned all the federal powers and they make the laws. The President has only one 24/7 duty assigned to him or her in Article 2, and it's not to protect the national security, or even to command the armed forces; it's to see that those laws made by Congress are "faithfully executed." As a teacher I think it's very bad news that U.S. education has not made this point clear to every generation of students, with the result that the public looks on as president after president is permitted to try for rule by one person--monarchy. As a citizen, I think that the current presidential administration has gone so far toward breaking and vitiating the laws that it has made the entire Cabinet impeachable, not to mention the chief executive who appointed them.
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Professor Weiner recalls Robert Kennedy’s observation of the political world: “some see the world as it is and ask why , others dream of the world as it should be and ask why not.”In fact both perspectives are critical to understanding politics.
Congress is what it is because partisan party politicians and their financial supporters tolerate corruption of rules governing elections . They do so out of self interest, to secure life time sinecures, and because they place self above party and the interest of their party above the oath the swear to uphold the constitution.
The result is gerrymandered congressional districts, disenfranchisement of those demographics unlike to vote for their party, vigorous support of special interest legislation purchased by campaign donations, and more loyalty to the president of their party than to the public welfare.
Rarely is the individual congressperson shamed or held responsible by the electorate for his or her corrupt career . Much of the electorate pulls their party lever with no more thought than the candidate is their party candidate.
Perhaps our system is now rotten enough to elect those who prefer our politics to be as it should be. If so, the activist electorate who put them in office must be willing to turn them out at the first sign they have themselves been corrupted by the system they hoped to change. Only the power of the electorate can permanently change the character of its public servants.
Wiener fails to accept the very limited role control of the House affords. In fact, any legislation is subject to Senate approval and White House veto. So the Dems’ opportunity here is not to fuss over Trump nor to fantasize over the effects of subpoenas and Committee Investigations.
What the Dems can do is to propose solid stolid common-sense actions that highlight very clearly the wrong-headed obstructionism of the GOP & Trump. Make clear that the GOP will not support obvious steps to fix the Country’s serious ills: failing infrastructure, opioids, health care, education, green energy, ...
When common sense action that obviously would improve widely recognized problems are ridiculed by Fox and by McConnell and by Trump, and blockaded, what should follow is a blitz of TV spots, interviews, town halls to spread far and wide the value of what is being suppressed by the GOP.
The Dems May have to ruffle a few donors’ feathers.
There should be so much popular support provided by the next two years that the GOP simply cannot get their disinformation machine off the ground.
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Trump is a big distraction but reacting to him could result in two more unproductive years of not addressing very important issues for all of Americans that Republicans cannot address because of their anti-government right wing fanatics. We not only need to revise our health care insurance system and to cover all but we need to half the costs of health care. We are not increasing the wealth created domestically and the new wealth created globally is not getting within the reach of most Americans and our country despite how much of it gets into the hands of Americans and American businesses. If we cannot slash carbon gases emissions by nearly half in the next ten years, we could lose any chance to avoid climate driven catastrophes in twenty years. These issues affect all Americans and so addressing them could reunify us. Reunifying us would lead to Congress wanting to deal reasonably with Trump’s egregiously disruptive lack of civility.
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Dream on- though I think Nancy pelosi gets this. I can’t imagine another person better suited to be speaker right now . She has the experience, pragmatism and and overall decency to grasp this. In a word, she do the right thing from a larger perspective. She will be aggressive without being strident or foolish, civil but firm, sensitive but implacable.she will know how to legislate and THAT is her priority, not appearing in TV, becoming a lobbyist, etc. people of all political persuasion will be surprised how well historians look upon boring Mitch and Nancy. The most effective house and senate leaders in over 30 years. Can not understand millenials impetuousness right now.give her two years and then insist on a change after 2020. Simple impatience and vanity. Replace Hoyer if thats what it takes,
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@John Wesley Yes, Mitch is effective, but he is a very, very evil man who does evil things, and he is as big a liar as Trump, but much better at it. So Nancy and Mitch may be both historically effective, but one for good and the other for evil. Mitch started out as a corrupt southern good-ol-boy politician and is ending his career as the point of the spear of fascism and white supremacy in America, an evolution from lousy to horrible. There is more to life than how effective you are - effective for WHAT, is the question.
Re the question: "Why seek a job obsessively only to perform it submissively?" I think the answer is fairly obvious: personal gain. Congress is pockmarked with individuals who are at the beck and call of big business and corporate donors. It is a paddock of sheep who willingly follow their leaders of the moment. Their concern for Americans in general is essentially non-existent.
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Democrats will do everything possible to make Trump win between now and November 2020.
At first, they will talk up a storm about healthcare, when Americans clearly want a system where everything is free for them, as long as it excludes 'those non-Norwegian types.' They erroneously believe that the blue (small) wave occurred because of the 'healthcare-concerned' people. Wrong. It occurred because people scared witless by Trump decided to show up (although still a horrifyingly low proportion of those eligible).
Second, they will take the losing sides of guns (ban them), abortion (on demand), and illegal immigration (open border, amnesty). Now they are talking about reaching out to the MAGA cap wearing tough-guy rural types (Ohio), and angry white suburbans who think all Hispanics are MS13. They are beyond reach, or help - but then again - which sorry cause have the dems not embraced.
What I wish they would do is: (a) register voters well before elections (start now), (b) work at the gross roots, engage people that seek community and connectedness - that live just beyond the edge of the blue dots in red seas (like just outside suburban Dallas), and (c) do the homework on - and work toward redistricting to gain a lasting majority. Investing in the future is foreign to democrats, but they can start now because they have gained some states. Case in point: all the huffing about Puerto Ricans moving to FL, to reshape the politics - has produced nothing.
I am expecting Trump to force a shutdown in a showdown with the new House of Representatives. I hope Ms Pelosi invites Trump to go pound sand and that he will not get one red cent for his stupid wall.
The way to hurt Trump is not impeachment, but to neuter him by the checkbook. Starve his pet programs for money- hold them hostage to get other stuff passed. Do not yield one inch and make him deal on everything to get anything. The petulant little man will tire quickly of an office where he has a leash on his actions.
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I agree that now is the time for the democratic House to move sensible legislation on healthcare, infrastructure, immigration, criminal justice reform and the environment forward.
Force the GOP into action to pass policies that help all Americans.
Muellers work and DJT’s stupidity will be the end of DJT.
It’s time to legislate and do the work of the people- finally!
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@Is_the_audit_over_yet "Force the GOP..." Yeah, and we do that how?
Pelosi is a baller. She plays the long game. Keep up son.
"For their part, Republicans must elevate loyalty to Congress over fealty to a president of their own party. That may sound implausible, but if it is, the Constitution is already lost."
I got news for ya. The Constitution is already lost. Trump is violating it every day, and the Republican-controlled Congress is fighting like wildcats to keep it that way. Forget about governing for a while. If the power of the Holy Leader of a fascist Party is not severely checked immediately, "governing" will soon mean obeying the fevered fiats of a Leader gone mad with the exercise of that power.
time for a younger player she's done
She is a powerhouse I acknowledge that, but of fund raising not popularity in leadership. And that's the problem, she is a living embodiment of what people (rightly) believe is wrong with America; too much money controlling too much policy. She's had a nice run, and while she's had her time, times have changed. We don't owe Nancy an nth bite at the power apple, she must step aside. And in doing that she can prove she's all about the Middle Class and kids, by doing it gracefully without a fight.
The new model of fund raising will be what Sanders proved last cycle: internet driven small donations from individuals. In fact if the DNC can be cleaned out a fresh lot of organizers can use a rejection of corporate donations to really rock the American public and create a vast wave, at far less $$ per vote than is the current model.
PS if you watched her platitudinous victory speech, using her grandchildren (who will inherent her hundreds of millions of $$) as props, you saw a completely empty and shallow agenda-less repeat of old tropes.
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CK-so who would do a better job as speaker right now (ie next 1-two years ?) and can I ask how old you are ? I get it shes over 75, but being under 45 isnt any more a qualification for the job than being over 70 is a DISQUALIFICATION. Age discrimination is very unattractive in Democrat wouldn’t you say ?
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@John Wesley - Anyone who would be voted to replace her is preferable, because she is radioactive. If you don't get that without a debate you are not going to get it with one.
Yes being under 45 is likely (not absolutely) a disqualifier, because a person that young is not likely to have enough experience. I understand age discrimination, I get it all the time at my age.
You seem to not have gotten the memo: Pelosi and the DNC work for lobbyist donors, not the public. She is part of the dirty rigged system that torpedoed Sanders, and posted my comment so long after I submitted it it was sure to be ignored. Wake up.
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Why is this even an issue?
It's obvious what needs to be done.
Pelosi needs to step aside while remaining close to whoever takes her place, a "shadow" speaker if you like. There's nothing illegal about that. That eliminates the Republican's #1 target of a Democrat-led House.
ALL Democrats need to band together and WORK together.
An AD-HOC Committee on Impeachment needs to be formed immediately, NOW, where members familiarize themselves with the articles of impeachment and the process of impeachment and a list of high crimes and misdemeanors is compiled. This committee needs to be put on permanent standby while the President is made aware that his committee exists and it is at the ready to go into overdrive at a moments notice.
Another committee needs to be formed for the purpose of the subpoena of the last twenty years of Trump's tax returns. This should also be on permanent standby while the IRS is notified that a subpoena MAY be forthcoming and the President also needs to be made aware of this.
There! That's potential double checkmate on this corrupt, loudmouth buffoon. One is enough to bring him down but both have him hamstrung over a barrel.
Govern AND investigate. Yes, both can AND should be done.
Absolutely !....if NP does not seize this opportunity, she does not deserve to be Speaker of the People's House.
Paul Ryan was the worst Speaker of the House not just because his Ayn Rand views are immoral but because he sold out the House. The House was supposed to be the dominate branch of government. It is why tax bills are to originate there.
New York Times - how do we get every member of the House to read this article? Perhaps you should email them all the relevant articles. Investigating Trump at this point is a waste of time. We can easily assume that everything that should be done is being done by Mr. Mueller. Congress should get to the "kitchen table" issues first. But should say, if Cadet Bonespur interferes with the Mueller investigation, then they will step in.
One thing the author has failed to tell the readers or deliberately avoided is the power of the President to veto any
action of the Congress subject to certain conditions.No doubt he cant veto any action against him though he claimed once,the congress is also tied up with certain conditions to bring an impeachment motion against him.
I think Weiner is wrong, because I believe that the House can walk and chew gum. Lead with a good health care bill and with voting rights reform, while simultaneously providing oversight to DOJ, Education, EPA, Interior.
Make use of megaphone that has been handed to the Democrats by taking the house. Not much might get through the senate and president, but it will show who is making the logjam.
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Please NO! Nance Pelosi need to make way for a new face to head the party. There is a new wave of young, eager, progressive democrats inspired by Bernie Sanders. They should be heard. The DNC has been deaf to progressives for far too long.
"Mr. McConnell was derided for partisanship but not for the denigration of Congress implicit in the suggestion that its most important function was to hassle the president."
So wanting to see the Presidents tax returns is "hassling", but abandoning your oath and decency by, leading Senate Republicans to all vote (sans 3) against the stimulus bill of 2009 (ARRA), abusing the filibuster until Democrats are forced to partially end it, creating the "McConnell Rule" whereby the President and the Senate HAVE TO belong to the same political party in order to fill a vacant seat on the Supreme Court. That guy is just "partisan"? No Mr. Weiner, you are so very wrong there.
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Democrats need to understand that the Republicans have been on a war footing for all of Obama's time and all of Trump's time in office- as a minor ruling the majority of Americans.
They need to remember McConnells lies and double crosses and disinterest in reaching consensus when he could have his way via his control of the agenda.
The need to note Trump's allegiance to Putin who he worked with to steal office.
Most of all they need to understand that America needs them to save the nation from Republican greed and false religion.
Hard to choose "the first order of business".
Elections - system desperately needs improvement.
The right to vote, to become a registered voter in the first place, ought to be as easy and fool-proof as taking cash out of an ATM machine. I live in NY, but my little plastic card allows me to make withdrawals (and deposits) when I choose, where I choose. Anywhere in the world!
Why can't we accomplish the single most powerful tool american "democracy" promises? All eligible voters must be allowed to vote.
Guns - the heartbreaking plea from that mom in CA, who echoed thousands of others - no thoughts, no prayers, will ever bring back a life lost to gun violence. No more guns!
Health care - please call it by its lawful name , use the acronym if the name is too hard for you to remeber. It's the ACA, the Affordable Care Act. It's NOT Obamacare. If anything it's RepublicanCare, after all the compromises needed in congress in order to pass the ACA.
Environment - strict pollution controls are a must. Not by 2030, not by 2050. Next year. Timebomb is ticking.
Too many issues, much more important than tax returns!
My comment goes to Nancy Pelosi's image. Image and presentation is so important in politics, unfortunately. Especially for women, especially in this age of male dominated Tumpism. To be an effective leader and gain (more?) respect from voters, Nancy Pelosi needs a makeover and voice lessons. I have a hard time taking her seriously when she speaks in a high wavering voice, wearing a pastel pink dress. She comes across as a bland milquetoast with no backbone. There's plenty of research that shows that mammals, esp. humans, show more respect for deep voices. Example: Sandra Day O'Conner worked on lowering her voice and speaking slower so that she would be taken seriously by her male colleagues.
Nancy who touts she deserves to be Speaker of the house because she brings in the most money is embarrassingly corrupt.
Big corporations,wealthy people and wall street do not donate big dark bucks to her for charity. They want a big return on their investments. That leaves most of the nation unrepresented. We get crumbs, better crumbs than the Republicans throw, but crumbs.
Democrats abandoned the workers long ago, a populist wins the presidency. With help of The slave owners' electoral college, gerrymandering, voter suppression, Fox news and other white right publications, racism and bigotry. And for many of those abandoned ones. ( I do not mean the racists or religious right, they were waiting to bust out for very bad reasons) I am mean regular good hearted people who are having a terrible time keeping up with rising cost of living and stagnant wages while productivity went up what? 600 percent?
Nancy does not support the Progressive candidates who won their elections by not taking corporate donor money. They are not corruptible. So how can Nancy focus on the real issues of real people when she has to fulfill her donors' demands and these certainly do not include helping the middle or lower classes? She is chained to her dark donors. How can she create a real platform that regular people can believe in? That is the only path for the Democratic party to succeed. They have to get honest and turn down legal bribes.
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This all sounds good, except that (a) we are in an emergency; the first order of business IS to limit the President and bring him to justice; and (b) the Republicans are totally lined up with the President in all his illegality, lies, imbecility and treason. So, yes, there will be cooperation, when there is someone to cooperate with, whose cooperation is not at best an attempt to evade accountability, and at worst a trick to stall until another election - and I mean the Congressional Republicans as well as Trump.
Thank you for writing this article. It reminds me how important civics and government classes are. Without understanding the basis for each branch of government, and the powers conferred on each, we can be cast adrift in a sea of incompetence and idiocy. Let's hope we can recapture at least some of our government's proper functioning. Soon.
Nancy Pelosi is right. Trump remains a selfish child expecting everyone's attention. Ignore him will make him disjunct. And the Chamber will put time and energy for helping their fellow-citizens.
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I just love this! "For their part, Republicans must elevate loyalty to Congress over fealty to a president of their own party." You might just as well say a herd of swine must defy the law of gravity. Paul Krugman has it altogether right; when this disgusting criminal regime is gone, the Republicans will try to pretend they are actually human. With the rarest exceptions (now retiring or dead, the exceptions absolutely not including Orrin Hatch) verbal lipstick will no longer hide what they really are.
What planet is this guy on? Compromise, moderation and cooperation? Its almost laughable. Nothing will be accomplished. Its Nancy Pelosi, they wont negotiate with the hate figure they are serving up the rabble.
Michelle Obama quite rightfully recently expressed her loathing for Donald Trump though I'd question whether the birther issue is the most egregious offense which has been committed against the Obamas. A far graver offense is Mitch McConnell's infamously narrow-minded and short-sighted 2010 statement, “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.” All of the latent, as well as overt racism that is embedded in the thinly-disguised outrage at a Black First Family occupying the White House, is captured in McConnell's irrational outburst.
The unvarnished truth is that the Obamas ensconced in our national symbol of eloquence the only class act since it was occupied by the Kennedy's nearly half a century before. Barack Obama as our last genuine President did, in fact, strive to bring our nation together as Greg Weiner presciently suggests is sorely needed. McConnell and his band of desperados, in an act of supreme selfishness, did all in their power, and some things that clearly exceeded their lawful power to thwart President Obama's attempts to unite us.
Weiner is right, if the Democrats succumb to temptation or convenience and follow McConnell's lead to disgrace and betrayal, once again the American people and our democracy will be the big losers. Donald Trump is intellectually incapable of knowing any better, but McConnell is and his sin is worse. Democrats own fewer excuses, they possess at least some sense of ethics.
There must be some revenge.
Mrs.Pelosi's first order of business should consist of calling Stormy Daniels to the witness stand.
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Senator Pelosi has to take care of things on the home front first, because Trump his twitter fiddle like Nero while California burns.
I don't think they should elect her as the speaker of the house. They need some fresh blood.
The Democrats should work on their promise on healthcare. Lack of decent healthcare kills more than guns.
House Democrats should pursue a true America-first agenda by passing legislation that most of America wants, but we are fooling ourselves if we think Trump/GOP Senate in their opposition & obstruction are going roll over & kindly pull back the curtain to reveal themselves as the greedy, fiscally irresponsible, hateful, cynical, un-Democratic hyper-partisans they truly are.
No, it’s going to be more of the same, but worse, as Trump feels Mueller breathing down his neck & faces the possibility of being evicted from the WH after one term. If the House underfunds defense it will be “the D’s are weak on defense.” If they don’t fund his Wall, “the D’s want open borders & immigrant criminals roaming the streets.” If they propose a cutback on the tax giveaway to fund other programs, “the D’s want to raise your taxes.” If they propose Medicare expansion, “the D’s want to ruin your Medicare.” While we might hope that they would, they just aren’t going to come out & say they oppose legislation that is in America’s best interests … remember whatever the Democrats want is bad.
If the Democrat House & Party leadership are not prepared for the onslaught, I fear Trump/GOP may again control the conversation & turn it to their advantage. So, we shouldn’t bask too long in our mid-term success or even think that maybe the worst is behind us; what is coming will be a whole new ball game at a whole new level. It’s going to be a wild & wooly two years leading up to 2020 with even more at stake.
Excuse me, but I do not think you need to tell Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the next Speaker how to do her job...unless you were not paying attention the first time. She is the best speaker we have ever had period. Watch and learn.
Carol Way, Ph.D.
A common sense House can set up an unmistakable contrast with the GOP Senate and the Trump operation. Sound policy vigorously presented and widely understood will be rejected and vetoed, so its underlying purpose is to very visibly show America the distorted dismal damaging debacle that is the GOP and the White House.
There are two years to make dramatically clear that the GOP is run by dubious billionaires who got them elected by brainwashing 40% of the electorate with a propaganda machine unequaled since Goebbels.
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As a person older than Nancy Pelosi, I feel I can justly advocate that she turn over her post to a younger member but be a strong mentor to that member.
Trump, like other autocrats, tries to govern by creating grievances that he alone can remedy. Speaker Pelosi will surely be a target of his invective to the point that actions by the new House that would benefit those comprising Trump's base will not be supported.
I agree copletely. The House must establish a legislative agenda that will be the outline for the 2020 Presidential Campaign. It must lay out what Deomcrats beleive in and what they hope to accomplish for the Country. Petty fights with the President are jsut what Trump wants. That is playing in his sandbox and Nancy P and the Country will lose. We must fight, but not for tax returns unless they are crucial to the Muller probe, but for the things we hold important, infrastrucure iimprovements, better schools, clean air and water and real jobs or training for those who no longer have the skills for today's jobs. We must also accept the fact that some people are not going to fit and will have to find another way to contribute, in a Jobs Corps for the Displaced which will involve employment as mentors and advisors, It will also require some incentive for people to relocate to where jobs are. We can't always bring jobs to people.
Please don't look back in 2020 as two years that got us nowhere. That made the American people more frustrated and ready do accept a demagogue instead of demoracy because they preceived that "IT made the Trains run on time.:
I have no confidence in Congressional Republicans suddenly standing up for the Constitution, i.e. turning on Trump, anytime soon.
There are issues today that have got both Democrats’ and anti-Trump Republican voters’ passions raised, that they all agree on: protect pre-existing conditions, fix ACA, lower healthcare costs for the middle class, reform immigration more humanely, and restore civility to political discourse. The new Democratic majority in the House needs to jump on these RIGHT NOW while the iron is hot. Forge a new middle in politics, and get something done. I think that’s what most Americans want to see.
I don't know. Reading Madison to Pelosi doesn't look promising. Pelosi's idea of political power has always been centered on amassing campaign contributions she can use to buy personal loyalty from fellow Democrats. The agenda seem okay, but maybe somebody else could use it better.
"If members of Congress are willing to place loyalty to their institution over fidelity to their parties, which the framers of the Constitution anticipated, they can begin restoring its status as the first branch of American government."
That's one approach. However, it prioritizes fidelity to a Washington controlled mostly urban cross section over their constituents, a priority dismissive of the voter's interest which didn't work for Democrats in 2016 and is unlikely to do so in 2020.
Better to first show loyalty to their constituents and broaden their platform to include a wider variety of people and interests thereby positioning themselves to win elections.
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For the sake of grabbing power the congressional democrats sunk their differences on who should be speaker of the house. Clearly Trump would prefer Nancy Pelosi (NP) to grab the gavel. She now has the power to end the Bush era tax cuts to the rich and tailor the Trump era across the board Tax cuts to just leave the middle class tax cuts and give more middle class tax cuts so that they don't seem like "crumbs" It also a time for drastically reducing the national debt by adopting spending cuts.
Besides more tax cuts for the working middle class, immigration reform is critical and so is crippling the flow of damaging drugs. Gun control would be in order to stop mass killings and deaths due to gun violence.
I agree that the first order of business should not be about Trump but about the average legal residents of US and their problems. Really what matters is the people who have been forgotten by Trump who voted the democrats in. Health care was a major issue that mattered. Not that most Americans do not agree with Bill Clinton when he said the "Obamacare is the worst system in the world", the problem is that the Republicans in congress had no better plan or a plan to fix the flaws of Obamacare.
The 2018 mid terms has placed both parties on notice. Either get your act together and unite for the average working men and women or get booted out. Don't give Trump ammunition in 2020 to campaign on a failed congress it will not be Ryan who will be blamed in 2020, it will be NP
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Congress surely needs to reassert itself as a co-equal branch of government. They have, for decades, allowed the President to assume more and more power apparently because members fear taking positions could cost them their office. They are there to produce legislation and oversee the President. In this divided government the House should produce good workable solutions to important issues such as health care and if unable to pass because of a Republican Senate and President make sure the people know why such legislation failed.
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All that the House can do with its majority gained in the mid-term poll is to shut the Government.But if this power is used ,the U.S. will have the same Mr Trump as President in 2020.
Let us be very clear, the House Dems (and Obama for that matter) can and have presented an agenda on almost the most substantive issues before us. They almost certainly will not get it passed with Trump and McConnell in charge of the Executive Branch and Senate. Too much of the media will play the false equivalency game.
So present a solid agenda but do your oversight duty relentlessly but a la Mueller. Ms Pelosi is one of the great political tacticians of our time (hence her vilification) and she can walk and chew gum at the same time. Just watch her.
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@fred I do not think she is not a great tactician, she says she is but please tell me what she has done that is so great, She did not stand up for the dreamers when she had leverage. She is corrupt, she takes big corporate donations and has to do what her big donors say, hence regular folks needs are ignored. I very much wished this were not true and that what you say is right. But she is elite and has not a clue what the democratic party needs to do to inspire the nation. She and Tom Perez and Chuck are so tone deaf to the real needs of the voters. Oh please let the much maligned progressives who are not corrupt and listen to real people and want to get health care for all and a livable minimum wage and clean air and water and good schools, set the tone and the platform for the Democrats. Please! If she is so great why did the Democrats lose the House and senate under Obama??? She has not a clue
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The House is powerful. And most responsive.
The House declares war.
The House funds war. No money, no war.
The House controls spending.
The House is elected every two years. Can be reelected again and again.
The Commander in Chief cannot spend without the House. Is elected every four years with an eight year limit.
Today, if The Speaker speaks, this lying president becomes the emperor with no clothes and no money.
Speaker Ryan rarely speaks. He’s weak.
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Makes sense theoretically but how did Congress get to this point? A 'minority' party conspired over decades to gain and wield power by whatever means necessary! They remain a minority because their policies and viewpoints are the least popular among the general population, it caters to the interests of the most wealthy and fewest citizens of the nation, and the majority pop. has witnessed its unethical and immoral conduct in service to privilege before democracy or majority consensus i.e. lessening democracy is their only workable agenda. Is Citizens United, Hastert Rules & ALEC etc. going to be abolished? If so our main institutional problem is solved and The GOP is neutered.
I think a Dem Congress must not seek revenge but battle for fuller governmental democracy and integrity. Dems can and should use their election opportunities to begin destroying The GOP's numerical power federal/statewide completely for the sake of Justice and greater social Economic Equity and Welfare. And a part of that agenda is that Dem's must not fear to speak openly about the major governmental bogeyman and bottomline defense for GOP'ers --taxation policy.
If Dems don't address this as too industry, employers, workers, retirees, unemployed: types, earnings, rates and governmental expenses and service offerings; new Dems will be as worthless as past public leaders. A loath of beard is paid with dollars and cents not percents. Get a Clue there's a lot about taxation for public discussion!
The Democrats should elect Beto O'Rourke for their next leader. Not only would he be able to direct all of his energies to the speaker job, but he would also present a whole new face for the Democrats. A smiling face. Maybe even quiet all those angry senators itching for the nomination in 2020.
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I commented here earlier but just realized something. in January if Trump gets impeached, and if Pence somehow is involved and gets fired, then Nancy Pelosi will be president. She may very well be the first woman president.
"..now it appears that there is no reasonable prospect that anything Mueller does or says could result in Trump's removal and replacement by Pence.
Trump famously said "I could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and not lose any votes" .
That has now been replaced by "Trump could be caught on videotape handing American military secrets to Russia and still not have any Republican votes for impeachment".
Whatever evidence and proof of criminal acts that Mueller could come up with, it is certain that such evidence and proof could not be as powerful an indication of wrongdoing as the evidence in the public record that Bret Kavanaugh was lying in the senate hearings relating to his confirmation as a Supreme Court Justice.
Once Ford’s account included three people she said were there AND his calendar had them all at Tim Gaudette’s house on July 1, 1982, AND Ford’s description of the interior of Gaudette’s house in Rockville, MD exactly matches that of the actual house, which still exists: the only way that Kavanaugh was not lying is either: Ford somehow obtained access to his 1982 diary/calendar, or Ford has a time machine or Ford stalked Kavanaugh in 1982 and planned to do this, if and when he was nominated to the Supreme Court..."
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4216597
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@Lance Brofman Thank you for bringing this up and yet I swear I have read one of the opinions here that said the democrats should never have had Dr.Ford testify, it was bad for the party or some such! And an well respected actor I adored very much told me that Kavanaugh must have sat there at the hearing and was saying to himself that THIS episode was what might bring him down and that he was probably so drunk he did not remember and that it was NOTHING!
We were both in a very public setting and I could not scream at him. Other people were hearing this and the actor kept saying over and over again that this was NOTHING. I was so wounded by his lack of empathy and cruelty and insensitivity all I could say was " Well do you think he remembered the gang rapes in College where there were witnesses which were not contacted by the FBI? " Honestly I thought to myself "here we go, back into the closet about sexual abuse to women, never mind that Dr. Ford thought she was going to die from suffocation and also be raped." it turned her life upside down. And this actor is beloved in the theater community and thought of as one of the most sensitive and understanding people ever. He also directs often female leading ladies who just love him.
He told me also he did not think she should have testified, What the hell is this with white men??? I was sick to my stomach and crouched over in emotional pain for two days. Some day I am going to tell him off when I get him alone.
1
The Democrats are correct in dismissing impeachment discussions. There has to be a reason to impeach and President Trump has committed no crimes. He has been very successful during his presidency and congress should not alienate their potential base by even thinking of this possibility. They have a lot to lose if they even hint of impeachment like the real possibility of hurting their chances in the 2020 elections.
1
A critical step for Pelosi would be to rebuild the non-partisan committee staffs and other resources that used to provide unbiased information to the House.
Newt Gingrich lobotomized the institution, the better to consolidate power under the Speaker and silence those who would get in the way of his agenda. He's still out there doing damage.
Restoring the House as an institution that governs on reality and not ideology alone would be a huge first step in the long-term restoration of our government. It would provide the House the expertise it needs to exercise real oversight of the executive branch - it's traditional role.
4
I agree with Socrates that we need a new national voting rights act where every citizen is automatically enrolled when they turn 18 years of age. It could be handled through the Social Security system.
Nevada just passed a bill that makes it so. Good Job, Good People of Nevada!
1
Yes, I admit it. I have been angry at the GOP and Trump for subverting our democracy and would like to get even. I chaff at the fact that McConnell and Trump would hold our newly elected House hostage by declaring they will work with a Democratic House only if we ignore Trump's flagrant abuse of the constitution and his subversion of the election process.
But I also know that vengeance can be a bitter pill and the seeking of justice must be done wisely and methodically as Socrates and others suggest. Yes, Democrats must prove that we can walk and chew gum at the same time and as we do that even some Republicans may accept the justice that needs to be found as we heal our nation.
If Pelosi can accomplish this miracle by first showing that government can accomplish great things such as building better infrastructure, health care and cement voter rights. The investigation of Trump may not be seen as a witch hunt but as justice served. Is it possible? Perhaps we need to give Pelosi and the new House a chance to prove itself.
2
Gosh, I wonder who has the experience to legislate without being intimidated, the ability to compromise and be moderate, the will and political strength to restore Congressional power through legislation, to seize the reins of governance? Who has the fortitude to exercise power rather than react and act in opposition?
Oh right. There's a reason Republicans demonize Nancy Pelosi, and fearful Democrats go along with it. She's strong enough to stand up to Trump the same way Hillary would have stood up to Putin. Now things will get interesting.
4
If Nancy Pelosi’s first order of business should be to reclaim the power of the House of Representatives, her immediate second order should be to lead impeachment proceedings against Trump.
Ever since Tuesday's midterm elections, much has been made about whether House Democrats should move in January to impeach Trump, or rather, prudently lay low in deference to Robert Mueller's Trump investigation. Initially, I supported prudence on the idea that, given bullies like Trump, it is classier (more mature) to manage a defensive posture than wage a bitter counter-offensive; i.e., cast a wrong for a wrong.
However, in light of Trump's Heightened Offensive against Democrats AND civility with his ceaseless post-election lies, libels, and lashings-out against decency and the rule of law, I am now restored to my prevailing stance over the last year and a half: that this Scourge -- already a proven lawbreaker -- must be censured; better yet, removed from office.
Of course, with much hope, Mueller's forthcoming report -- with its potential string of indictments -- may make my argument elementary.
2
After the 2016 election women and others focused on the 2018 election and picking the targets that were won for the most part in 2018. Now we should focus on winning in 2020.
Besides health care and infrastructure I believe gun legislation needs doing and I believe it is an excellent tool to win the Senate in 2020. Republican Senators should be targeted and ads generated to single them out every time there is another senseless killing. And there seems no end to those likely
No need to impeach just reign him in. We don’t want Pence or the turmoil. Just do real work and keep our eyes on the prize.
5
There are many Republicans wanting the presidency in 2020. If we are going to see fractures from them from Trump it will happen soon. Kasich is one.
3
Be careful, Nancy Pelosi. You might just be the person to successfully take Trump on, maybe even have a positive influence, but many strong, skillful people have been broken by Trump. He always win, I don’t know why. Just like I don’t know why Trump is POTUS. How did that ever happen? Proceed with caution but without caution, if you get my drift. And good luck, Nancy Pelosi, you’ll need it.
1
There is another reason why the presidency is ascendent over the Congress: it is much easier for the media to report on the policies and actions of one individual and it is much easier for the public to keep track of it than it is to report and understand the actions/policies of 435 representatives. While it is true that both bodies of Congress have leaders who speak to the public about issues, there is very little coverage of any but the largest disagreements between members of the same party and there is almost no coverage of the day-to-day minutae of committee hearings that constitute the greatest body of Congressional work. Unless one subscribes to the Cook Political Report, one has very little idea what the House of Representatives is doing during a normal legislative day.
1
Investigations - particularly the public exposure of Trump's tax returns - are important. More and more, it appears that our president may be nothing more than a grifter, con man and crook. If so, that needs to be exposed and the man sent back to New York or to prison, whichever our laws command.
Otherwise, I agree with the essence of this essay. Political and Constitutional scholars have long considered the 19th century to have been one of "congressional supremacy", most often in the context of the 20th century's growth of executive - or presidential - supremacy.
Up until now, I'd have considered the Nixon administration to be the ultimate test of such supremacy, although it failed utterly in its progress toward that goal via a bungled burglary compounded by a Keystone Kops cover-up.
Up until now! But now I see a president who seems to have considered his Oath of Office to have been nothing more than the last step toward absolute power.
I'm convinced that hardly a day goes by that Trump doesn't have to be reminded of constraints on his power. He relishes power as a tool to punish his enemies and to reward those who briefly pose as his friends, and the inner rage that he must now feel about the fact that there are others who "hold the power of purse" must be a turmoil that no rational person would want to see.
The temper tantrum has already begun. It can only get worse.
2
Impeachment is the right thing to do. Let's not overthink it.
2
The Democratic House needs to be aware of two, simple things:
A) The GOP's first strategy, the one more of a foreign enemy than a participant in our Congress, is to blockade anything that doesn't issue from them; and
B) The GOP's second strategy is to seek ways to blame the Democratic Party for anything that doesn't get done. This is resorted to when A) fails.
As long as those are kept in mind, the House should do fine. Democrats absolutely must go on a clear, resounding attack against the GOP's ongoing betrayal of legislative process, and hold their feet to the fire with anything that we all know the vast majority of Americans want, but the GOP will -- due to its being enslaved by plutocratic interests -- refuse to consider to the level of approving policy and law.
5
The only downside of the recent election is that most of the Republicans who were defeated were more rational than the ones who remain. That is, the House GOP in the new Congress will be hard-right, no-compromise, Trump acolytes. That is going to make it even more difficult for the Congress to reassert itself as an independent and equal branch of government.
2
Trump is going to deny federal money to California for the wild fires. The House needs to set him right on this. Most of the money he’s planning to withhold is not his to hold back under these circumstances.
The wild fires across the West are the results of drought going on for most of a decade. Those droughts are the result of shifted weather patterns which deny precipitation to that region and inundate the East with more than it can handle. The excessive heat in the oceans and in the atmosphere is causing it. It’s climate change deniers, not forest management programs that are in error.
It does seem that he wants California to raze it’s forests to provide cheap lumber, plywood and wood chips before they will be provided emergency aid. Then he wants to open the fractured continental shelf off the coasts so that unrecoverable petroleum flows like rivers from leaking wells and turns the shoreline into asphalt.
4
When the House of Representatives is renewed in January, the first thing Nancy Pelosi should do is step down as Speaker of the Democrats. She should do this without regard to her own ego but rather with her full commitment to the future of the party. The recent elections make it clear that a younger force is now engaged in politics. That movement should be encouraged.
2
The first order of business for OUR U.S. House MUST be to fully investigate The Con Don and the Robber Barons he has placed in OUR U.S. government, regulatory agencies, justice department and every other entity he has corrupted.
Period.
WE THE PEOPLE want them all OUT, prosecuted and imprisoned.
4
While it is a really good idea for the House to reassert a constitutional role...
It must be said that it was the House and Congress themselves that legally ceded a lot of their power to the Executive Branch through the grant of extraordinary power to the regulatory state.
The cession of power has taken decades to put in place. and it is unreasonable to assume that it is going to take decades for the House and the Congress to do so.
Major problems, here, are two-fold.
The first is the willingness of the House and the Congress to re-assume the work that is entailed in writing legislation that reflect the constitutional powers of Congress.
The second is gaining sufficient consensus actually to pass the legislation that is proposed as a consequence.
I have no idea as to how this Congress, and likely many Congresses to come, can actually solve these. Congress spends so little time doing the nation's business, and the only easy things about the partisan division is that it is readily defined.
4
Ms. Pelosi should take note of one important but seldom reported takeaway from the recent election. All four of the Democrat incumbent Senators who lost their re-election bid to the GOP were members of the group of 17 Democratic Senators who --- earlier in the year -- teamed up with the GOP and voted to take away the 99%'ers Dodd-Frank consumer protections. Many of the very banks and financial institution who benefited from this betrayal of the 99% contributed millions of dollars to these 17 Senators campaigns. Given the state of rising inequality and tax cuts for the rich, when elected Democrats vote against the interests of the 99%, the 99% will respond in kind at the next election. Numbers don't lie. Those 17 Senators are now 13.
9
There is much to agree with in Mr. Weiner's essay. He makes a good case that I think can be further strengthened by better understanding of the role of the people.
I don't think that the first section, Article I, of the Constitution concerns Congress because Congress has the "most substantial powers", although arguably it could have those. The more believable reason is that the framers understood the Preamble. They placed Article I immediately after the Preamble because the Congress, particularly the House of Representatives most directly answers to the *people*.
There are really four parts of our national government: the three "branches" and the trunk, which is the people. Although in these times it seems forgotten by many, all Consitutional powers derive from the people. The Preamble is not an accident. It is not trivial; it is essential. We can be certain every founder understood this and knew that government can't have just powers unless this is so.
Congress is represents the people, or rather it should do so. This also means that each and every member of Congress must dutifully represent the people. It is up to Congress to make itself powerful, but even more fundamentally it is up to us, the people, to demand that Congress acts powerfully. We shouldn't, we can't, depend on political parties to perform while we are silent. We are at the very top of our Constitution; the parties are nowhere to be found.
4
I’m pretty sure the Democratic House will be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. Whether the GOP Senate will be interested in cooperating on legislation is another matter. Impeachment is off the table given the makeup of the Senate, but that doesn’t mean the House should forego its oversight responsibility. There is so much corruption in this administration, and it needs to be exposed in public hearings. Investigating the administration and constructive legislating are not mutually exclusive. The author describes an ideal of nonpartisanship that has never existed in the US.
4
Not true. Impeachment is something accomplished solely by a majority of the House of Representatives. Once impeached, the trial and conviction rests with the US Senate and a 2/3 vote. Bill Clinton was impeached but the Senate did not convict him of anything.
I’ve seen a number of Congressional heads. Lots of ranting, lots of argument and in the end NOTHING gets done.
The Democratic House should first submit a bill to committee that sets forth mandatory voting in America...using Australia as the model.
As part of that bill, will be mandatory compliance by all citizens to Real ID Act of 2005...which is fundamental to identifying citizens for national security and other purposes(voting and immigration enforcement). Funding will be provided to states to make that happen, a deadline set, and federal funding withheld for noncompliant states.
The Dems either advocate representative government in the US by all its citizens...or they don't.
Dems then need to agree to starve the oxygen that fuels the Trump bombast...and that means an end to posturing for the pres and media who are part of our problem. Press releases rule. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what people say...but what they do.
Finally, get something done. Health care seems to be where Dem support exists...so go for it. It is also an area where Trump could (if he chose) be useful.
Do these things and America will discover some remarkable truths about itself...and our likely future.
4
My faith in Mr Mueller is stronger than my faith in any elected member of Congress. If those tax returns show any connection to $$$ to or from Russia, I’m pretty certain Mr Mueller is already in possession of the necessary documentation.
If Democrats want to govern as “less impulsive and more reflective of the broad range of perspectives in American politics” as the author suggests, then the first order of business is Health Care. Followed very closely by gun control (better yet gun banning).
Environment, infrastructure, then, maybe then tax returns.
9
Loyalty to branch may be better than loyalty to party, but do you know what's better than either? Loyalty to the people.
8
Mr. Weiner. Thank you for an enlightening and educative Opinion. Until the recent election, we have all seen an inactive and non committal House. Perhaps, this is one of the reasons why there was a change and shift in the republican party majority in the House.
Since the Democrats are now back in the House, they have no excuse, not to discharge their expected functions. There are many areas that cause concern to people. Issues that surround people's daily lives. Healthcare, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, the Infrastructure, Climate Change, Wages and Benefits, etc. It is only from legislation that changes or improvements can happen to these outstanding issues. They are not related to any one party. Both sides of the aisle and the Executive Branch, as well should take ownership and responsibility to deliver the goods to the people.
This is an opportune time for the Democrats to respond to the people. Be wise to utilize the available time, and be mindful of year 2020 as well.
4
Finally, an article about issues. The Republican House was the hotbed of Movement Conservative Ideology and Tea Party activism and took no responsibility for governing the USA. Now we have a Democratic House. Progressives are basically FDR Democrats and a modernized New Deal should work to reduce economic inequality and put the brakes on Trumpian looting. Hey Democratic Establishment, your winning issue was health care. So reduce the Medicare age by a couple of years and raise the Medicare payroll tax slightly to cover it. Medicare is a family issue because older people help their children and the children often have to help their parents. Medicare benefits old and young. Do it! If it works, do it again, heading to Medicare for All and unifying the Democratic Party. On the economy Elizabeth Warren is writing bills - pick one and pass it.... Unlike the Republican House you can improve life for the majority.
Trumpers make everything personal - they need attention (so does the Press, that's why they give Trump huge amounts of free coverage.) Trump is innately dishonest so there will be endless lies and endless cruelty to expose. The end result is: "We made your life better, they dragged you down and it would have been much worse without our investigations". Helping all kinds of Americans makes hate campaigns and divide and conquer less effective.
3
At the risk of being shocking, a) Medicare for all is not the only way to get to what we need, which is some form of universal coverage, and b) to pass legislation, you need the Senate to agree and Donald to sign off.
And no, every other country does NOT have medicare for all. Canada does—it works very well—and it comes with higher taxes, rationings, and other limits.
1
@Robert..
And one of the limitations that the Canadian "medicare" system exhibits is rationing of healthcare services through extraordinary wait times for many standard medical procedures.
Wait times for hip and knee replacements of six months or more are experienced by a significant number of patients (> 6 months) according to a report by the CBC. And the wait times are increasing.
See: https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/hip-knee-replacement-wait-times-1.4615531
(Note: For my hip replacement two years ago, I had to wait only three weeks at one of the top hospitals in the world to get it done.)
Why do you think so many Canadians chose to come to the United States to get some of these procedures done?
It might work well...But not for everyone.
I think Speaker Palosi knows exactly what to do and has a definitive plan. I don't like the Young Turks who are trying to dethrone her. We need her expertise and cunning at this crucial time in our history.
8
We need to find out what makes trump tick. Is it all him, or is he being controlled by the Russian mob. If it is the latter , then he is getting advise on how to take down the western world bit by bit. I have a lot of respect for Nancy Pelosi, she has taken a lot and is still there stubborn as ever. She will have her work cut out for her. All of the house members and even Mueller need a way to let the others know if someone has gotten to them (extortion). There needs to be a way to protect the evidence found. What a mess, we are at war and don't know it yet...
7
@Missy...
Ah...Nancy Pelosi, the official herder of Democratic cats.
As long as you keep viewing our governance as "war", you are going to have another side to fight.
And while you may have one on one level, you have seemed to have lost the engagement on a far more significant other one.
That's not the way that successful "general" like having things go.
1
@The Owl If the Russians are involved in this, then yes we have a war. Of course I don't have the proof , but it looks to me given everything I have read and seen so far that Trump may be under the control of the Russian mob. It really is a thing. My guess is that he got in some bad business deals that he couldn't declare bankruptcy on there and they made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Time will tell on this.
As much as I want to see new blood the Dems need Pelosi for her experience to get the job done . I don’t mean impeachment or retribution against Trump. Passing fair and sensible legislation regarding health care, the environment and immigration will benefit all. Just ignore Tump, he will self destruct on his own.
10
Mr. Weiner appears to be living in an alternate universe. I think most voters are a little tired of suggestions that members of Congress should sit around some imaginary fire and sign kumbya. It's not gonna happen.
What the author misses almost entirely is the fact that the executive branch has been taken over by what most surely appears to be organized crime. He would have us ignore the fact that the newly appointed fake AG is under investigation by the FBI. Are we also supposed to ignore the fact that there appears to be solid evidence this guys boss in fact has committed at least a couple of felonies himself? How about the many indictments brought be Mr. Mueller that all surround the felon in chief?
Democrats were just elected to serve as a check on the remarkable abuse and denigration of our democracy. That is the function of the House in this day and age. As has been the case for decades now, Republicans are the party of obstruction. If Democrats say up, they will say down and if Democrats say down Republicans will say up.
So, without any chance of passing meaningful legislation, it is time for Democrats to take up the fight and put organized crime in it's place. Only then will we stand a ghost of a chance to pass legislation that will help the people.
3
@LH...
Right...
And you wonder why you are having trouble garnering the middle voters, the voters that win you or lose you elections?
1
Hugh thanks for the article. I recall hearing Tea Partyers yap about "The Founding Fathers" and I didn't think they had read and understood The Federalist" (I knew I hadn't), so thanks again for citing the relevant portions. Hope the House follows your suggestions.
1
aaahhh, the way gov't should work. bi-partisanship, working for the benefit of all americans. not just this group or that group but for the greater good of all. unfortunately there are very few, if any, on either side of the aisle in Washington that remember this is the way it is meant to work. and the left side of the aisle is so blind in their hatred of trump that all they can see is investigation after investigation in order to find a basis to impeachment. I don't expect them to worry very much about getting on with the business of governing. *sigh*
1
Beyond telling you that to which you will not listen, which is that anybody with their eyes open loathes Donald Trump, there’s the minor technical detail that this opinion piece is simply calling for something that conservatives and libertarians have been demanding for some time—that Congress yank back its Cinstitutional powers.
Sorry you disapprove.
Our biggest problem in his country is the anger that Trump has exploited, but we Democrats have contributed to it by meeting extremism with extremism. Now is not the time for yet more anger. Our country is truly polarized and polarization is dangerous in and of itself, creating real instability and risk. We are there. I’m scared. Trump is angrier and less stable than he has ever been. The last 72 hours prove it. Ms. Pelosi was a great Speaker but she is a polarizing personality and we need someone to go toward the middle and make sense, not war. That’s how we won in Kansas. She should step aside, saying very clearly that she does it in the hope of finding folks on the other side who will make trade-offs as well and save us from ourselves. The big win, getting bigger by the day, accomplishes nothing sustainable if we just use it to poke the other guy in the eye, or worse. We have to be bigger than that, and Ms Pelosi should step up and be that leader. She will gain, not lose, power by doing so.
Democrats need to stay focused and largely ignore the manipulative distracting antics and rhetoric of trump and his WH. We need fixes to Obamacare, a higher minimum wage, immigration reform and infrastructure rebuilding programs. The Republicans have ignored all of this under Paul Ryan whose only accomplishment was to give rich guys like trump a huge tax cut.
4
@Steve
Good luck...
There few in the Democratic stable that can resist going after the shiny objects.
1
"Both parties have professed a desire to restore constitutional norms."
Yes, but like so much else (balanced budgets, border security, the sanctity of life) this is just lip service on the right. Republicans have put party over country; power above constitutional norms. They've drank the kool-aid and there is no turning back for them.
2
...Oh for those uniquely "democratic" days of governing with a phone and a pen.
Ain't nostalgia grand, rls?
1
Both parties have professed a desire to restore constitutional norms.
True, but one party appears to believe constitutional norms allow for doing anything and everything it takes in order to gain and hold onto power, while the other party hews to the line and even, in the spirit of setting a good example almost eagerly calls fouls on itself. This essay gets one thing right, the power of the House to make lives generally better and less the playthings of autocrats, is awesome and unmatched. Luckily, Pelosi and her newly invigorated team don't need to be told as much by Greg Weiner or anyone else.
2
I'd like to think we have representatives that are capable of doing at least 2 things at once, pursuing a legislative agenda for the American people, AND pursuing investigations into corruption of certain office holders.
In fact, 3 things would be even better... doing both of the above in such a way that it strengthens their chances for gains in 2020.
1
More specifics about WHAT to legislate would be useful.
But, go for the tax returns too.
They might be literally incriminating.
2
An excellent and timely article. The constitutional balance needs to be restored. Both houses should defend its prerogatives and do its job. The House and Senate should pass thirteen appropriation bills in regular order. this should be a priority. The members of Congress should do their jobs. Tariffs and immigration laws are congressional responsibilities as well. A restored congressional power will be a gift to the country and to all in the world who aspire to the rule of law.
2
I totally agree. It's time for the House of Representatives to be reclaimed for the reason it stands, namely to represent the voices of the American People -- something which hasn't done since Republicans took control of the Executive, Judicial and Legislative branches of our government.
And with this recent appointment of undisputed Trump loyalist Matthew Whitaker as the hand-picked acting U.S. Attorney General, who will no doubt do his best to dispute any findings of the Mueller investigation, the time for the House to act is NOW; not only to revive the checks and balances system of Congress, but to return this country to the laws and self-evident truths that were enacted to govern it.
3
It's time for the Democrats in the House to put a full agenda the feet of the Senate and President. Quit trying to engage in a full frontal attack on Trump. He as actually accomplished very little during his 1st 2 years in office. His biggest claim to fame is the tax cut which essentially will not make life better for regular, working people. Instead, go full throttle on the major issues of our times:
1) Confront the Senate and President with a 1-2 trillion infrastructure plan on the table.
2) Put an intelligent, workable immigration reform plan on the table
3) Make them adjust the ACA so it works or, better yet, propose universal health coverage.
4) Protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid by removing the cap on wealthy Americans.
5) Repeal the Trump tax plan or revise it so that average, working Americans can benefit the same as corporations and the wealthy.
There's more, but the Dems need to start forcing their adversaries to start doing their jobs.
1
Thanks for this reminder of the historical role of the Congress in U.S. governance and Madison's understanding of what the Constitution was setting up for future Representatives of the U.S. House.
The most effective House Speaker for this session of Congress would set as the top priority to identify moderates in the opposition party in both the House and the Senate (with the help of the Senate Minority Leader here). Once these people are identified then the Speaker would work with the House Majority Leader and the Majority Whip to craft legislation which will shore up these Republicans' standing with their individual home constituencies.
This would undercut the political power of the Republican right wing both during the current session and during the 2020 election. Further, Trump, who likes to have his name in the news, could probably be convinced to sign legislation produced with a bipartisan effort.
This might seem counter-productive partisan politics, but only in the short run. The hardest politics here would be to bring the Senate Majority Leader on board. But there are ways...
Like Obama said after the late campaign McCain stunt to suspend his campaign to deal with the financial crisis and cancel his appearance on the last debate, the House is fully capable of dealing with more than one crisis at a time. Should they reclaim the authority and significance the Republican Party ceded to follow and obey Trump, yes, but there is plenty of space to work to defend the constitution against perhaps its biggest challenge - Trump. It is incumbent on the new Democratic majority to convey to the American public that it will not tolerate open attacks on its sovereign by even the person currently occupying this nations highest office.
1
This is excellent; congress should do what we sent them there to do: govern responsibly. My concern, aside from where the will to focus on the work going to come from, is the amount of time congressmen seem to have to spend raising money. If they are to do the business of government competently, they must create the time to inform themselves about issues, craft careful legislation, and see it through.
1
If there is anything that the republican Congress has taught the American people while they have been in power, it is that they have been incapable of governance.
The democrats must demonstrate that they are better at the fundamentals of governance than the republicans. They can do this by focusing on three pieces of legislation:
1. Propose an infrastructure rebuilding act, funded by either a sequester on military spending or a limited period of increased corporate tax or some combination of the two. This will create jobs and provide the population with much needed improvements in transportation, mass transit, energy and communications.
2. Propose regulations to govern robocalls and hold communications providers accountable for identifying transgressors. While its not a national emergency, it would take a lot of daily stress out of households and it would go a long way to making electioneering more transparent.
3. Propose legislation to fix immigration while protecting industries dependent upon legal seasonal economic migrants. Link this to a living minimum wage for citizens. Our agricultural industry, our food processing industry and other labor intensive industries cannot function without seasonal economic migrants. Most Americans want nothing to do with working in these industries. All Americans benefit from the low prices enabled by this win-win labor; "win" for the laborers relative to their domestic alternatives.
Legislate as a priority.
2
@TDurk Yes, except health care supercedes robo calls.
I fully agree that the first order of business in the new House should be re-establishment of Congressional authority as articulated in the Constitution. The power of the purse is central to that mission, but before the House can use that power, it must have a fundamental conversation about how much revenue the country needs to “establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare,” as the Constitution specifies. For the past 38 years, Congress and the President have had this backward: first, they talk about tax cuts, because it’s always easier to give money to voters, then they fight over how to cut programs to live within the remaining monies. And of course, that usually means that we put a significant part of the budget on the national credit card. Instead, representatives of both parties must compromise on funding priorities. The ‘general Welfare’ doesn’t mean what is best for my district or me, but the country as a whole, unrealistic as this might sound. It doesn’t mean making a wish-list for every weapon, or social program, or infrastructure project, or earmark that we can imagine. Ultimately, every citizen, every corporation, every church or faith, every institution has to set aside self-interest and elevate the ‘general Welfare’ of the country. Why is this so hard to understand?
4
The current meme is for Congress to pass bills only when the party in power can do so with no opposition support. ACA in 2008 and Tax Reform in 2018. So the call to legislate faces a tough barrier in passing anything if Pelosi follows the same strategy. We'll just get the same cries about obstruction.
We've heard talk about an infrastructure bill, but unless that means the same to both parties nothing will happen. Both sides must be wary of inserting poison pill amendments so that even if a passable bill is small it won't generate a veto.
One hazard in the road to bipartisanship is that the next two years will consist of the 2020 campaign. If members of Congress spend their energy campaigning and denying Trump any semblance of a legislative victory, then nothing real will happen (and this is my prediction).
1
Great ideas. I hope they come to pass, although I'm doubtful that congressmen will do the right thing.
1
Nancy Pelosi has been in power and out, seen a lot, so I have no doubt she will do the job that Paul Ryan didn't - a check to balance the executive branch. Congress should be an equal branch but Mitch McConnell has no intention of doing anything more than just saying no. He was 100% against President Obama, failing in his job of serving the country not his donors and is now 100% pro-Trump, again ignoring the country for his base.
Nancy Pelosi is certainly partisan but she's smarter than Ryan, McConnell and Trump put together. Along with Chuck Schumer and Adam Schiff, they understand public service even when the other side turns its back. I am confident she will do what's right. I'm also confident this president will learn what governing is, and it's not Twitter rants.
7
Congresses approval rating may never have been lower in our history. I had hoped that President Trump would have set a precedent by riding herd on both houses to do the jobs they were elected to do. In the first few months it appeared that might happen somewhat. With his claims of not doing anything until illegal immigrants issues had been addressed I though that maybe history would be made. And it was, only for all the wrong reasons as he quickly dropped his bipartisan attitude, much like all previous presidents, and just fell in step with the party.
Unfortunately I have little faith that the new House will do anything different. The Democrats simply brought back all the old dogs to run things, so we'll just see the same old, tired tricks.
1
With a Presidential election coming right up and no Senate control, we only have a short time to make an impact. This not the time for a newbie. Pelosi can bring it home and newbies should push her on what she and all of you want to target, not take the gavel from her. That is the best way to make your mark. Agree on a plan and stick with it. Get her to agree to groom new leaders so that in 2020 you can take the reins. We NEED a united party right now and by we, I mean all of us. We are counting on you to think of country before yourselves and your careers, although helping get our country out of this is sure to help individual Representatives as well.
And don’t forget, the reason you don’t like her is that the Republicans have demonized her for years. They want you to remove her as Speaker bc she is so effective. She is very progressive and good at her job. Don’t fall for it. Give her, and us, a chance.
6
I agree. The core of our problems is a lack of community and misuse of power to prevent the rule of law. The perpetrators of this deliberate disruption of our liberal democracy even try to convince people that science is fake. They have been unhappy with our country since about 1960 when the prosperity of all was at a maximum and attempts to make good on the American Dream that removed impediments to discriminate against minorities, poor people, and non-conformists. It made a lot of people think that they were going to lose something that they felt was theirs. By 1970, the country was losing the sense of community that had developed by the end of WWII.
Our national community is embodied in our national government. The attack on government by conservatives had no other expected outcome than to end the mutual trust and sense of a shared future which makes our country possible. I truly doubt that any of those behind this destructive strategy expected nothing more than to force the whole country adopt their beliefs and attitudes as the ancient Christians took over the Roman state. But they made someone like Trump as President, inevitable.
The Democrats of the House can only address the problems Trump is presenting by restoring the body as the expression of our national community and consensus of the people who share a homonym future.
2
One of the things that I would like to see is to stop having programs trying to guess what commenters mean. The result is a spell checking program that takes a wrongly spelled word and replaces it with a word that makes the statement unintelligible.
Why are calls to legislate, hold allegiance to the institution over party and politics only asked of Democrats?
Did McConnell put the institution over the party when he, as quoted here, said his MOST important job was to make sure the just elected Obama was a one-term President. And Obama was elected by a wide majority in the electoral and popular vote AND the country was in a scary financial recession/depression. And when he refused to even meet with Merrick Garland Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court.
Did any Republican say what McConnell was doing was wrong? No, they fell in step and put the party ahead of the senate and the country.
As a citizen I agree with the essay. But as a Democrat who doesn’t want Trump (or any other Republican elected - I need to be convinced.
5
This is good advice. Hopefully, Pelosi feels the same way.
1
No doubt one of the reasons Midterm turnout lags so far behind presidential is our obsessive focus on the presidency. Unfortunately, that focus is not only the fault of partisan organization, but also of mass media as well as school curricula that teach American history through the presidency. Julian E. Zelizer's book on the Great Society is a good antidote to the impression that the President has had a sole determining power in the past, but unfortunately that dynamic is becoming our present reality.
3
Legislate AND investigate. We can do both.
The number of issues on the "deferred maintenance" list of needed legislation is long and in urgent need of action. And holding accountable those in power who abuse that power, in broad daylight for all the world to see, is essential too. As I said, we can do both.
5
I couldn’t agree more. It’s the best long term strategy
4
Donald Trump has no interest in restoring constitutional norms. His mind does not work that way, so he does not understand them. But he knows that they would limit his power, so he opposes their restoration. So if the Senate develops an interest in restoring them, the Senate and the House will be at war with the current president, whereas if the Senate continues its current disrespect for constitutional norms, the House will be at war with both the Senate and the President.
In this war, the House cannot bring about any positive results through legislation. The main victories it can now achieve are harming Trump in the court of public opinion by passing programs that are popular and thereby forcing him to compromise or oppose him. Using its investigative powers to expose him will work only if his supporters pay attention to what is exposed. But a main source of his power is that his supporters have not done so and do not do so on principle; they see investigations as fake news moves in a war to destroy Trump, so they respond by ignoring whatever the investigations uncover.
Deliberation is impossible if there are no facts whose meaning and significance can be deliberated about. Policies are made not by deliberation but by competition, in which the winners are those who have the most money and the best advertising and marketing. Government becomes another marketplace ruled by the competition of interests, and policy is for sale to the highest bidder.
7
This is an illuminating column. Thank you. We need antidotes to the imperial presidency. I'm not a subject and I don't appreciate being treated as one by this or any other president. I am a citizen.
The ideal of Congress being more loyal to the institution than to the party or the president is bracing and makes me feel like there's still hope of living in a democracy.
137
For me) Rare pseudo-partisan post. While I am a strong proponent of the need for oversight investigations, WADR, we need to do those for TRUST, not for blame; for IMPARTIALITY, not for revenge, else we are reinforcing the 'death spiral' of trust in and of government. Remembering Florida in 2000, how do we even trust that the vote results are accurate? EVERYONE needs to work hard to re-establish trust in our government institutions, even when that means a LOT of visible, co-operative work with people who don't even want to be in the same room as each other.
IMHO/IMHE, Congress (realistically, at least the House) needs to focus on Article I powers and responsibilities. LEGISLATE by the PURSE if necessary; the federal government will not last long without cash. BUT, do as MUCH as possible together...start with visible and less important items (uh, NOT naming buildings!), then proceed to visible and more important items. PUBLICIZE the compromises even when they are small.
It is not hard to re-establish trust to make things work. It is very hard when folks believe in "zero-sum thinking." It is impossible to re-establish trust when folks don't want to.
4
@Marc...
Your argument makes sense, Marc, up to the point of shutting off the cash flowing to the government.
Pelosi engineering a shutdown of the federal government is going to pay a very steep price for that action. It will be very easy for Trump to pin that one on the Democratic leadership of the House.
It was Pelosi's "my way" with Obamacare that cost her the gavel in 2010. One would hope that she understands that to be able to wield the power of the House in a way that is meaningful is to be the majority party for a significant period of time.
I would recommend to the Democrats, and Pelosi in particular, to stick to the incremental because it is through the incremental that most things actually get done.
If Pelosi wants to give the Democrats and a Democratic-led House a present, she will develop a bi-partisan solution to the immigration problem that can pass the Senate and be signed by Trump. No uber-left measures, no grandstand issues..just a plain, effective piece of legislation that becomes law.
Pelosi has the political skills to pull it off, and with a meaningful bi-partisan approach, she can enhance her chances of keeping the gavel and the big seat on the rostrum.
The question is whether or not she has the vision and the will.
@The Owl
Republicans shut down the government s bunch of times and paid no price.
1
Nothing indicates that the Senate is willing to work with a Democratic House, not to mention the President. The only significant legislation that a Republican controlled Congress has managed to pass is a disastrous tax reform bill that blows up the deficit and guarantees growing income inequality. This bill must be repealed before any other initiative that requires additional expenditures can be enacted. Yet, we can be sure GOP Senators will stop any attempt to change what they consider their main accomplishment. Without a major infusion of Federal revenues the only thing to look forward to are bills passed by the House DAOD in the Senate. So other than fulfilling its role as a check on the executive not much more can be expected from Congress before 2020. The checking will be limited by a Senate that continues to prostrate itself at the Trump altar.
56
@serban After the House switch some Senators will be reluctant to jump on the Trump train especially as investigations surround his wagon. The best choice for Speaker Pelosi, and she knows this, is protecting pre-existing conditions and shoring up, yes, Obamacare, that Republicans tried to eliminate but now are forced to defend.
9
This is where Democracy can kick in! Let’s suppose Congress in 2019 can get through legislature to protect pre-existing conditions and raise minimum wage, they may then launch a national every sort of media campaign asking citizens to plead with their Senators and President to pass these bills. The Democrats have the weapon of popular vote, now they simply need to do popular and beneficial things, capitalizing on our increasingly engaged electorate.
Crafted strategically, democracy could be healthier than it has been in decades.
Fingers crossed
3
@serban The Democrats are generally deluded in their belief that the current level of taxes on the middle-class is sustainable. In Hilary Clinton's speech announcing her candidacy she said that the middle class pays too much taxes. She never mentioned a middle-class tax cut again. Most Democratic politicians are not aware that, by far the best thing government could do for most middle-class households would be to lower their taxes. Thus, in many cases middle-class households will grasp at any chance they think could lower their tax burden and support candidates who promise them a tax cut, no matter how odious the candidates might be otherwise.
Trump famously said "I could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and not lose any votes" . That has now been replaced by "Trump could be caught handing American military secrets to Russia and still not have any Republican votes for impeachment".
Whatever evidence and proof of criminal acts that Mueller could come up with, it is certain that such evidence and proof could not be as powerful an indication of wrongdoing as the evidence in the public record that Bret Kavanaugh was lying in the senate hearings relating to his confirmation as a Supreme Court Justice.
Ford’s account included three people she said were there AND his calendar had them all at Tim Gaudette’s house on July 1, 1982, AND Ford’s description of the interior of Gaudette’s house in Rockville, MD exactly matches the actual house. ."
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4216597|
1
The single most important task of the new House Democratic majority is to urgently pass a drastically new War Powers Bill to limit Trump's ability to start a war without any consultation with Congress. I believe Trump's sole strategy for winning re-election is to run as a "war president", as per the strategy first developed by Karl Rove to get Dubya a second term after his disastrous failure in Afghanistan after 9/11.
The American political truism is that no sitting American president has failed to win re-election to a second term during wartime. Dubya's father, Bush Snr, won his war too quickly and lost his bid for re-election. Dubya's sole objective in office was to do better than his father, so, desperate to achieve that objective with a second term, he listened to Rove's plan and then agreed to the Neo-Con invasion of Iraq with no other motivation.
Trump's plan is to launch a surprise attack on Iran sometime next year or possibly even in 2020 - the objective is to have a shot shooting war still in progress on election day, so the timing has to be calculated. Trump will start the war with a nuclear strike against Iran's nuclear facilities - he will say, "The fallout was going to be radioactive anyway." Trump is on record as saying he doesn't see the point of having nuclear weapons if you aren't prepared to use them.
A new War Powers Act should require Congressional approval for any military action of any kind and it should be the first bill before the new House.
9
My boyfriend, who is a left-leaning, but basically middle-of-the-road guy, is freaking out over the prospect of the House wasting its time battling Trump, when it could be legislating healthcare and immigration reform. I tend to agree with him. Neither of us can stand Trump, and we wish that he had not won the Electoral College. But with only two more years of his terrible presidency, it seems like more pressing issues, such as fixing the ACA, establishing consumer-friendly healthcare in this country, and shaping immigration reform ought to be priorities. Most Democrats ran on the promise of fixing the dreadful healthcare system in this country, so it would behoove them to concentrate upon that. Let Trump hang himself, which he will do, eventually.
97
@Allison
Free healthcare by breaking the back of already over burdened taxpayers for people invading the country is not a priority. Attacking the national debt and insuring the security of the United States with unchangeable military power and strong borders are.
5
We overspend on the defense budget by a looooong mile. We can have ample national security under a much smaller defense budget. Simply reinstating funding for a robust diplomatic platform will pay for itself in minimizing needless foreign wars. Universal health care would be a drop in the bucket compared to our bloated and unnecessary defense budget.
36
@14thegipper
Oh, get a grip, fellow Hoosier. No one is proposing "free" healthcare for anyone except the truly poor (surely you don't want citizen poor dying in the streets?), let alone people who come here without going through legal channels. Medicare is not free; you pay for it. We'll be a stronger and less debt-ridden country if our citizens' health isn't constantly in peril.
For an historical example, "socialism" wasn't the grounds for the program to provide school lunches at low or no cost to children from families who didn't have lunch money or didn't care enough to pack a lunch. One motivation was that too many potential soldiers arrived undernourished for serving in the world wars. Health and basic sustenance for all citizens is a crucial component for strength as a country.
And the national debt—that's truly laughable. It's Republican administrations who are far more likely to leave us with increased deficits and debt. This is a fact that you can check, if you care to.
But I'm glad to hear that as an ordinary taxpayer like me, you see that your back is already overburdened, while the rich get richer, thanks to Trump.
56
Each Republican in Congress should take a good look at himself or herself in the mirror and ask the musical question, "What Kind of Fool Am I?"
Trump takes you for a fool. If you don't meet his Klingon-level standards of personal loyalty, he won't appreciate your debasing yourself to vote for his cruel "legislative program." Only total abject obeisance will do for him.
And because you let him treat you this way, your constituents take you for a fool. They want decent health care and you voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act. They love their children and were appalled at children being torn from their parents at the border, yet you went along with it. Etcetera.
Really, no wonder so many of you lost your jobs Tuesday.
5
People that call for Nancy Pelosi to step down are doing Trump and the Republicans dirty work. They hate her because she is effective and a strong woman and they fear her. Democrats and the country need her now more than ever.
15
she is obsloete. we need someone younger who can galvanize the party and work across party lines. Pelosi is divisive and unable to even look across the aisle without contempt.
I agree with Mr. Weiner. Congress's approval rating is 20%, a powerful reminder that despite deep partisan divisions, Americans understand that Congress's legislative record is nothing to be proud of. Democrats must establish an agenda devoted to doing the people's business, addressing health care needs, income inequality, and environmental protection.
Tom Steyer's focus on impeachment, while emotionally satisfying, is a waste of time and resources. That does not mean, however, that the House should abdicate its investigative role, not as long as we are faced with the most corrupt administration in the last 100 plus years. Failure to investigate will only give license to any future Trump like figure, should one appear on the political scene.
Combining a strong legislative agenda with investigation into corruption is doable, and it is what voters who repudiated Trump expect.
188
@dmdaisy Yes! We may have become convinced of this over the years due to the preponderance of Republicans in the Congress, but in fact it is true that there are, or may be, some politicians who can actually walk and chew gum at the same time, Nancy Pelosi being an immediate case in point.
As our Congress has aged, those who can achieve this now seemingly miraculous feat seem increasingly few and further between, but with the infusion of young women and minorities and LGBT -- with more to come! -- into our main branch of government, there is certainly hope for the future.
1
@dmdaisy Exactly. The pretense by multiple pundits that the Democrats can't both pursue a great legislative agenda and investigations into the enormously corrupt Trump is just wishful thinking to reassure Republicans who fear both equally.
They can walk and chew gum at the very same time.
3
Yes I want trump impacted, but stay focused people ! What good does it do tp replace trump with pence ? A strong case can be made it would make things worse, hes more of a religious bigot, you won’t know when hes lying, and its sets him up for 2020. The long game needs to be formost. When will millenials grasp this ?
Yes, please! Get to work.
I understand that there is pent-up demand to finish investigations that the Republicans refused to pursue, and to find out how much of our foreign policy is being dictated by Trump's financial ties and obligations to places like Russia, which will no doubt be revealed in his tax returns.
But the next generation of voters need to see that the Democrats can deliver on those things promised in 2018: Healthcare for all Americans, a living wage, investments in infrastructure, access to higher education, protection of Social Security and our environment ... there is a lot of work to be done!
And please ... we need voting protection for all Americans. Let the Republicans fight you on this, but push back. Hard.
Show Americans through your actions (not just your words) what the Democrats stand for and, in contrast, what the Republicans do not want Americans to have.
236
@avrds I agree totally with everything said above. I doubt very much if the POTUS will go along. He goes whichever way his base wants him to and he will not like being investigated or having to show his Tax Returns.
2
@Philip W, so much the better. Let him expose himself for what he is.
6
@avrds...
Pelosi might be able to deliver a House version of all of those, but her problem is in delivering something that the House is willing to buy.
If all Pelosi delivers is talking points for the next election, Trump is going to eat her breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and serve all of the output of her vineyard without ever having to pay.
Pelsosi, to win, needs to deliver for the American people, not for the next crop of candidates. Any thing short of that, and she will be painted as the prototypical hyper-partisan hack that has been her bio since she entered the leadership ranks.
And if Pelosi doesn't appear to be cultivating a new and younger leadership profile, she will end up having to fight multiple mini-rebellions in her own ranks.
I just wonder how Nancy is going to sit comfortably with Alexandra Occasio-Cortez rattling cages all over the Capital.
To all of you who want Pelosi to step down, the GOP thanks you! It is a great gift you offer them. If warming their hearts is your goal, go for it.
They hate her for a reason; she is extremely effective and that is why they want her gone. She is organized; she has an agenda; she set the strategy for the mid-terms and won. She can keep her caucus in line, which is no small feat.
Anyone who is competent will be vilified by the GOP. Don't give them the satisfaction of being afraid of their bullying and name-calling.
Besides, who could rattle both Trump and McConnell better than a competent woman who had no need for their approval? Those old misogynists will be beside themselves having to deal with someone they think should be bringing them coffee.
Pelosi is the champion we need. Re-elect her and let the GOP be damned.
167
@nora m, YAY!
12
@nora m You've got that right, sister! Thomas Mann, who studies Congress at the Brookings Institution, calls Pelosi the “strongest and most effective speaker of modern times.” And even after being relegated to minority leader when Republicans took the House in 2010, she kept winning legislative fights.
In addition to being a masterful legislative tactician, Pelosi is, in Politico’s words, “the most successful nonpresidential political fundraiser in U.S. history.”
Why so much discontent with a woman who has proved so good at her job? Because powerful women politicians are always vilified. Therein lies the tragedy. Nancy Pelosi does her job about as well as anyone could. But because she’s a woman, she threatens insecure male politicians as well as a
In the Trump era, as Republican vulnerability has mounted, the GOP has targeted Pelosi yet again. Don't let them decide the narrative. Fight back!
Stand up for Nancy Pelosi's achievements! Show your support for one of our most talented, proven, public servants ever to have served the interests of the American people. WE must write the positive stories about Democratic party successes and the tireless efforts of people like Nancy Pelosi.
7
@nora m
Pelosi was effective in supporting Bush's Iraq folly.
And in accomplishing almost nothing during Obama's administration.
The GOP thanks you for supporting her.
2
She has a huge job, made impossible by the Democrats.
She has to work with both sides of the aisle, which DEMS won’t do
She has to pass legislature, which will have to be approved by the extreme left, the left, the middle and the socialists. If that somehow passes, then Red will block it and she will have to get them to agree.
She has to reign in the socialists. Ocasio-Cortez and her Socialist band are on a mission to change the DEMS from inside, meaning she will not toe the line, will not vote for new laws that are not socialists, and will do everything to block centrist laws. She can count on them saying ‘no’ to anything that is not socialist.
She has to pass immigration reform through a group that has vowed to get rid of ICE, wants amnesty, open borders and accept any and all illegals.
She has to pass tax reform that will not include things the socialists want to finance with taxes and give people for free.
She has to convince the Democrats to start working to better this country, when all they want is to impeach the president.
This lady is set for six years of hell.
1
I absolutely agree. My fellow democrats need to quit making stupid comments about impeachment and tax returns. Take the advice of sports coaches: "Act like you've been there before."
3
Democrats start writing bills!
Healthcare, Voting, Redistricting, Infrastructure, Immigration and the big-one.....Abortion.
For 50 years the right to Abortion has been a bunch of minor skirmishes that the courts rule on. Why do we not have a federal bill that lays out a position and a right, and force everyone to vote on it?
Oh, I know why. Either the Ds are afraid of voting on the record, or the Rs are right--the Ds don't have any ideas on how to run things better.
Lets start writing.
4
Reclaim the legitimacy of the house!
4
I would suggest Nancy Pelosi knows more about The House than this loud guy does in her little finger. Pelosi was master when Speaker and in opposition, and now is not the time for a newbie or a professor who never quite succeeded with Kerry so maybe he shouldn't be so strident? We need experience and someone who can deliver votes and no one since Sam Rayburn has mastered running the House like she does. Paul Ryan was so pathetic even his 1990's Power Points couldn't save him, though he was announced as the second coming by the white guy press. And if men want to run the Democratic Party then they need to get men to the polls for Democrats, because women won this election, and we would appreciate it if you wouldn't forget it so quickly. Nancy stays.
12
I think Nancy's first order of business is to stop thinking of the sos ... and seek out and advocate for those new bright stars of the democratic party ... and find someone to hand over the gavel to ...
1
Well Madison was a State man...
"You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately... Depart, I say; and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!" Democrat voters to Nancy Pelosi, Nov 11, 2018 (after O. Cromwell 1653).
2
Oh, progressive zealots, PLEASE make the complete fools of yourselves that you have been salivating about for years!
America-lovers can't wait for you to remind the voters of just what a bunch of hate-filled stumblebums you all can be when not under adult supervision.
This will bring in so many Trump voters that the Senate will go 60-proud for the GOP in 2020. Oh, man, conservatives can't wait to see the carnage!
1
Mr. Weiner waxes poetically, wishing for a revival of the behavior of the Democrats in the days of Pat Moynihan.
Fail.
They're all dead.
Today's Democrats are radical left wing progressive statist collectivists who are eager to crush anyone who opposes them.
The very first thing they will do, is behave like an nasty and vindictive bunch of spiteful adolescents.
They are who they are.
Weiner may as well wish for the return of the unicorns.
Why can't we do BOTH?! Enact policy AND go after the criminals in the White House. If Congress had only worked on pooch and ignored Nixon, where would we have been? You are advocating ignoring rule of law. The president is NOT above the law. We should rock the boat and throw the criminals overboard. W can abd should do both!
6
This is as vile a malarkey as I have read in many a year, as vile as the vaccuos victory speech delivered by Pelosi this week. She, and her Neocon ilk, must go. "You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately... Depart, I say; and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!"
2
Eric Swalwell for Speaker!
Not Pelosi! Please retire, Nancy. You've done nothing but concede to Republican demands and appease your corporate donors. Please be gracious and RETIRE!
2
"For their part, Republicans must elevate loyalty to Congress over fealty to a president of their own party. That may sound implausible, but if it is, the Constitution is already lost. "
Guess what....
1
Dems can walk and chew gum at the same time. Investigate corruption, but pass legislation.
80
@paul...
We'll see about that.
But, until some sort of credible national leadership emerges as presidential material, I will bet that a lot of Democratic members of the House, and particularly the freshmen after theyfinally understand that junior House members are just junior House members will be very careful when it comes to climbing out on limbs.
2
@magicisnotreal
The angry part of my brain salivates over your list of actions for the House Dems to pursue starting in January 2019 but then the strategic critical thinking part of the brain reigns that angry self in. What’s static is that the House of Representatives is a two year term. That’s not a very long runway to get things done or influence opinions. Democrats need to carefully choose their battles to maximize their political capital & influence with ‘the people’. Going after tRump is a waste of time. ‘Use’ tRump when pursuing bipartisan policy - don’t antagonize him & his zombie like followers. It’s clear as day he’d throw just about any Republican/human being under the bus to get a ‘win’. Dems need to use this. Dems have a big opportunity to be seen as champions of the people in areas where they can foster changes (albeit in small steps) health care reform, prescription drug costs, consumer protections, voting system cyber security, senior citizen standard of living improvements, strengthening social security & Medicare, immigration reform, student loan. They need to work with the other half of the evangelical community that hasn’t sold their souls to the devil in their ‘ends justify the means’ take no prisoners campaigning to make America a Christian fundamentalist country.
2
Nancy Pelosi's first order of business should be to let someone else be the next Speaker. Period.
3
The first order of business should be voting on a comprehensive, humane immigration bill. They have 2 months to write it. It should already be half written - draw from the 2013 one that passed the Senate 68-32.
Put the ball in the GOP's court. Demonstrate competence. You will be rewarded
5
Pelosi's first order of business should be to resign, or at least to relinquish her bid to be speaker. She has been THE most ineffectual, conciliatory leader in history. She does great things for illrgal immigrants and immigrants, but has done nothing for Americans. Nothing. The baby boomer (now 70- to 80-yr-olds) Democrats who have been in power for years need to go. They are useless. Pelosi et al must go and make way for fresh thinkers, fighters like Eric Swalwell.
Yes. Very well said. The Democrats should be refining parliamentary procedures, focusing on internecine political struggles - go Nancy! - because the big issue in America has nothing to do with Trump.
There are a few chips of paint coming off the Golden Gate Bridge - Tom Steyer might be able help with that - Larry Ellison had his Zen-Buddhist meditation group interrupted by an helicopter from the San Mateo Police flying overhead to catch a bank robber - something should be done about that abuse of police power - and there are many civil rights and race relations dilemmas (as yet unsolved since the days of Lyndon Johnson) that need the careful attention of our esteemed Democratic legislators in Congress. (God bless them.)
Trump, the Mueller investigation, obstruction of justice, treason, conspiracy with foreign powers, emoluments, the host of convicted felons surrounding our president - Flynn, Manafort, Gates, Cohen - they may have done some things wrong, but that doesn't mean they are bad people. And I heard that they were are all eating organic vegetables now.
Everything always works out for the best anyway, no matter what you try to do. So, don't you worry your little head now...
The Dems have power unfortunately they don't know how to wield what has been given to them. It must be ruthless and take no prisoners or we deserve Trump in 2020
The prospect of Republicans putting anything above party is laughable.
2
Eloquent, but entirely misses the point. What Nancy Pelosi needs to do to help the Democrat cause is to step aside and let new blood step in! Enough already!!
1
There are a number of permanent committees in the HoR and more can be established as needed to do the work outlined by this article's author and the work the NYT readership has posed as an agenda in response to the article.
With 225+ Democrats in the HoR who are potential committee chairs, a great deal of work can be accomplished.
Nancy Pelosi is particularly positioned, seasoned and skilled to carry out such a large and critical agenda, and Democrats should bear that in mind as they decide who their leadership will be in the next sessions of Congress.
2
She obviously, like Trump, didn't get the message from the people:Start impeachment of this "president".
"If members of Congress are willing to place loyalty to their institution over fidelity to their parties, which the framers of the Constitution anticipated,. . . "
Um . . . have you been asleep for the past decade??
4
A thought-provoking essay, at least for me, someone not versed in Constitutional law. First, it brought to mind Paul Ryan, how he "didn't want to be Speaker of the House" (while working to send Boehner into retirement) and of course his desire to never, wink wink, be President. If ever there was a profile in cowardice, it's Paul Ryan. Anyway, what surprised me most about the last eight years of Republican majorities was their harking to "Christian values" while ignoring the Golden Rule. Forget about the framers' fear of the tyranny of the majority (the anointing of Bret Kavanaugh). I very much want to see the Dems advance the legislative agenda the campaigned on. I'd like to see them try to do it with a sense of fair play, while keeping in mind that the last time Pelosi was speaker, myriad bills were killed by McConnell and the Republican Senate. Trump revels in distraction, and in being the center of attention. Of course he must be investigated. But it should not be the focus. I'd really like to see the Dems in the House push a legislative agenda that appeals to Trump's base. Then watch the Republicans, Trump included, explain to Trump's base, why those proposals were not allowed to become law.
5
I would think if they were responsible the House Dem's have already got a list of things to do from before the election. My choices?
1. Investigate Devin Nunes.
2. Investigate all republicans over whom they have authority.
3. Subpoena all of the the presidents tax returns.
4. de-fund all republican programs w/o saying anything about it and pretending ignorance if asked.
5
Hopefully Nancy Pelosi won't be the leader of the House Democrats, but the old entrenched Democratic Party machine will probably make sure that she is.
You know, the same machine that insisted on running a presidential candidate with a 35% approval rating, and was so weak, ineffective, and out of touch with working families that the Repugs took control of all three branches of government. The machine that caved to the GOP on issue after issue (see extension of Bush's tax cuts, not really fighting back on their right to appoint Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court, basically no prosecution of financial crimes, etc., etc.).
Take an honest look at how the Dems could possibly be called the opposing party over the last 20 years or so, and have us end up where the U.S. is today. It is basically a total lack of effective leadership.
No one even knows what the Democrats stand for anymore. There whole thing is basically "we're not Trump".
Time for new leaders who will fight for working families instead of their corporate donors.
3
“Both parties have professed a desire to restore constitutional norms.”
That simply is not the truth. It’s in fact a dangerous lie. Indeed, this peculiar piece seems to have been written in a parallel universe where such things sound reasonable, and it highlights a bubble inhabited both by some political scientists and members of Congress. Out here in the real world many of us have noticed that things are not normal. This is not just another president and another Congress. To pretend that the usual rules apply is to ignore the concerted, unrelenting, and terrifying effort of the Republican Party to install one-party rule forever. It is and was their stated goal; Rove said it; Gingrich said it; McConnell made it clear the day Obama was elected. Why do those in the center run from the truth? Why did they run from the truth as the last election was systematically corrupted to put us where we are today? We are confronting a fascist institution — backed by hundreds of millions, indeed billions of dollars — determined to demolish the American republic. For the sake of argument let me mention that voices as disparate as Snyder of Yale; Krugman of the Times; Schmidt of the Republican Party; and Ornstein and Mann of the American Enterprise Institute have all said the same thing. I wouldn’t call Mr. Weiner naïve. He may even, God help him, believe what he says, so I would say he lives in a dangerous fantasy world. But time is short, and this is no time for fantasies.
3
This article should be required reading for all current and aspiring politicians.
I am of the opinion, however, that our Constitution must remain a work in progress. It is unreasonable to expect that our Constitution could have fully anticipated societal transformations across a timeline extending centuries.
There are no easy constitutional solutions, for example, when the elected representatives responsible for investigating a crooked president are themselves either totally incompetent or corrupt. I am thinking of Paul Ryan and Devin Nunes. Two branches of government – Executive and Legislative -- proceeded with nearly total impunity to gang up on the third by incessantly discrediting the Judiciary, as well as the mainstream media, informally considered the fourth.
We came right to the edge of the precipice. We now need young, educated and patriotic visionaries to help us avoid a repeat of this nightmare.
7
Political scientists don't have to deal with Trump or Mitch McConnell. The House will have it's hands full just keeping the Mueller probe alive, let alone some highfalutin theory about Madisonian democracy. The real problem is the schizophrenic personality of the American populace. They have no clue what consistency, patience, or faithfulness looks like in its government. If things aren't fixed in one congressional term, it's pull the plug and put it to death. There never will be anything close to stability in our government until we stop expecting instant fixes.
4
Nancy Pelosi as majority leader again? And that's progressive? I think that's reactionary. We need young, new blood, not the same old old people that allowed Trump to get elected in the first place.
3
Greg Weiner 's commentary is summed up with his statement,
``For their part, Republicans must elevate loyalty to Congress over fealty to a president of their own party. That may sound implausible, but if it is, the Constitution is already lost.``
3
Behind all the bluff and bluster, politicians are an awkward and insecure bunch. With all of the gamesmanship and calculations that preoccupy their time, you’d think they’d produce better results for their constituents, both local and national. And so, here in lies the problem. Politicians are just like us, they worry about job security and career advancement too. I believe we the voting public have a vital role in changing this type of self-preservation politics.
When I was young, I was very idealistic and baffled by the paucity of good legislation. In my mind it was all so simple (just vote for the good stuff, stupid). Over the years I’ve come to understand just how complicated and coercive the political game can be (have you seen house of cards?!).
What if we told our elected officials that they can count on our vote for the next election, even when their new term is just beginning (we’ve got your back, so be bold)?
What if we told them they would only lose our vote in only the most awful situation (no felonies please).
What if we told them that it’s okay for them to make mistakes (won’t lose our support fellow human)?
What if we told them that we don’t want the perfect (party platform) to be the enemy of the good?
What if we told them we trust their judgement (that’s why we elected you)?
What if we told them we’ll be there to canvass and fundraise when the time comes (until then focus your energies on the work that needs to be done)?
I disagree. Republicans are not afraid of Pelosi. Not a bit. Pelosi has been an incredibly ineffective Democratic leader. She is now so out-of-touch that she can barely stutter her words while staring around with a confused expression. All we ever hear from her is how she will do anything the Republicans ask. She only fights for immigrants. She's not a fighter. She's a conceder. We need someone with a sharp mind, direct language, and enough energy to fight for America. Pelosi is not that person. She needs to step aside. Eric Swalwell would be a great option.
3
@Misplaced Modifier If Pelosi was as ineffective and obsequious as you say, the GOP wouldn't have demonized her so intensely though the years. They hate her because she's been so effective. This alone should cause many Dems to reconsider...or at least give her the credit she deserves if she steps aside.
5
Not would her constituents continue to reelect her.
3
Ms Pelosi ought to ignore Trump's idiocy. And dedicate all her efforts in disengaging the U.S. from moral ruin, and establish a clear list of urgent tasks needed to improve the public trust and our lot in life.
1
I'm sorry, but the presumption that Trump is not dangerous enough to warrant impeachment is naive. He has already done what no other living leader, despot or otherwise has done, declare he has the power to pardon himself. That means he can have one of his loyalists assassinate Acosta, or Waters or anyone who dares to challenge him. He has appointed Whitaker after 0 days of recess, a clear and blatant violation of the Supreme Court's decision that Obama's appointments were unconstitutional because he made the appointment during a recess that was less than 10 days. What did he pass on to Putin at his private meeting? What will Mueller's investigation reveal. It will be painful, but it would be a terrible precedent to let a criminal potus get away without a challenge.
7
To revoke or cripple an unstable President's power to wage war would seem a self-evident first step for a Dem Congress. A responsibility which Congress itself abdicated. We've been led down a dark and very expensive hole since the Patriot Act. It's past time to see the world as a place of light, and not eternal darkness.
2
Absolutely. If given the chance in the future, they will try to outlaw any opposition. We can never let it get to that point, and must increase the process of returning the government to one that serves the people, rather than serving as an ATM for the shady Cabinet secretaries and other associated family members and parasites.
1
Anyone who saw Pelosi's inane "speech" on election night knows that her first order of business should be to announce that she will not run for speaker again. Given that there are more red States than blue States, if the Democrats ever hope to capture the Senate again, they must start addressing the concerns of the moderately conservative elements of the electorate in some red States. Pelosi's "speech" showed her incapable of leading on this issue.
2
Fantastic piece- clearly written, and clear-minded.
Congress, pretty please:
1) Much stricter gun control
2) Free birth control for all women who want it
3) Some form of single payer healthcare for the entire United States.
You can do it!
But the most important thing is: The Democrats should craft and pass legislation (for health care, taxes, etc) that is popular with the country. Then see how the country reacts when the Republican Senate blocks it all.
The Democrats need to take legislative initiative!!
Greg Weiner is clearly out of touch with the electorate who elected Democrats this week for the purpose of removing Trump from office. That is exactly what we want and that is exactly what must happen.
I doubt that Weiner and Pelosi give a rats behind about those of us who put Democrats in Congress this week, but I can assure both of them that we want aggressive action to put a stop to Trump's abuses. We have tolerated it for two years and that is far longer than any American should be expected to tolerate it.
We want Trump OUT. If Pelosi doesn't have the stomach for it or has otherwise fallen under the influence of the moneyed elite who have benefited from Trump's egregious policies, then I submit she must not be allowed the job as speaker.
Democrats want immediate action intended to remove Trump from office. Nothing else is as important as that.
1
For our future generation we should guide and teach them that the President should be held account for dividing United States of America, so by impeaching the president should bring the country together. Congress is there for that. If Dems dont do that GOP will do when the time comes.
Yes. Stop touting your own grandiose horn and start getting productive. Does anyone really care about President Trump's tax returns? Did anyone really care about Hillary's emails? Stop this pettiness and pass some laws that mean something for the people. Get re-elected for greatness, not partisan rivalry.
1
...add to that enshrining coverage of pre existing conditions...
1
Finally for the Democrats, the House victory is theirs. Instead of bickering among themselves they should use the power prioritizing the more important issues like Healthcare, Taxes and Impeachment. Hope they don't get waylaid by bathroom issues!
Right on the money.
But Trump will test it by trying to get conflicts with the House referred to SCOTUS, which he assumes is now a lapdog.
The fun will come when Gorsuch and Kavanaugh vote with the ring kissers, Thomas, Alito, and Roberts, to write an opinion which says, using originalist intent, that the House does not really have the power of the purse because that would inconvenience the greater rights of the unitary executive.
Watch them use partisan purpose to come up with this judicial decision.
And let's all pray for Ruth Bader Ginsburg to recover rapidly and hold on until 2021 for President Gavin Newsom to nominate her replacement.
Nope. The democrats need to understand how they’ve created trump. They have in part.
An excellent article that I think missed an important point. Congress in response to SCOTUS (Hampton v United States (1928)) which repudiated the "non-delegation doctrine"*** of the Constitution handed over massive Legislative power to the Executive. (This was of course the objective of the (classical) Progressives led by President Wilson.) Congress now passes broad policy statements e.g. "We want clean air and water" and left it to the Executive to write the laws, enforce them through quasi-judicial proceedings etc. Congress created an unaccountable government within the government of "experts" and "bureaucrats" i.e. the "deep state" controlled not by the Legislature but the Executive. This not only greatly empowered the Executive but rendered the Legislature irrelevant. There is nothing wrong with the Executive implementing Legislative policies, the system fails when the Executive is given permission to write laws. Congress, want to become relevant? Start legislating. Nothing prevents the Legislature from splitting the Federal agencies into a policy part under control of Congress to provide legislative guidance and an execution part under control of the Executive. That would at least be a step in the right direction. ***The nondelegation doctrine is the principle that the Congress of the United States, being vested with "all legislative powers" by Article One, Section 1 of the United States Constitution, cannot delegate that power to anyone else.
What a good idea, restore the legislative branch to do what it was intended to do, an institution in and by itself, dedicate to serve the people and, additionally, remain an instrument to check on the Executive to make sure it does not exceed, or abuse, it's power. This latter may be occurring because the Congress was not exercising it's authority and legislate, a dereliction of duty the current bully in-chief filled by abusing his power in destroying healthy skepticism and constructive criticism...and trampling on this democracy.
If the Democrats in Congress have half their wits with them they will utterly reject Pelosi for speaker.
Pelosi, like Hillary Clinton, voted knowingly and hypocritically to approve the outrageous dumb blank check authorization for George W. Bush to commit the worst foreign policy blunder in US history, invading a country that had not attacked America and was not an imminent threat with no credible plan, no viable extra strategy, and almost no international support, turning it into a breeding ground for terrorist groups like ISIS, and damaging America's foreign policy and national security.
Pelosi is not fit to oppose Trump. Voting for her for speaker is voting for Trump.
2
Safety first. First thing, take back the constitutional war power. Then proceed on both legislative and oversight fronts. Dems can walk and chew gum simultaneously.
No. Her first order of business is to find a successor.
2
First, Dems should propose infrastructure projects for states in need. Second, agree to the wall but funded by taxes on the wealthy. Third, comprehensive emigration policy balancing a moderate pace of social change with the need for new talent and humanitarian aid.
In short, snooker Trump with good legislation and compromises. The wall will never be built if the plutocracy has to pay for it!
7
@Bean and a comprehensive no voting rights act that sets a minimum standard for voter registration and balloting procedures.
1
"For their part, Republicans must elevate loyalty to Congress over fealty to a president of their own party." This statement is absurd. For 240 years the political parties in Congress have aligned themselves with Presidents of their own party. Why is it now the responsibility of the Republicans to change the status quo?
Nancy Pelosi is not a leader. She is the leader because she raises the most money from her corporate masters and doles it out to members who then vote for her to be their leader. So don't expect the Democrats to do anything. Blue-wave resistance? Gee, her victory speech was inexplicably about unity and working together. Code words to her corporate donors that nothing will change.
5
@FXQ
I used to think Pelosi had been in the job too long. But read Krugman on her record. She’s very good at doing the job that the house is meant to do: build coalitions and pass legislation.
7
@FXQ
Nancy Pelosi should immediately appoint her successors from the younger Congress, and train them in what she knows about running the House. She is needed now in the transition, but needs to teach the next generation how to lead.
I think you are misinformed. She ushered through all of the Health Care Act and helped write some of it. That legislation has withstood Republican efforts to wittle it.
1
I'd support a legislative agenda that includes major steps to strengthen the ACA, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and a an infrastructure bill to modernize our roads, bridges, our power, water, and internet systems, cybersecurity, and of course our voting systems. That's a whole lot distilled into a sentence.
But with 230 seats and counting plus all of their support resources, a lot can and must be achieved.
How well the Republicans go along on all of these programs will shape the issues for 2020. A vote against any of the above is, well a vote against them. Almost anyone will find it very tough to get re-elected after voting "No" on strengthening Social Security or Medicare.
Yes I want Trump/Pence & Co. to get their just comeuppance, but that won't require the entire House to participate in investigations. So please House Dems, go forth with an ambitious agenda on the above areas. Hopefully, for the good of America, Trump and enough of the Senate will cooperate on the legislation agenda.
Meanwhile, there is yet to be undertaken a thorough, comprehensive investigation into Republican Congressional members who supported, knew about, helped conceal, or in any way obstructed investigations of any of the crimes by Trump/Pence/Putin against these United States.
Oh, and please, Please Democrats: Have a strong spine.
From now onwards, the future of Democracy is at stake.
11
@NeverSurrender
Wow — beautifully said.
The Democrats need to give us legislation that is popular!!
The House's unique constitutional control over the federal Government's financing can and should be used by the new Democratic majority to limit Executive Branch expenditures to those desired by the Democratic majority. Period. After many years of Democratic cave-ins to Republican demands, the time has come for the Democratic-controlled House to refuse to compromise with the President and/or the Senate. If this means very little new affirmative legislation, so be it. But there is absolutely no reason for the Democratic majority in the House to accept any program -- or part of a program -- which is contrary to the clear goals of Democratic voters. And I would start by sharply limiting funding for Presidential travel, and absolutely forbidding the President from spending one dime for the direct or indirect purpose of political campaigning. What President before this one ever began campaigning for reelection the same day he was inaugurated? Why do taxpayers have to pay for Air Force One flights to MAGA political rallies? And why can't the House refuse to fund the White House unless and until the President starts working there, as every previous President has done? Is it too much to demand that we have a full-time President on the job in the nation's capitol?
8
with all due respect, everyone has their season. time for a change. it will pay dividends in 2020.
4
@Mark
AMEN!
1
Gee whiz. I agree with the point, but couldn't he say it in a paragraph? Long-winded obtuse academics like him give academics like us a bad name. The Democrats need to use their constitutional authority to assert themselves. They should use a "100-Day" strategy to pass major legislation on 3-4 items that the public would love: 1. Medicare for All, 2. Debt Free Degrees, 3. Safe and Secure Borders, 4. A Balanced Budget (reversing Trump's tax bill). Then "hold up" (as the author suggests) Trump and the Senate until it all becomes law. AMEN.
14
If the Congress is to follow through on their constitutional obligation to promote the general welfare and protect its citizens, the first order of business in 2019 must be to propose and enact common sense gun laws to stop the slaughter by guns of our children and adults. When they do this, my faith in the House of Representatives and Senate will be restored.
4
I totally agree. Impeachment and investigations will do nothing to help democrats in 2020. Accomplishments in healthcare and infrastructure and reproductive rights would get support from a majority of Americans.
Time to ignore Trump and do what is right for the country. Trump wants to be the center of attention all the time. Let's ignore him and do good work instead,
16
Well said. The Dems should go about enacting policy first and foremost. If the GOP obstructs (not a big 'if'), then the Dems have a trail of legislative effort to show along with the GOP's true-to-form obstructive behavior. Attacking Trump and endless investigations will surely help support his re-election in 2020.
19
Thank you. I have wondered when members of the House would remember themselves, marshal the powers of the purse and of declaring war (among others) to strip the "imperial" Presidency of endless war powers and funding for the military/industrial complex that fuels the insidious growth of executive power at the expense of the legislature. The representatives should be loyal to their branch of government before party in defense of the Constitution and the concept of the separation of powers in a federal, representational government whose leaders serve the people before themselves.
12
Mr. Weiner, thank you for an informative and thoughtful article. I learned something by reading it. That's rarely the case in the current environment we find ourselves in. I hope every member of congress and those considering running that office, read this, print it and carry a copy around with them.
8
What I learned from Mr. Weiner is this: he hasn’t accepted that the Republican Party is a fascist institution (see, again: Schmidt, Snyder, Ornstein, Mann, Krugman, Browning) determined to install themselves and their temporary Führer as a one-party government forever. It is naive, ahistorical, and downright blind not to say it outright instead of suggesting it’s “possible.”
Its not “possible” because we’re already there. The only question is, do we have a prayer of turning back? To be honest, it’s not looking good. One of these days a comment like this will have stormtroopers at the front door. Extreme? Paranoid? Well, that’s what the Finzi-Continis said. We know how that turned out.
It is also vital that the Democratic members of Congress make clear they are the people who primarily set the agenda for the national Democrats, not donors, interest groups, or academics. They’re the elected officials who hold federal office and answer to their constituents.
This will take courage and intelligence. If they do it right they’ll also manage to make clear that (1) they each represent all of their constituents, not just people in the Democratic coalition; and (2) it’s their idea that the interests of their constituents and the interests of the country as a whole can be aligned.
They should also champion American traditions and institutions. Champions of regular order in the government such as Rep. Cummings can explain to the people that these regular ways of doing things in Congress evolved to consider things carefully, fairly hear all sides of a question, and get things done; it might not hurt to concede that tea partiers had a point when they said the practice of using taxpayer money to grease the wheels of compromise in Congress had gotten out of hand.
1
"...Republicans must elevate loyalty to Congress over fealty to a president of their own party." It's a reasonable idea, but based on the demonstrably faulty assumption that Republicans are rational people and will, therefore, do the rational thing. They are not.
You have to remember, Republicans HELPED PUT Trump into the presidency, and they have marched lock-step with him every inch of the way since then. Why would they blithely just turn about face now? They are not afraid of Trump: they LIKE him. They like what he says and how he conducts business, and they represent all those gerrymandered - or not - districts where a majority of their constituents like Trump, too.
I wish they would, but why would any Republicans suddenly decide to change now?
3
If a solid majority of voters were as astute on this topic as the author, I'd agree with Mr. Weiner's approach. But alas...
3
Nothing will show the vacuousness of Trump's rhetoric better than passing meaningful legislation and to let the Republicans be the obstructionists. But please be sure to advertise these goings on. You may not get policy enacted with a Republican Senate but you will have the people on your side. And Pelosi the prolific fund raiser should use her persuasive skills to get some rich backers to start the Democrats' equivalent of Fox News -- though Dems never need stoop so low as to lie because if you are doing the people's business, and doing it responsibly, you simply need to give a complete airing of your deeds to one and all. It is not enough to enact good laws -- one needs to explain their implications and the philosophy behind them to the people. Understanding will breed allies.
4
MSNBC does a pretty good job of explaining and informing.
"As long as House Republicans see themselves as adjuncts of the White House, Congress will remain in orbit around a presidency at the center." As long as the current President continues to dominate the national discourse, as perverse as that fact is, Republican legislators will continue their slavish devotion because they perceive it as the only way to remain in office for multiple election cycles. Mr. Weiner makes a very astute observation in this regard. Our democracy depends on thriving, independent branches of government, which are conspicuously absent today. This week's election was a much-needed start in the right direction.
6
What about advancing someone like Joe Kennedy III as the new speaker of the house? Or Tim Ryan? (He already tried once, I know.) I saw an interview with Pelosi recently that suggested she feels she has enough support to keep her in her current position. I wonder if it will stay that way. Only time will tell....
1
@LM
Yes. Pelosi may be a great fundraiser, but she is not much liked by many Republicans on the street. She is another Hillary, or worse, in the eyes of many. Get new blood in the Speaker's seat if we want to try to unite the country. Keep the same old same old if we are content to let divisiveness rule.
2
Unite the country? Half the county is racist and fascist. Good luck with the uniting thing. Bye-bye, USA. Hello, Adolf and Benito.
I would only quibble about the choice of adjective, it is authority they have, not power.
The US system is based on democratic representation. Each elected person has only the authority the people grant them to do their job. Same goes for agencies and programs created for the people. Thus administrative authority of a regulatory agency is whatever it needs to be to do the job. Otherwise what would be the point of it existing?
The new Democratic House should reclaim the dormant and atrophied Authority of the House and use it as it was meant to be used to check how the Senate and the president are using their authority.
3
While you're at it, bring the national minimum wage back to where it should have gone (instead of decaying for the past decades), put the share of wages that pay for Social Security at least back to where it was in 1980 (and preferably higher), and take away some of the statutes that give the President open-ended discretion to make economic and social policy based on false claims about national security.
4
For Congress to assert its power as a whole would require an incredible amount of co-operation from across the aisle.
In this partisan era, such co-operation will be impossible to get; the House GOP has only one agenda in mind, and that's to hold back the progressive tide for as long as they can muster. Why sabotage a president with whom they are ideologically joined at the hip? It would make no logical sense, regardless of which party is in power. It's a recipe for perpetual gridlock going well into the future.
Thank you, Mr. Weiner, for an informative, thought-provoking read.
After the recent midterm-evoked partisan frenzy, your well-stated reasons to move forward by putting country before party, country before retaliation, country and democracy above all — is inspiring.
Let us hope that all of us, Republicans and Democrats, can summon the patience and find the wisdom to support well-designed solutions such as you have described here.
Again, thank you.
4
The author is right.
The fact that the 115th Congress felt it appropriate to pass only one substantive law -the disastrous tax bill- is telling about their view of Congress’ role.
I’d welcome a White House AND a Congress who took their constitutional roles seriously.
10
I feel certain that Nancy Pelosi will reclaim the power of the House dramatically.Trump was used to the potted plants in the House responding to his every whim- even Paul Ryan had muted responses.I predict that within a week of a new House Trump will be howling about the dishonest Democrats and will be beside himself with rage.Nancy Pelosi is a veteran of years of political wars so should be skilled facing Trump, a political misfit who creates chaos and says so many outlandish things that he even trips over his own lies.Nancy Pelosi does not get “confused”.
49
This is an outstanding editorial, and I agree with every word. I hope all 435 reps-elect read and take it to heart. If the dems try to legislate realistically, as opposed to just oppose, it will show the country that dems are not the devils they're made out to be. But if the House tries to legislate like the coastal elite most of them are, then neither the dems (nor the country) will get anywhere. This piece should be read alongside those from thinking conservatives (yes, they exist) and used to craft legislation that helps bring us together, seeks to get things done, and doesn't make the dems look as ridiculous as the occupant of the White House. All that said...I'm not optimistic.
18
Three really good points here. Let’s not bemoan that ONLY the House was reclaimed. Utilize the power the House has to initiate, negotiate, and appropriate.
First, act constructively and legislate, not just investigate. “Restoring congressional power — not simply through investigation or rhetoric but ultimately through legislation — would both transcend and serve Democrats’ partisan interests.”
Second, reinstate representation as a finite civic role, not as a profession. Impose term limits. “Under both parties, the presidency has grown institutionally narcissistic while the legislature has become constitutionally oblivious... Much of it has to do with the fact that serving in Congress has become an end unto itself as Washington has become a glamorous imperial capital.”
Third, the House controls the money. Use that power wisely. “...to Madison, the House was the locus of constitutional action...The reason was that the House’s unique authority over the finances of the national government created leverage over every other facet of policy.”
Use it or lose it.
11
Nancy Pelosi's first order of business should be to support new, younger leadership that can speak to the broad swath of independents and moderate democrats. This group is as turned off as much by Pelosi and her crew of power brokers as by Trump and his crew of self-serving, nationalist misfits. This thoughtful, non-ideological group also doesn't stack rank LGTBQ or immigrant rights very high either so those issues should be de-prioritized. Instead, new leadership needs to be focused on what all Americans care about - healthcare, wages, quality of life, and restoring America's standing in the world after Trump.
10
@Patrick,
Concur. Speaker Pelosi will be the perfect counterbalance of power-mongering evil to cancel out Trump.
Whenever the Democrats control any legislative branch in Congress they are immediately expected and encouraged to "behave institutionally" and to "reassert congressional authority". Honestly, I think most Democrats including me, are tired of this narrative. We have lived through 8 + years of Republican bullying and 2 years of having the chief bully in the WH. Enough is enough Ms. Pelosi. These are new times with new rules. Going back to defensive and passive approaches will have grave repercussions for the Democrats in 2020. We will be watching!
11
Pelosi is not capable of this kind of fight. Age is a factor in this. Time to step aside.
5
Fantastic article. It makes plain how silly the last house speaker was. Did he think, while he was kowtowing to the president that he was ever going to get more power? Rule from the House, or go home.
2
A hate wall cannot be used as “leverage” with xenophobes. Immigration reform is going to have to wait until the Republicans stop demonizing immigrants.
2
What a piece! Excellent. Republican Congress was spineless against the Executive Branch, incapable of governing for the majority, biased towards the wealthy. Pragmatic House Democrats needs to reboot the US Congress to Madison's theory.
8
Madison, in the end, was wrong. There is no institutional loyalty. "If members of Congress are willing to place loyalty to their institution over fidelity to their parties, which the framers of the Constitution anticipated, they can begin restoring their status as the first branch of American government." This reads now like a bad joke. America teeters on the edge of an abyss.
3
The power to impeach is like the ace of trump (pun not intended). The card should be played to get the maximum possible return. The new Speaker of the House should make Trump an offer he cannot refuse: no impeachment in return for single-payer health insurance.
3
"That's the easiest thing in the world."
"That's nothing."
That's Nancy! Totally the right person to carry out the tasks you have laid out here. She understands that the American people come first not political agendas. That may mean working with Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump. She knows her way through that minefield so much better than John Boehner and Paul Ryan, both of whom resigned rather than take the pressure.
10
I agree.
I worked hard this election for Democratic candidates to the House motivated mainly by the need to check and dam the flow of horrific legislation from the White House and Republican Congress. I also wanted to see investigation into the extreme corruption and illegitimate machinations on our electoral system.
But, for every sub-committee hearing committed to draining that swamp, the Democrats must match it with another hearing that swiftly and comprehensively begins to solve the problems that all Americans want solved. A bi-partisan immigration compromise based on the one that almost passed in 2013, gun safety legislation that explicitly protects 2nd amendment rights clearly enough that even a Republican could understand it, an infrastructure bill that no sane legislator could refuse, a reasonable fix of the ACA that reduces medical and drug costs and throws some bones to conservatives like tort reform with serious studies looking into Medicare for all or other universal plans.
Of course they won't pass the Senate or get signed by Il Duce but Democrats have to be willing to demonstrate their seriousness to move forward. And who knows, Americans might like that kind of thing in 2020.
52
Nancy Pelosi's first order of business should be the hand her gavel over to a dynamic, feisty, visionary and bright young congressional colleague who can carry her/his Party and country into the 21st Century in a manner that inspires young people actively to participate in politics and to sustain their involvement over the longer-term.
I say this out of enormous respect for the service that Nancy Pelosi has already rendered the Nation.
31
@John lebaron I agree so much with you, except I do not have respect for her, she is a corporate democrat and does what her donors order her to do. But YES any uncorrupted Democrat, bright and young and a fighter is fine with me!
8
@John lebaron
I strongly disagree. What we need now is someone who has the experience to navigate the chaos that Trump generates and who knows in extreme detail how to manipulate the levers of Congressional power to deal with him and still accomplish things.
In calmer times I would be right with you. But these are not calm times. Right now we need a seasoned general, not a new recruit.
78
@John lebaron I am with some of the other corresponents who believe that a Speaker with experience is what is needed in this critical two year period. Especially is this important to carry out what I read as the focus of this piece, and that is to produce legislation which the people need. In this regard I remember that it was Speaker Pelosi who was the major driving force in harnessing the energies of the House in the first two years of Obama's first term to produce the Affordable Care Act. It was she who obtained the votes for that act when the members knew that in voting for it, many of them would not be re elected because of their yes vote. I also believe that she, of all people, will not be intimidated by Trump and will be effective in organizing whatever investigative oversight that might be needed. Finally, I would hope that she will pay attention to a possible successor who could take over sometime in year number two of this legislature.
35
It's up to the Democrats, not the GOP, to elect the next Speaker. Let's not forget Nancy Pelosi delivered the ACA. She's so good at the job; that's why Trumplicans demonize her. I'm all for her becoming Speaker, running with it for awhile, and then stepping aside.
116
I’m reading all these bad feelings about her, but can’t come up with her ‘crimes’. I’ll go reread Krugman.
4
Hear Hear! All those in favor say ... AYE
10
Mr. Weiner raises some good points, and as an academic exercise I cannot argue his conclusions. He overlooks the seriousness and unique character of the present circumstances however. The GOP has for a long time crafted strategy for this very moment and is not willing to relinquish its power under any circumstances. Even those who decry the excesses of the current president capitulate to not only his power and bullying but also to the discipline of the GOP leaders. It is folly for the Democrats to govern from a high standard without a willing partner. In fact, it is political suicide.
Related to that is the lack of character - more precisely, the prevailing characteristics of a pugilistic, malignant narcissist - of the current White House occupant, who will see anything he does not like (defined as obedience and servitude) as reason enough to attack, without limits, any person or institution that dares voice dissent or inquiry.
I trust that people smarter than me in the Democratic house will look for and find a way to govern and investigate. Those two aims are not mutually exclusive. But we have a Nazi in the White House, and a group of cowards and enablers in the Senate, and sometimes opposition is what really matters.
58
@bkane8, I must correct you on one point; we have not "a Nazi" but "a semi-competent Nazi wannabe". (I admit he's competent at destruction.)
1
None of this will EVER happen with Pelosi as speaker.
5
Nancy Pelosi is probably the only one who wants that position. Who would want to be beat down 24/7 by Trump.
4
There are several dynamic, feisty, visionary and bright young congressional representatives who would leap at the opportunity of confronting a bully with the substantive brainpower of progressivism. I can't wait to support these fresh men and women in their existential struggle for democracy.
2
@Independent voter
He does not scare her, and she won't be beaten down. She has been there and done that and knows how the game is played. It is Trump who fears Pelosi, as does McConnell. They can't roll her the way they roll Schumer and Perez, which is why they would welcome any way to get rid of her. Don't give it to them.
By the way, ever hear the GOP saying that McConnell is too old (they are the same age) and that he should be replaced by someone younger? No? Me neither. Think about what that says about the way the Republicans hold their ranks.
5
@nora m But this does raise the question as to why Trump wants Pelosi to remain in power. Is it just so he can vilify her on a daily basis, that she's a great target for him, as a raving misogynist, and his misogynistic base, and/or is it because he also finds her ineffectual? These are questions to consider.
"If members of Congress are willing to place loyalty to their institution over fidelity to their parties..."
Of course. And if pigs could fly, bacon would come in the window.
But they don't.
19
Republicans will not elevate loyaty to Congress over fealty to party. That's just silly.
24
This is a great educational article. someone from Twitter cheifs staff should read this. up till now weekly Twitterer shows how little he truly knows. Ignorance on display for the world is his default. we all get to laugh with him. in this case he has been set up with a spineless House for 2 years. the Senate will continue their slithering for a while i guess. the House of Representatives is the only place a citizen knows he is getting an equal share of representing by their Congressmen. thank you twitterer for using your gut for thinking. Keep it up cause you are going to need Pepcid daily. welcome to reality twitter chief.
6
The only thing dumber than telling Trump what to do is trying to tell Pelosi what to do. So I won't. If she doesn't use this critical moment to restrain Trump, if Chuck Schumer thinks it's an awesome moment for more conservative judge compromises, that's great by me. Eventually, they will die of old age and we can move on.
1
I'm not holding my breath. Over the past 40 years, "Democrat" has become synonymous with a deficit of nuts and acorns.
3
@Chip
Since Trump has always had his own chauffeur, he doesn't even know how to drive a car,
Did you actually vote for a man who can't even drive a car?
Pelosi's first order of business should be to announce her retirement
8
@NYC Dweller
It would be great if mysoginists would grow a conscience and make their first order of business the retirement of their trite rhetoric.
1
@NYC Dweller I would like to see some fresh blood but who would you suggest? In the meantime Pelosi knows how to get things done unlike Paul Ryan.
1
Time for Democrats in the House to get to work and make new gun control laws for our nation. the set restrictions on carbon dioxide emissions and create programs on infrastructure to strengthen our country. Oh yeah do elections make a difference baby, the good, a Democrat sweep into power and both the bad and ugly, Trump!
10
Representative Seth Moulton is right. If the newly empowered youthful dynamism in the Democratic Party does not get behind him and seize the day while the iron is hot, then the Democratic Party does not deserve to lead. What that leaves us with as American progressive is truly terrifying.
If Nancy Pelosi goes. Chuck Schumer should skedaddle right behind her, but I fear that the party still remains too Clintonized, notwithstanding the results of too many recent elections.
Some good, even excellent points. But to ask for, never mind assume for a second that the Republicans will for a moment act in the interest of the nation, or pass any bill desired by the overwhelming majority of the citizens, is purely laughable.
The Republicans will blindly, mindlessly, stupidly, repeat whatever the party line of the day is. If they did naything else, they would not be Republicans.
Unfortunately, to believe anything else in light of repeated history is the height of absurdity.
11
@Eugene
And, you might add, the party line is now firmly Trumpist and is consistently bolstered by that party’s propaganda organ, Fox News
Nancy Pelosi's first order of business in 2019 should be to let somebody else be Speaker of the House.
Otherwise, expect Trump to be re-elected in 2020.
11
Democrats have a golden opportunity to demonstrate that they are the progressive and a responsible alternative to the Republican Party. They can legislate on health care, taxation, infrastructure, judicial reform, immigration reform, even the wall believe it or not. Of course the President and the Republican Senate will blocked their legislation. But not only they will reclaimed the legitimate place of Congress, in this case the House of Representatives, but they will demonstrated to the American people that they are a constructive party and not only an obstructionists party like the Republicans whom they accomplished nothing beside the tax cuts for the corporations, the riches and the 1% in the last two years. And that despite the fact that they also control the Senate and the Presidency. And contrary to the Republicans they can walk and chew gum at the same time, so they could also look at the corruption of the Trump government.
22
Interesting and thoughtful. However, he's wrong on one count. The primary job of any of the branches of government is not to determine "what the people want." If that were the case, we could simply employ pollsters rather than "representatives". We have representative government, not mob rule. (At least in theory we did, until metoo came along!)
3
Yeah, don’t you miss those good old days when men could assault and harass women with impunity?
IT is sad that such a well written civics/history lesson provokes so much partisan nonsense. I did not know that Woodrow Wilson had theorized on presidential power, nor that there was a way for congress to act normally. There is much food for thought here.
4
The House should use the power of the purse to right the country. For too long we blue states have been subsidizing the red states. They claim to want smaller government, let's give it to them. Let's cut their subsidies. The radical red state government of the last 2 years has increased their subsidies and passed tax legislation penalizing us for raising our own taxes to pay for education and infrastructure. Well, it's time to treat them the same way and raise their taxes in order to get some of our money back.
I'm proposing to act in a partisan manner you say? Seriously? I'm tired of sanctimonious southerners telling me what to do with my money.
15
@Chazak
And just whom do you think that actually will hurt the most? Not exactly progressive or helpful in this case to float those ideas.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_African-American_population
Weiner has a strong argument, but...
1] it fails to account for the deep polarization that presently exist within the context of the US 2-party system; most of this having begun with the scrapping of the Fairness Doctrine, under Reagan [1982?];
2] Madison - as chief architect of both the Articles of the US Constitution [1787] and the Bill of Rights later adopted by the first Congress [1791] - was not a fan of political parties, as they represented organized factions [viz., pieces of the political whole] being able to push their political agenda on the rest [of the political whole]. Not recognizing their power, however, to do what he feared about them, did not diminish their ability to exert dominance across the centuries over the political system he engineered;
3] today in late 2018, as a result of a civic culture based on a 24/7 news cycle 'covering' a daily political environment in which one party [the GOP], its nominal leader [Trump] and its organized associates in the MSM and elsewhere are demonizing and rhetorically attacking its political opposition [and its organized media and other associates] as criminals, it is no wonder the party's supporters take to sending pipe bombs to those so-named by their party; and finally
4] it is not term-limits that will solve the many political problems of incumbency; it is strict nat'l and state campaign finance laws that equalize public funding for all candidates who compete for public offices [and votes] that will.
11
Scrapping the Fairness Doctrine was a big mistake.
"But because successful legislation would require compromise and moderation, the moment may be especially suited to that task. If members of Congress are willing to place loyalty to their institution over fidelity to their parties..."
Once again, more nonsense about seeking compromise with the most reactionary, anti-worker, anti-environment political party in the world.
When these two much-despised parties get together in a bipartisan manner we get things like Simpson-Bowles austerity - it should be noted that S-B was put together during the depths of the recession, which is the worst time for austerity.
We need Dem politicians who are able to show anger at the Republicans stealing two SCOTUS nominations, backing out of the Paris Climate Accords and destroying environmental legislation. Why on earth would these politicians ant top "work with" these neanderthals.
Not only did the "blue wave" turn out to be a "blue spray" (the Republicans took over twice as many House seats in '08 as the Dems did last Tuesday), the Dem leaders are offering us uninspiring rhetoric.
That party is a mess and until they get rid of Pelosi, Schumer, Kain, Feinstein and others of their capitulating ilk, it will struggle electorally, as it did last Tuesday.
4
The House Democrats' first order of business should be to jettison Nancy Pelosi for a new leader. And then reclaim the power of the House.
3
Nancy Pelosi's first order of business should be to resign and allow someone new, fresh, energetic and resolute take over.
7
Resolute? We wouldn't be in this mess if not for the fresh, energetic so-called "progressives" who threw the democratic party under the bus and thus inflicted incalculable damage to children, women, the poor, the elderly and the disenfranchised. Were they resolute? In pursuit of their cause - aka revolution. She should not just step down unequivocally. Their time will come.
Despite my desire for Democrats to succeed in Congress, something troubles me. No matter what bills the new Democratic Congress introduces and gets passed, Trump will take ALL the credit as only he knows how to do.
2
What a SEXY column about a SEXY topic.
Okay, maybe not, but Mr. Weiner is right on in his diagnosis. Our constitutional system is broken--not by it's structure, but by how it is navigated by those in power. As Mr. Weiner suggests, party allegiance is a core impetus for the dereliction of institutional duty.
Congress was created, quite literally, as a "first among equals" in our branches of government--literally (and not accidentally) first to appear and be defined in the constitution, and first in the governing process in which Legislative makes law, Executive enforces law, and Judicial interprets law. The impetus for our governance is meant to begin in Congress.
In reality, we all look to the Presidency for impetus. For example (and this drives my absolutely to fury and despair), our presidential elections are often hyper-focused on domestic policy such as taxes, which should be primarily the domain of congress, rather than the President's real tasks of managing foreign affairs and the bureaucracy. Our country has strayed from Legislature>legislates, Executive>enforces, Judicial>interprets, ever and ever closer to Democrats>do X, Republican>do Y.
It's a sad state of affairs. Our constitution worked pretty well, until most of forgot about what it says.
3
Some citizens have questioned,privately and publicly, why Congress seems to have done so little over the last decade or so. Some was opposition, but the key phrase is that current elected representatives tend to think that their sole purpose is to support and do the president's bidding.
This obviously is wrong, when stated and analyzed as the author does. However it seems that the current representatives fit this mold far better than they think they do.
And the people, those who are responsible for choosing and paying for those in the House, are left scratching their heads as to why others seem to be more important than we are.
1
@reid
Not for nothing but the GOP is full of "company men" who do as they are told. They are creates of hierarchy and wait for the golden parachute of a seven figure salary at a lobbyist job when they leave Congress. The Congress is just a stepping stone to greater riches and the people can go hang as far as they are concerned.
2
Democrats in the House should undertake a clearly stated agenda to study, and then enact, popular measures such as:
-Guaranty that insurance policies cover preexisting conditions.
-Massive infrastructure improvements.
-Equally massive increase of taxes on mega-wealthy (e.g., by creating new tax brackets for $1 million, $10 million, $100 million, and $1 billion.)
-Allowing student loans to be bankruptable after 10 years.
-REAL tax relief for middle class.
When Republicans vote against them--and they will--they will be called to account in 2020.
8
Yes. The mega-wealthy are vastly under-taxed.
And they know it.
"For their part, Republicans must elevate loyalty to Congress over fealty to a president of their own party. That may sound implausible, but if it is, the Constitution is already lost."
The Constitution is already lost then. There's no coming back after Mitch McConnell.
1
@Andy
I disagree... there may be no coming back WITH Mitch McConnell, but developing a responsible agenda in the next two years could pave the way for moving on without Mitch McConnell. Show his constituents what his obstruction prevents them from having, and make him obsolete.
3
There is an implicit fallacy in all the discussions about the role of the House of Representatives: that Democrats will mount investigations to harass Trump. Let us remember why Mr. Mueller was appointed: to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election. The Republicans in the House have done everything to thwart the investigation, presumably because they believe Trump, or at the very least, his subordinates cooperated with the Russians. In our current topsy-turvy world, most Republicans refuse even to entertain this possibility, despite mounting evidence to the contrary. So we are left to believe that Nancy Pelosi should just ignore the possibility that a United States President, who has refused to disclose his global financial connections by releasing his tax returns, is making decisions based on personal enrichment, rather than the best interests of the American public. I posit that it is the primary job of the House of Representatives to strengthen our democracy. Why attempt to pass laws that will be blocked every step of the way by a highly partisan Senate and a President who certainly seems to be hiding his business affairs by verbally bullying and attacking anyone threatening to pull back the financial curtain?
3
@Simsbury Frank
I do not believe Nancy Pelosi should ignore the President's actions, but Democrats need to try to govern.They need to try to pass key legislation, if they do not, the people who voted for them may never come back to the electoral process.
4
I think we can do both.
I think Mr. Weiner has this wrong. The power of the House does not need to be reclaimed. It has always been there and has always been enormous. The long period of Democratic tenure before 1994 masked that effect--it was in the background. But so soon as Gingrich was in charge, you found out just how powerful the House can be in setting a national mood and agenda. And it was the House which generated the Schiavo and Elian crises, and impeached Clinton, etc. When the House is quiescent it simply means that the status quo is aligned with the self-interest of the House majority. Probably the best single effect we will have for the next two years is that the national agenda will be a little more sane a little more rational and a little more oriented to solving real problems.
3
Excellent advice. Investigate to obtain information needed to legislate, not to prove how unfit Trump is to be president. Those who care already know that. And please, stop talking about Trump's tax returns. While that issue might have had some legs before he was elected, they would add little, if anything, to what we know about him now. Besides, I'm sure that Mueller has them and any relevant information will be disclosed in his report/indictments.
2
I couldn’t agree more. Part of me thinks House Democrats, having won the majority, should simply go home. Turn out the lights, shut the door and leave. “See you in two years”. The government would effectively shut down with it. That’s one way of putting an end to this tyranny of the minority we’ve experienced these past two years.
Nice idea. Worth a shot, perhaps. But ultimately, this is a naive reading of the current political situation. We have no reason to believe the Republicans won't continue to act as Trump's handmaidens. There is absolutely no precedent suggesting they will act as members of congress rather than members of the Republican party.
3
"If members of Congress are willing to place loyalty to their institution over fidelity to their parties," - I needed a good laugh today.
5
"For their part, Republicans must elevate loyalty to Congress over fealty to a president of their own party."
What rock has Mr. Weiner been living under for the last two years?
Under normal circumstances I would fully support Mr. Weiner's high-minded notions of restoring the legislative branch's mojo but our President is an enemy agent of a foreign power so first things first I'm afraid.
2
Yay, more please -- as in, more articles about our new Congressional representatives (sane people) and less about Trump's temper tantrums.
5
Yes. Get the government working correctly and serving the people. Historians will take care of Trump and the rest of his enablers.
4
High-minded commentary but utterly futile. Investigating and criticizing are low-risk, high potential payoff methods that pay concentrated benefits to the individual legislator. Legislating requires compromise, diffusing credit among many (often including the President) and antagonizing the interest groups that lose. Even when legislation is passed, it tends to buck all the hard questions to the administrative agencies or the executive.
A great essay for a political science book and useless for practical politics.
2
Why exactly do we think the Republicans mock Nancy Pelosi, and try to humiliate Democrats into opposing her? Do we think it is because she is an ineffective Speaker? Think hard.
It is because Republicans are afraid of Nancy Pelosi. That alone would be a reason to keep her as Speaker. But there are other reasons to keep her, at least until we get rid of Trump.
If there was ever a moment when we needed a fierce, infinitely savvy, indefatigable Speaker of the House, it is now. We can wait just a little bit longer for youth and inexperience.
87
@Madeline Conant
Amen. I want someone who knows where the bodies are buried and she does. Anyone else would have a learning curve and we cannot afford that luxury at the moment. She is able to go toe-to-toe with McConnell and not flinch. Don't believe me? Ask the last Speaker.
22
Great piece, and I urge every new House member to read Robert Caro’s books about LBJ and Sam Rayburn. My great fear is that the US Senate will now be even more in the rip of the camera-hogging moral chameleon Lindsey Graham, or, “Lil Stinker,” as he was know when a child.
3
@Michael Judge
"Moral chameleon"...excellent, funny, and true.
1
@Michael Judge
From Blanche DuBois to Hostile Man ... Graham’s shown he’s a great actor too
Ms. Pelosi did not say getting Trump's tax returns was her first priority, health care is number one. Oh and.."For their part, Republicans must elevate loyalty to Congress over fealty to a president of their own party."..is fantasy. Republicans have 'fealty" only to their own personal political career, and right now, they have no future as Republicans without total 100% subservience and obeisance to Donald Trump.
1
Fundamental to the strategy: Remember that Trump lies about everything. You cannot trust him at all.
8
@Penchant
It used to be enormously embarrassing and politically damaging to be found lying, either out right or not stating things in full.
Now the President does it many times per day, and the truth seems to be not only does he lie, he will also have no loyalty or compunction to follow through on something he promised to do. Dysfunctional is an understatement.
1
One hopes, without real hope, that Nancy Pelosi recognizes that she will be a significant drag on Dems going forward and certainly in 2020. If you don't believe me, do believe Trump, who has seemingly endorsed her for the Speakership, this alone should be enough to have the Democrats choose anew speaker, she is too much of a lightning rod, she had had the speakership, and she should be looking towards the exits...
Time for some new blood.
Please!
3
@Thom Boyle
"too much of a lightning rod"? Oh, sure, with someone else the GOP will be nice and play ball and not cheat. Sorry, this is just what they do and she can handle it. If she can, why can't we?
Don't do their dirty work for them.
2
@Thom Boyle
Trump will demonize anyone who sits in the Speaker's chair. Pelosi has the spine and experience to stand up to him and get things done. It would be appropriate to elevate someone younger to a secondary leadership position and groom him or her to be speaker at some point. Now is not the time.
2
@Hugh CC, "Now is not the time" is all I hear from corporate Democrats who continue to try to keep their power.
There will never be a right time according to those same power-hungry corporatists who wish to continue to consolidate their corporate power and influence.
Enough already with that beating a dead horse rhetoric. New blood is needed as the old guard has proven themselves incapable of working for the working stiffs in this country. We need a Congress and a government who is more interested in the welfare of the American people than in promoting their own interests in return for political bribery and self-serving interests.
Expecting the GOP senate to act separately from the WH is wishful thinking. They've had plenty of chances to do that, and are not about to change because of a Democratic House; in fact I believe they will choose to double-down. They will obstruct at every opportunity, cheered on by that dreadful critter acting as president.
1
Go for it, Nancy. The House is our only hope of having representative government. The stronger it is, the better the largest number of citizens does.
8
The Democrats should return the House to Regular Order and do away with the Hastert Rule. And when the Democrats retake the Senate they should reimpose the filibuster for judicial nominees. Show the Republicans that they’re not afraid of listening to the minority party and involving them in the legislative process. Then we’ll truly have our rational government back instead of just a wild swing between years of power grabbing. Turn the other cheek.
3
The Democrats had best get their heads straight so they don't do something they'll regret in two years. Spending time chasing Trump and his income tax returns aren't going to make American lives any better; neither is trying to impeach the guy. Do something that's going to help people instead of reinforcing the party's propensity of vindictiveness towards people who don't fall in line with them.
5
Thanks but.
Two of the existential threats facing us are Inequality and the pollution of our planet Climate. I have documented 50 Years of "legal" landmarks on Climate pollution at
https://www.legalreader.com/50-years-of-legal-climate-change/
As for Inequality, that too dates back 50 years. See the graph at
https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/02/11/384988128/the-fall-and-rise-of-u-s-inequality-in-2-graphs
As for who is mostly responsible for the policies producing these declines see
https://www.legalreader.com/republican-racketeers-violent-policies/
And for the plan that has produced our problems. See the Lewis Powell Memo at https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/1970s-polution-control-efforts/
I don't think anyone needs to tell Ms Pelosi how things are and should be done. She is the person we need at this point. She knows where and how the bodies are buried as well as how they got there.
5
@ Socrates
Love the optimism.
The Republican sedition has been on display for four decades. If they don't see it now, they never will.
My suggestion as a first order of business is to pass an emigration bill that sends all the unreconstructed deplorables to some island. Most places won't have them.
1
Congress behaving institutionally 'tis a consummation devoutly to be wished!' but I ain't gonna hold my breath.
Unless the GOP still exists (whether fear induced or patriotism induced) in some Constitution-following form and they have not transmogrified into the Trump Party, the Republic is in peril.
On the other hand, if the Senate acknowledges its days of White dominance as nearing its inevitable end, then they will hang on as long as possible and pack as much of the judiciary as possible.
2
OK, but if the House is to assert its legislative authority and the president makes it a point to flout and override the rule of law, aided and abetted by a complacent Senate, what else does it have but a fight on its hands? You can't bring an olive branch to a row of machine guns that have already declared you the enemy.
1
Excellent strategy laid out herein!
So Mr Weiner doesnt like either the executive branch to investigate itself through Mueller, and the House should not do pversifht of the executive branch but limit itself to legislation.
So what Mr Weiner proposes that there be no oversight of the President. Which is a bad and intentionally distracting bad idea.
It is entirely within the responsibilities of Congress to provide oversight. That oversight should always be thorough, complete, as transparent as possible and vigilant. It is ine of the key aspects of checks and balances.
But Mr Weiner knows all of this. He is just denying it’s import not out of transmitting knowledge as he desribes, but to push an agenda which he would be different under other Presidents. He is a disrace to his educational position.
This column is sage advice. Let the newly elected Democratic House submit bills covering what the electorate cares about: affordable pre-existing-condition-guaranteed health care, affordable college tuition at public universities, universal background checks (zero loopholes). This will force the Republican Senate to take a stand. If they oppose sensible legislation, they will be exposed for the hypocrites they are.
3
The Democratic House has a treacherous, unethical, shameless, and extremely wily opponent in the White House who can be relied on for only one thing, that he will be completely unrestrained in his efforts to suppress democracy. New ideas and young blood are all very attractive, but if the election showed us anything it was that the voters want to stop Trump, and Nancy Pelosi has the experience and the guts to do that. Not time to change Speakers till Trump has been neutralized!
7
Nancy Pelosi needs to resign. Do you really believe she has been a strong, effective leader these past two years? She (and Schumer) have largely been complacent. We need a young, bold, compelling leader in the House. Debbie Wasserman Schultz? Joe Kennedy III?
3
@Tom
No to Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
She's part of the problem - a conspirator who helped torpedo Sanders in 2016. All of Sanders supporters would abandon her - and the party - in 2020.
6
At this point, I hope the Democrats can stay focused on doing those things and only those things that will allow them to regain the Presidency in 2020. I believe they have a better chance with sensible bills which they can argue will benefit all Americans than with investigations of malfeasance. Such inquiries should occur, but not at the expense of serious legislation. Successful infrastructure legislation will win far more votes even if Trump's tax returns show he had income from a chain of St. Petersburg brothels.
2
It's long past time for Rep. Pelosi to go. She is divisive and has accomplished nothing now in several years other than fundraising. She has long ago sold out to corporate interests, as has been seen in the insurance company full employment act also known as the Affordable Care Act. It did a couple of long overdue things, but has nearly destroyed the doctor patient relationship. "..pass the torch to a new generation of Americans"...JFK 1961
5
“If members of Congress are willing to place loyalty to their institution over loyalty to their party...”?
Apparently Mr. Kerrey has donned his rose colored glasses. When has any member of the Republican contingent in either house of Congress demonstrated a willingness and ability to do such a thing? These are the same people who routinely use the threat of a complete government shutdown to get their way; who shamelessly gerrymander and erect obstacles to voting to gain election victories; who rushed to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act with no “replacement” anywhere in sight; and who silently will abide virtually any atrocity to get a tax cut and other goodies on the ‘conservative’ and “Christian” wish lists.
That’s not just a pretty big ‘if.’ It’s a fairy tale.
2
No one who who approved of Bush's Iraq War Resolution should ever be allowed in a leadership position in this country. The evidence was clear. The evidence of manipulation and fraud was easily obtainable. Among those in the Democratic Party, the Clintons, Pelosi, Schumer and anyone close to them or party leadership had to know the manipulation that was taking place. Yet we keep pretending these are people of special leadership capability. They are simply dishonest, unpatriotic power brokers.
2
@Dave
Pelosi did not vote for the Iraq war.
This is one of those frustrating columns that could only have been written by an intellectual idealist. For the House Democrats to do what Weiner suggests would be a poor choice for two reasons:
First, it sin't why they were elected. They were elected to oppose what many of us see as the hijacking of our country by a bunch of corrupt, greedy, dishonest people who call themselves Republicans; and Second, because doing what Mr. Weiner suggests would force the House Democrats to depend on those same Republicans.
The only thing that will get today's Republicans to reach across the aisle is fear of what will happen to them if they don't.
7
Excellent. Can we do it? We have to do it.
51
@SEA
I agree with you totally and I would emphasize impeachment should not be really on the agenda.
The democrats need to show that they are willing to compromise on laws that are good for the country not only in the cities and suburbs but also for voters in rural areas.
5
@GECAUS
You know, that would make sense if any Republican had demonstrated any interest in making and honoring agreements. Obama compromised repeatedly -- with all the success of Charlie Brown asking Lucy to hold his football.
They Democrats have a practical, positive platform that DOES help all Americans, especially rural ones. The Republicans pass tax cuts for billionaires while their rural base screams '"Build the wall!" The Republicans want money and power; they no longer legislate for the public good.
There's no meeting of minds on which to compromise.
3
The football, Naomi, isn't in play until it is in the air after the kick.
No negotiation is final until the document is signed. And anything agreed to today can easily be on the table tomorrow. Any seasoned negotiator understands this just as he understands that the shape final agreement frequently has people changing their minds about individual elements.
The deal isn't done until the check clears the bank.
And it is naive, at best, to think otherwise.
They are NOW the power.
Let them start behaving that they are!
"For their part, Republicans must elevate loyalty to Congress over fealty to a president of their own party. That may sound implausible, but if it is, the Constitution is already lost."
Republicans have indeed elevated fealty to their party over loyalty to Congress. And so have Democrats--the fact that I agree with Democrats' goals doesn't change that fact. If your only response is to throw up your hands and wail that the Constitution is already lost... well, then, it's lost, and you have nothing relevant to say.
But I don't agree. The particular genius of the founders was to devise a Constitution based not on high-minded appeals to principle but on a recognition of the grubby reality of politics and power. That reality has changed from what it was in Madison's day; perhaps the Constitution needs to change to match it. Or perhaps we can find a way to adapt our system within the framework that exists.
Either way, though, there is nothing to be gained by complaining that the world does not accord with the way people 200 years ago imagined it should be.
1
"The challenge now is for House Democrats to seize the reins of governance not because they are Democrats but because they are members of Congress — a branch of government that is more contemplative, less impulsive and more subtly reflective of the broad range of perspectives in American politics than a presidency with which one either agrees or disagrees."
Thank you for an insightful column. This is exactly what the House needs to do - legislate with ferocious determination.
The House needs to start with proposed legislation immediately when new members are sworn in. The best Democrats can do is to quickly move on proposed new House rules opening debate and ending one party committee meetings as the first order of business.
Proposals for infrastructure building, protecting and updating the ACA, supporting affordable higher education, building anti-trust rules, restoring consumer protections against predatory financial actors, working on a national voters' rights bill, preventing the privatization of the VA medical system, need to be presented in committee on day one.
Acts of governance need to visibly and forcefully replace acts of one party rule. Getting even builds nothing. Legislation for the common good builds everything.
3
While I have great respect for Pelosi's many accomplishments, I would rather see her now in a mentoring role. She can lend her wisdom to a whole new group that is anxious to take on more - Adam Schiff, Kamala Harris, Nadala (sp) and others. It's a very different environment; let's get some different leadership with fresh ideas. I'm a healthcare professional and know how important the issue of healthcare is, but let's talk about education, too.
1
@Kathleen
Pelosi has been demonized by right wing propaganda for many years. This is, shamefully, the reason many Democrat candidates for the house promised, during their campaigns, to do their best to unseat her from her speaker position .
They figured that the negative propaganda of the right had gotten through to the voters' psyches, and they had to oppose her to win election. Their knuckling under to right wing fake news was, and is, simply cowardice.
2
Oh, c'mon. Democrats can investigate and legislate at the same time.
Investigating leads us towards transparency and transparency should not be considered a "party preference." Republicans fear transparency but that doesn't mean it's partisan. Shame on them for trying to make it so.
Investigating the President is of the highest importance. Believe it or not, savvy adults can multi-task and delegate. The intelligence committee can now effectively do their jobs in the Russia investigation while other committees can handle other equally important tasks such as health care, education, infrastructure, and immigration.
Full steam ahead Democrats. Don't let anything stand in your way.
22
I am sorry, but if you feel that elevating loyalty to the institution should go before loyalty to a sitting president of their own political party, Republicans burned that bridge during the George W Bush years.
They abrogated oversight into the investigation of intelligence failures leading to 9/11. They ignored requests to investigate the White House misleading the public into war in Iraq. They said nothing when Bush commuted the sentence of I Lewis "Scooter" Libby for disclosing the identity of a major intelligence asset.
I do not see comparable defense of party over country on the side of the Democrats, not in the past few decades, but we should expect both parties to be functional to have a functional House.
4
We Democrats have already wasted valuable capital--in time, in energy, and in approval--fighting the losing battle over Kavanaugh's confirmation. It cannot be possible that anyone believed for even one minute that it wasn't a done deal from the day he was nominated. And yet, there we were, grinding out teeth and tearing our garments.
I have the utmost respect for Nancy Pelosi. She is a very smart woman and a clever politician. Now would be the time to make that clear. Please, please don't start trying to impeach Donald Trump. It's not going to happen and, even if it did, what would it accomplish? It would create another spectacle, staged and, ultimately, lost by the Democrats.
Forget being gladiators. Wash dishes. Fold the laundry. Take the car for a tune-up. In other words, one careful step at a time, be wise, and practical, and take back our country.
57
"A truly independent legislature would not outsource investigations of the 2016 election to the special counsel, Robert Mueller. It would jealously use its ample authority to conduct them itself."
Very well put!
3
They don't have to claim the power of the Congress.
They are now the power. Act like the power!
3
The House Democrats must focus on governing not on investigations. To have any realistic chance of getting the White House in 2020 they MUST show that they care about issues 3other than POTUS.
Here’s a road map.
1. Pelosi steps down. Eliminate a decisive person both internally and externally.
2. On day 1 of the new congress introduce and schedule hearings on tweaking ACA. Get it to the senate w/in 60 days.
3. After winning the first week news cycle on day 8 introduce an infrastructure package. Same time frame -pass within 60 days.
4. The next week introduce a middle class tax break while reviewing the cuts from last years tax cut.
5. After 3-4 months of governing then considered hearings on the annoyances of the past two years.
6. NEVER lose track of the goal of governing. Revenge has no place in government.
7
i would add to Socrates suggestions on infrastructure- make it an environmental restoration infrastructure bill that focuses on renewable power for every building in the US and has a re-vegetation component for every square foot of concrete or macadam laid down.
8
I agree with the general idea that congress should do its job for the American people - legislation and acting as a pragmatic check - rather than focusing on shouted ideology and inflamatory divisiveness for its own sake. My point of departure is having Pelosi as the speaker - I disagreed with her demeanor at the start of the Obama administration, and now she has become, though mostly not her fault, a lightning rod for conservatives. She should still exert influence but more behind the scenes; have someone less inflamatory as the public face of the new democratic congress.
1
@Me
Respectfully agree that Ms. Pelosi is "... a lightening rod for conservatives...".
But why is that? Suggest that it is because she is: Smart. Tough. Not afraid of blustering old white guys. Persistent. AND FEMALE!!
She frightens Mitch and Donny because she has their number.
Assuming the Rs can demonize her out of the Speakership, will the Rs quit selectively demonizing, or
select their next feared female and begin anew?
Better to capitulate- or resist, because she is very good at the job- and is not afraid of Mitch and Donny?
The Rs run the same play- Hillary? Pocahontas?
When will the Democrats choose a better response?
I believe this is what most Democrats want. But to truly "assert itself institutionally," the Congress needs to get to the bottom of President's Trump's potential collusion, tax returns, and potential obstruction of justice, etc. That is one of the most fundamental jobs of Congress, to serve as a check on the other branches and the Senate.
8
No, they should get to doing what they are supposed to do -like legislating, not creating wrongdoings and blame. Funny how no one is claiming Russian interference this time around...
1
@Brian Kenney They should try and legislate. Make a point with it the way the Republicans did repeatedly repealing the ACA. But that won't get traction. Republicans would cut off their nose to spite their face. The only things that will actually happen are things the House can do alone. That include investigation and rules changes.
@Brian Kenney
That's not true. It has been stated that Russians and the Chinese have been trying to influence this election. I have heard it reported that Russia never stopped.
I, for one, plan to watch Congress closely. I also plan to do a lot of letter writing, e-mailing, and phone calls, not just to my own representatives, but to others as well.
Yes, investigations of Trump and the Whitehouse need to take place. Democrats should be able to do both legislation and investigations at the same time. I have great confidence in the Democrats ability to multi-task.
Where I'm concerned is in the Democrats subservience to corporate power and money which affects both parties.
Can Democrats become the party of the working people again?
I will wait and see. So far they are just as owned by corporate interests and PAC money as Republicans are. I would like to see them move away from that model and back into the model of actually working for the best interests of the majority of their constituents again instead of just for the wealthy minority that both parties cater to.
As far as I'm concerned, I think Pelosi needs to go. She is far too entrenched in corporate influences to become a leader for the working class. Democrats need to reclaim their title of Champions of and for, the working class if they are ever to continue to win elections.
I'm cautiously hopeful, but not entirely convinced that this can happen.
6
Mr. Weiner's article is, actually, fairly insightful, but unfortunately, I had to tune out when reaching the phrase "If members of Congress are willing to place loyalty to their institution above fidelity to their parties...". That, sadly, is assuming facts very much not in evidence.
6
@Jay C And fidelity to part nowadays is also a consequence of party discipline. Unlike the days of Madison, there is now, because of the hyperpartisanship especially of the Republicans, an unwillingness to permit compromise in the ranks. We have legislators who only follow the orders of the leadership. Congressmen have to either be on their way out the door at the end of their career, or at death's door before they can oppose the will of the leadership.
2
I was very impressed with the contrast between Nancy Pelosi’s press conference following this election and the one in 2008. In 2008 she was rude and pompous following Obama’s win and the majority in Congress. She shot herself in the foot and made herself a target for the Republican Party.
I was impressed with her restraint this week. She was more focused on legislation and fulfilling the Congressional responsibility of checks on the Executive branch than gloating over Democratic wins. That attitude is what will get things accomplished and cause people to support Democrats again.
11
Nancy Pelosi's first order of business is to let someone else be speaker of the house. Trump would like nothing more than seeing Pelosi back as speaker even going so far as to have his Republican partisans vote for her if there isn't enough support in her own caucus. How much longer do we have to wait before the senior brigade allows someone else lead in the house and senate. Didn't losing both houses in 2010 and the election in 2016 teach them anything? Time for the really old boomers to step aside (and I'm one too) and let others challenge the reactionary conservatives for a change.
21
@John Chastain
Less about old boomers than having public faces that don't elicit negative reflexes from conservatives.
3
@John Chastain. No. Nancy Pelosi should lead until a replacement is properly trained. The reason she is demonized by the right is because she is so effective.The GOP doesn't choose our speaker. We do.
26
Pelosi has been denigrated precisely because she’s been effective. She should be Speaker with an eye to bringing up junior members of Congress, not people like Hoyer. And I believe she will do that.
34
The Congress’ “First Order of Business” should be to pass healthcare legislation for all with an “in good faith” bi-partisan pragmatic approach. Pass “Medicaid for All” with States administering it, but with basic guidelines and standards established by the federal government. Funding would be both State and Federal and adjustable to fit States needs. Phase it in at each state level incrementally by progressively moving more age groups into the program over a ten year period. Incrementally reduce private insurance, VA system, charity clinics, etc as more people come under the umbrella of Medicaid for All. Peace on Earth (or at least in US finally)
4
@Tim Shaw
Once again, the mistaken notion that single payer fixes the health system. First, this mantra ignores the provider side, from which the costs come that cost both medicare and private health insurance what was unsustainable before and after the ACA and twice as high as many inustrialized countries.
It is also stated under the mistaken notion that these other countries all have single payer - most don't or have private for profit as supplemental insurance (the UK has this) even if they have single payer and even if they have fully nationalized healthcare (UK again). Single payer is fine but my point is that fixing the system is not reduced to implementing single payer - it is having a system which is well thought out, well run, addresses both the pay and provider sides, and can be adjusted without faux ideological fights for politician advantage.
@Me
My proposal for “First Order Of Business” is actually “50 payers”, not “single payer”.
Republicans would like the State approach. Democrats would like the Federal oversight and more fairness for citizens who can’t afford access to the healthcare system.
Insurers would “like” it, as they would have 10 years to look for a different job.
If the health insurance companies don’t like that, I would ask, “for whom is healthcare meant, insurers or the sick.”
Thank you! This essay gives fresh perspective and reminds me once again how much I've never really learned about American governance.
We desperately need new approaches on both sides of the aisle and it's encouraging to hear that a constitutionally correct approach to House leadership would actually support that.
Continue, Prof. Weiner!
4
Govern, Democrats, govern! Pass legislation in the House that acts for the good of all Americans. Stand in crystal clear counterpoint to the 1%-serving legislation of the Senate Republicans. This and not a constant drumbeat for impeachment will begin to peel off Republican voters at the margins. Don't play into the Us vs Them scenario that they excel at. Be seen to be working for the benefit of everybody. Sadly, for now, it is imperative not to legislate in a way that plays into the fears of White Identity voters. House Democratic legislation must be seen as for the good of all, not just for traditional Democratic interest groups.
10
Great article. It highlights some very important ideas that the framers envisioned as the best and wisest way for the House to legislate for the people. I’m thinking there are many new members (and old as well) who are not familiar with the basic concepts and/or writings of some of our super heroes – James Madison (Federalist Papers), Woodrow Wilson (Theory of Presidential Powers) - on the importance of the House and expectations on how to use their authority to govern wisely. Perhaps a “lunch and learn” so everyone gets off to a strong and informed start?
7
I certainly like the idea of a strong House (it would make the US federal system more like a Westminster system), but it seems like a bad idea to put too much faith in the "the House’s unique authority over the finances of the national government." The Origination Clause allows the Senate to amend revenue bills the House initiates -- and over time that power to amend has expanded to practically writing the bills themselves. E.g. in 2014 the Democratic Senate took a relatively insignificant House bill and added amendments to raise the debt ceiling. Hard to see how the House is going to assert its authority when ultimately all its decisions can be modified or rejected by the Senate.
1
Her first order of business should be to go away, her only accomplishment has been to raise large sums of money from wealthy and corporate donors and is more than happy to do their bidding at the expense of the rest of us. She represents everything that is wrong with the Democratic party.
10
Without Ms Pelosi there is no ACA
2
@Madeleine215
Thanks to Pelosi, Obama accomplished almost none of his campaign promises other than ACA, including cleaning up the dangerous mess in Iraq which Pelosi voted to authorize.
Trump is hoping House Democrats will pick her.
Just say no.
It is time for retirement. If Hillary Clinton had done so in 2016, at age 68, Bernie Sanders would be president now.
1
@MDM
I have no great love for Nancy Pelosi but I think she is needed for the first 1.5 to 2 years. Her strength and experience are necessary. There should be a succession plan in place from the outset with one or two trainees in the wings - different people have different strengths and the Dems can vote in the one best suited when Ms. Pelosi stands aside. Many have commented along these lines. Will it happen? I think it must.
Don't listen to the complaints of the GOP as to whether Mrs. Pelosi should be speaker. They had their chance.
Ryan had his chance, and he let the Freedom Caucus run wild. There are many wonderful aspects of renewed Democratic control, and the end of the Hastert Rule is among them. If the new Minority Leader is from the Freedom Caucus, collaboration with the GOP as an official entity will be be impossible.
12
The author makes the case for the power of the House. He doesn’t make the case for Pelosi, though, who, along with Harry Reid, presided over the transformation of the Democratic Party from the party of the working class to the party of the professional class by exploiting identity politics and globalism to enrich their donors. She should go.
9
@Cold Eyei I agree that Pelosi ought go, but for another reason. That reason is her adoption of Pay Go Economics which assumes there is a finite limit to the power of our US Treasury. The modern fiat currency allows the US to pay all its bills. Congress votes the bill and the Treasury provides the money. As long as Pelosi thinks there is a diamond and gold filled room somewhere with not enough for but so much, all Democrats can answer the question "How will we pay?" Is new taxes. Money spent into the body of the nation will be taxed to some extent somewhere, but the deficit is really money in your pocket. The Debt Ceiling needs to go. Pay Go must be renounced. Until Democrats grasp the truth of the Financial System they will create more fights to lose.
1
Without a doubt, the full powers of an Imperial Presidency, placed in the hands of an irresponsible demagogue, pose a grave and historic threat to our democracy. We see that daily, hourly.
Democrats in Congress are now in a position to impede this misuse of presidential power by sanction, investigation, obstruction, and even impeachment, but these would at best be delaying, distracting tactics, ultimately unpopular with a weary electorate.
So what could Congress do to assert its constitutional authority? It must start by recognizing that it serves two Americas with radically divergent notions of what a good society should look like. A bipartisan Congress will need to honor these deep divisions--less Red vs. Blue than Rural vs. Metropolitan, Traditional vs. Modern, Christian vs. Secular. Can a legislative agenda support universal needs--health care, retirement security, defense--while honoring unbridgeable differences in culture and values?
I doubt it. Take one critical example: can both sides agree that climate change demands rapid conversion to renewable energy? Or are we still arbitrating irresolvable questions of Science vs. Scripture? Or to take another: are LGBTQ people beloved neighbors, or deviants? Can Democrats accept a consensus that includes homophobia, white supremacy, and monoculturalism?
I appreciate the author's constitutional idealism, but Madison's document enshrined two unreconcilable social systems and preordained a civil war. Conciliators take heed.
4
While I agree with the article, the only way this happens is if both parties take a very different tack than they have been taking for at least the last decade.
6
The Democratic Party future is the Gen X and younger generations as they recognize that they are the largest voting block and can set to course of this country when they vote. They don't seem to know that ...yet.
The Republican Party has become the party of Trump, holding back progress for the sake of white privilege. The Democratic Party needs to reach out to the younger generation to become the party of the future, expressly stating the policies they create and follow will reflect the time they're actually in and plan to go. Things are always subject to change. The Democratic Party can blossom by encouraging growth and change by contrasting itself to the party of Trump impeding it.
9
I agree with this article. However, per capita, the Senate provides more representation and thus "power" to a minority of people than the House of Representatives. For example, New York State and Wyoming get the same amount of Senators (2) despite their populations.
This was by design of course, and is enshrined in the Constitution. The Senate also approves Supreme Court Justices, or blocks them, giving them again, per capita, a lopsided amount of power. If you look at an electoral map of the U.S., the least populated states are disproportionately Republican and are benefited by this disproportionate representation in Washington.
Madeline Albright, in her book, Fascism - A Warning, outlines the difference between a democracy and a liberal democracy. A democracy would elect one party, and they would feel that they could crush the minority party. Whereas, a liberal democracy, while ruling for the majority, also respects basic rights and needs of the minority.
Republicans should never complain about Affirmative Action programs, as this enshrined in the Constitution, governing body called the Senate, is the greatest Affirmative Action Program ever conceived at our founding.
10
@Tim Shaw
"For example, New York State and Wyoming get the same amount of Senators (2) despite their populations.
This was by design of course,"
It was by design to bring the original 13 colonies together, so the small states would not be outvoted by the larger states. However, I doubt the Founders imagined, before even the Louisiana Purchase, that large swatches of empty space would be admitted to the union and still given 2 Senators for the relatively few people who live there.
17
Folks seem to always reference Wyoming (pop. 580,000) when railing against the over-representation that citizens in small states have.
But what about Vermont, that bastion of St. Sanders (pop. 624,000) which is scarcely bigger than WY?
What about Delaware, that appendage to PA, which also gets its two Senators - one to represent its citizens and one to represent the corporations domiciled there?
My personal bugaboo is North Dakota (pop.757,000). They just elected a Republican Senator with just 321,000 voters - about half the size of a typical Congressional District. Why do these lucky few have the same Senate power as 40 million Californians?
And couldn't we just have one State called "Dakota"? It's a great name for a State, and they'd still be smaller than 40 States. And can anyone tell me 3 or 4 substantive differences between SD and ND?
Our system is a result of historical, social, and geographic oddities that have combined to produce an undemocratic country. Not sustainable.
Who I cares ? Its the law, and we are a nation of laws or we aren’t a nation at all. If you dont like the electoral college, then change it through constructional means. It you cant persuade enough states to do it (and you wont) sure its a flaw, but its a necessary flaw;without this compromise there is no USA, no end to slavery, German victory in WW! And /or 2, fascism everywhere, and arguably less tech progress. I dont like way electoral college is set up but will oppose anyone who engages in extra constitutional means to change that thus as I oppose trump unilaterally trying to revise birth citizenship.
"By providing a mechanism for cooperation rather than conflict across branches, political parties undermine that assumption."
Shouldn't that be "conflict rather than cooperation"?
Nancy Pelosi has done a good job as Speaker of the House in the past. Now she's getting on in years (and ideas) and needs to move out of the way.
One of the best ways for dems to show a greater openness to new ideas and to reach out to the working class is to elect a different speaker.
10
@Frank Baudino
Please stop demonizing Nancy Pelosi; so what if she's "getting on in years" - she's a very capable representative.
7
@Frank Baudino
The ageism is breathtaking.
Unfortunately, since Nancy Pelosi continues to represent the interests of the corporate/establishment wing of the party and at the same time has gone out of her way to disparage the progressive and growing element of the party and its policies, I am doubtful as to her intentions. After all, an important part of her history of leadership omitted from the article, especially in the last ten years, is the loss of almost 1000 democrat seats at the state and federal levels.
She continues to discuss bipartisanship with a group of Republicans in both the House and Senate that have become more "Trumpian" than ever, hence, negotiation and common sense will be fleeting. It will be a pipe dream and will require someone with a considerably more aggressive approach in dealing with the opposition, old style politics will no longer cut it.
8
@Deus
How do you expect anything to get done? You have to bake the cake with the ingredients on hand.
An excellent piece. It's time Democrats made clear what they stand for. Show the country how Congress can work by producing legislation even if it fails. All the time that could be spent impeaching an unconvictable should go toward restoring faith in at least one party's representatives. Thanks!
38
@Lynne
Fine. After we see the tax returns. Is that okay with you?
1
The new Speaker of the House should allow the Republicans the opportunity to propose amendments to the bills being considered. This would help close the gap between the parties by allowing both sides to get moderate gains.
2
@catlover
I'm not prepared to see the Republicans add amendments to healthcare reform until it's Romneycare, abolishing the Public Option proposed by Obama, and then demanding its repeal after all of that.
Negotiations are find.
However, no more of their sleaze tactics.
No more of it.
7
@Jbugko
If the amendments are bad, they won't be passed. If they improve the legislation, then they should be added. At least give different ideas a chance, instead of dismissing them without any discussion.
@catlover what Jbugko is saying is that Pelosi did exactly what you suggest, allowing Republicans to add amendments that DID pass, only to have Boehner and the RCCC threaten them with primaries and withholding campaign funds unless they voted no on the final bill.
One House Republican did vote for the ACA when it first passed, and his party ended his career. Google Joseph Cao.
"They (Democrats) now control the most powerful and representative institution of government. House members wield the power both to inhibit policies they oppose and to leverage that authority to insist on those they favor". This is worth emphasizing. Trump is claiming victory in the election but the truth is that this was a massive victory for Democrats!
21
The Democratic House must, of course, pass bills such as those that Socrates so well sets forth (even if they go to the Senate to die), as these will be the Democratic platform in 2020.
And it must investigate the corruption and fraud that now resides in Washington.
But most importantly it must recognize that it can use the power of the purse to block executive actions. How? By placing in every appropriation bill as provision that prohibits appropriated funds from being used for a particular purpose.
For example, to prevent the President and the slim GOP majority in the Senate from filling the judicial branch with the membership of the Federalist Society, they could add a provision stating that no appropriated funds can be used to fill any judicial office that is presently or becomes vacant in the future. The provision could further state that funds would become available if, and only if, a supplemental appropriations bill were passed containing the specific name of the person to fill such position.
The House could therefore have a veto over the appointment of another Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
A drastic step? Yes. But these times call for drastic action.
24
This is insightful, and I strongly agree. I also, however, have great faith in the ability of the Democratic Party to shoot itself in the foot. The House could pass a number of bills dealing with real problems in ways that would be popular with the great majority of Americans and dare the Republicans to block them. If that happens, I will be pleased, but surprised. Oh, and make the election of Nancy Pelosi as Speaker contingent on her promise to resign within two months.
2
“Congressional governmment is also better suited to overcoming our polarized politics because it better accommodates a range of views.”
Drawing on the wisdom of James Madison to illustrate the useful tool given to us as the people’s house, raises the national dialogue to a higher level. I believe that is just what we need at this time. We feel like we’ve been teetering on the edge of Mount Doom these last two years. Reason and civility have become quaint artifacts of a previous time that may never have existed.
This is an opportunity to demonstrate our resilience and ability to
turn our ideals into progressive action. I hope we take it, Americans in large numbers have spoken and the demand is for cancelling out the repressive Republican agenda. I have confidence in Nancy Pelosi and the new majority.
16
There is a ton of legislation that has been ignored or perverted by Congress and the Roberts court. Restore civil rights laws, update voting rights laws, end gerrymandering, end the idea corporations are people/money is free speech, require tax disclosure when running for federal elected office, strengthen environmental law, pass internet neutrality, hold social media accountable for content, etc..
187
Time Pelosi took a back seat?
As advisor her aid would be neat,
Unfairly demonized
By Repubs devised,
It's time a new Leader to greet.
4
The competition for 2020 is now on! The new divided powers in Congress are an opportunity for Democrats to put an end to Republicans' overreaches and to make a sharp contrast in their vision for and use of power with that of the GOP.
Nancy Pelosi and the newly empowered House majority are the ones to deliver the next election.
6
What an instructive article. I hope Pelosi reads it. It would be lost on McConnell.
36
Pelosi needs to go. The new house was elected to
put good legislation forward that solves the problem facing a majority of Americans: protecting pensions, better health care, workers rights to organize, better jobs, better environmental laws, clean water laws, gun safety laws, housing laws, infrastructure plans acted on, and lending laws strengthened and the cost of higher learning greatly reduced.
This last one the good professor should know a bit about seeing that his college Assumption charges nearly 40k a year before factoring in housing and living cost. That total comes out to about 58k a year! Few American students can afford those luxury payments for a college education.
But Pelosi has to go because like the author she has a distorted idea of how to solve these enormous problems that faces America and is now before the House of Representatives. All Pelosi knows is how to do is cozy up to the uber wealthy and the corporation to get buckets of their money. And from the sources of where that money comes from these American problems are not their American problems. Sounds a lot like private institutions of higher learning.
4
I very much agree that tempting as it might be for the newly-elected Democrats to rub their hands in gleeful anticipation of chopping up the Donald Trump presidency, the greater—by far—imperative is to shed the complaisant and cooperative constitution of the House of Representatives to merely rubber-stamp a wayward occupant of the Oval Office and turn the chamber into what The Founders intended that it should be: the people’s house.
Nancy Pelosi has to marshal the chairs so that they are in place to do the legislative work that has not been done not only since Trump took office since 2010 when the Republicans assumed control of the House (President Obama’s first midterms) when they used their numbers to obstruct six years of that president’s initiatives.
This is not the time for petty pushback. It’s the time for drafting legislation and presenting bills passed out of committees to the full House to a president who has no time for study or though or resolve. That’s his problem but the House must soldier on regardless. Six years of atrophy have built up in the lethargic, yawning House—except when it came time to sweeten the one percent’s bottomless lines.
75
Ms. Pelosi was (and is) one of the greatest and most productive Speakers of the House in the entire history of the United States.
She (and Democrats) are going to open the new Congress on the ground running. There will be a blizzard of bills that will be sent to the Senate, and it will be republicans in the Senate (if they ignore them), or if the President that does the same (or vetoes), that will be squarely viewed as obstructionists. (as if they weren't already)
The moniker ''the People's House'' has been gone for far too long - 8 years under dictatorial republican rule.
251
Pass legislation that benefits the people — expanding, or at least safeguarding Medicare, protecting Social Security against privitization, funding community colleges, passing an infrastructure bill and so on.
Make sure to make a big splash headline out of each piece of legislation, putting the Republicans in a position to either accept it or look like "the enemies of the people."
On another track, investigate.
We elected a bunch of smart cookies to the House. Unlike the preceding majority, I'll bet the can walk an chew gum at the same time.
97
@Philip S. Wenz "I'll bet the can walk an chew gum at the same time."
But will they be able to blow bubbles too?
4
You say:
"Congress should be judged not by the volume of its output but by its representation of the public’s views and its defense of its institutional authority."
The people want "Medicare for All" and to stop the horrid disparity in wealth from the top 1 to 10% down to them. The 1% of course caused it to become this huge disparity.
Pelosi within the last few days speaks of very vague goals for her party; nothing about what the people really want and should have. Vague nonsense about "uniting." People want a first class national health program; if any country can do that properly, it is the USA, a very wealthy and creative country. People want a decent living wage and good schools for their children. We can bring our military budget up by another 80 billion, demanded by Trump and the Military Industrial Complex even though it was already over 590 billion. So now it is about $681 billion for the coming year. Only one person in Congress voted against the 80b; Bernie Sanders. So all the congress persons vote instantly for the largest military budget in the world. But not a cent for a national health program.
Representation of the public's views you say? Not from Nancy or Chuck. The military industrial complex and the health care industry, have them in their pockets.
8
The timing of Mr. Weiner's article is naturally spot-on. And the indictment of the gravity-well of power that the Presidency has become is something that more people should not take for granted.
The path to where we are was paved by the increasing role of how campaigns have come to be financed. Citizens United was merely the bursting on-stage of in-your-face special interest leverage on candidates. And with the single-issues identified, lawmakers no longer needed to actually listen to voters. They just told them what they wanted to hear. And in the current age of propaganda tv - many are told exactly what they want, as instructed by the same special interests.
House candidates emerge from the same bath-water, but are still the most representative of our nation. Reclaiming the power that this article talks about requires a strategy that Democrats have not been able to construct in the past. A long-game who's primary goal is positioning itself for the presidency, but ensuring that their body remain co-equal, as the constitution intended, and therefore immune from the whims of a president.
Long odds for Nancy to pull that off.
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It seems that Mr. Weiner has not been watching the news. There is no longer a Republican party, there are a bunch of people terrified of Trump now. They do not care about the Constitution, they only care about what they need to do to get reelected. A large part of that is making wealthy donors happy, not what is good for the rest of us. The few who had principles did not stay and fight, they chose not to run again.
The only way to change things is through the electoral process and voting them out. The current crop will never act on principle, and if they had, they would not have voted to deprive health care for millions, and to give so much of the tax cuts to corporations and the already wealthy.
I loved Obama, but he made a mistake for seven years not realizing that the Republicans did not care about the good of the country. The problem is deeper than Trump, it is the fault of all those people of bad faith that call themselves Republicans.
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@Jerry S => "people of bad faith that call themselves Republicans"
Are there any people of good faith who call themselves Republicans?
Any people of bad faith who call themselves Democrats?
@Jerry S
I don't agree with the "terrified" description. The GOP is ALL about making wealthy donors happy.
That old GOP was appalled at Trump but got over it quickly, realizing that he would be a useful idiot for the purposes of those wealthy donors.
There's a lot of "realpolitic" at play here - Trump feels no loyalty toward the GOP and the feeling is mutual - they're happy to use each other.
Consider Lindsay Scott, who knows exactly what he's doing: making the .001% happy. Rhetorically, his view of Trump has changed 180 degrees. In practice, he's serving the masters as he always has done - no change there.
GOP pols are corrupt through and through; they're using Trump with utter cynicism and disregard of their Constitutional obligatiions.
Voters nationwide spoke loudly about our wish to be represented in the House and to have a counterweight to the Trump White House. Ms. Pelosi, we are counting on you to be sharp, effective and deliver!
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The Democratic Congress should pass a few bills first.
A new Voting Rights Act featuring national automatic voter registration efforts, voter file maintenance and purge rules, new funding for voting machines, modern voting techniques with actual verifiable audit trials, federal oversight of Jim Crow states like Georgia, Florida and Texas, elimination of the unConstitutional partisan gerrymander and the stiff federal prison penalties for vote suppressors and vote riggers,
Then let the Russian-Republican Senate and the Matryoshka-Doll-In-Chief explain to the American people how unAmerican the above proposed bill is; put Republican sedition on full national display so America can see what kind of criminal syndicate the Republican Party is.
Then the Democratic House should pass an infrastructure bill to be paid for by rolling back the tax cuts for the rich handed out by the Trump GOP and let the Russian-Republican oligarchy protest that paying for infrastructure is unAmerican.
Keep passing bills that help the American people while Republicans object to the common good.
And then investigate, impeach, indict and incarcerate the most criminal, amoral and immoral President in United States history, Donald J. Trump.
A winning Democratic strategy that will truly Make America Great Again.
And then let the American people flush the Russian-Republican party down the Trump Toilet in 2020.
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@Socrates
I find this far more constructive as a working list than Greg Weiner's hopeful, yet unspoken suggestion, that we all read the "Federalist Papers".
Duh.
Yes, Greg, "Congressional majorities come and go", but I'm not so sure that the next time the wave ebbs and flows that what it washes up on our shoreline will be Republican. It could very well be Independent or Green, for I suspect that the time of the R's is on it's last leg, and, deservedly so!
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@Socrates
I agree with you totally except impeachment should be the very last item on the list. Impeachment would not win over more centrist leaning Republicans or Republicans that are no longer really agree with Trump's agenda or where ambivalent about democratic candidates and their agenda.
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@Socrates
You advocate new voting machines. This could be a solution or a disaster. All voting machines rely on software. If this is proprietary it can be biased. It should be an essential part of such machines that their software is fully available so that it can be verified as honest.
5
In order for the power of the purse to be effective, the House must be willing to vote against military appropriation bills. Otherwise, the Administration can get whatever it needs as a rider to a so-called "must-pass" bill.
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