Tag: bipartisan

failure of leadership

The search for a new Republican House speaker was long, fraught, and ugly – and resulted in the election of Mike Johnson of Louisiana who apparently does not have the mindset, skills, and experience to effectively govern.

Given that his own Republican conference is fractious and has only a slim majority, he should follow the lead of the Republicans in the Senate and work with the Democrats to craft legislation that can garner the votes of both a majority of Democrats and Republicans. Passing bills with only Republican support in the House isn’t going to do any good when they will not be taken up in the Senate and, even if they were, wouldn’t get the president’s signature. Legislation needs to be in line with the budget agreement already passed in the spring. Bills also need to be “clean,” meaning that they shouldn’t have unrelated amendments tacked on, such as federal abortion restrictions.

There are crucial pieces of legislation that need to pass soon. One is for funding for Israel and Ukraine, for border security, and for humanitarian and disaster relief, both at home and abroad. Another is a continuing resolution to keep the government funded until the final appropriations bills are adopted. The current resolution expires on November 17, so this needs to happen very soon to avoid a government shutdown. The Farm Bill, which covers a five-year period and is up for renewal now, needs to be enacted; besides framing bills, it also includes important nutrition programs. It would be nice if actual appropriations bills were passed – the Senate committees have passed these bills but the full Senate can’t vote on them until the House has acted – but an omnibus bill that folds all the budgetary bills together is also a possibility.

It’s possible that if Speaker Johnson does put bipartisan bills on the floor, a disgruntled House Republican will force a vote to vacate the chair, meaning to remove the Speaker, but the vote won’t succeed if the rest of the conference sticks together.

The Republicans have an opportunity to show that they are able to govern in a responsible way, fulfilling the promises made in the Preamble of our Constitution. Any member who instead chooses obstructionism should not be re-elected in 2024. We send our representatives to Washington to govern, not whine.

Photo credit: Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash

Another new Speaker

Not that there is ever a good time for the United States House of Representatives to be without a Speaker – and thus unable to consider any legislation – but now seems like a particularly unfortunate time to be in that situation, with no House-passed budget bills that could clear the Senate; ongoing wars in Ukraine, Israel, and elsewhere; and important work needed domestically and internationally around climate action and disaster relief.

The two leading candidates for Speaker, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, probably don’t have the votes to be elected by the majority Republican conference because they are too far to the right to work with the Senate to get legislation through both chambers.

I think the more moderate Republicans should look among their ranks for a nominee for Speaker who can work with Democrats to craft bipartisan legislation that can pass the House and the Democratic-majority Senate. The Senate has managed to pass all twelve fiscal year 2024 appropriation bills out of committee with large bipartisan majorities, which are in line with the spring debt ceiling legislation. If a new Speaker were to put these bills on the House floor, they could pass with Democratic and Republican votes from members who actually want to govern, as opposed to the Freedom Caucus and other similarly inclined Republican House members who seem intent on just not having a functioning government at all. (The Constitution stipulates that government funding bills must originate in the House, so the Senate can’t pass their version of the bills until the House acts.)

I believe that this Republican nominee should not be someone, though, who voted against certifying the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election after the mob had attacked the Capitol and sent members fleeing for their safety.

My hope is that, if a reasonable candidate comes forward and speaks with the Democratic leadership, the House Democrats will supply enough votes to elect a Speaker quickly so that needed legislation can be put in place, showing our citizens and the international community that our democracy can function in a civil way for the common good. If the new Speaker keeps their promise to preside in a bipartisan way, following the lead of the Senate, they would be insulated from threats by the far right Republicans to “vacate the Chair,” i.e. throw the Speaker out of their job as we just witnessed for the first time with the ousting of Kevin McCarthy.

House Republicans, it’s time for you to step up and put our country first. You were elected to govern, not obstruct. The Senators and President Biden have shown that bipartisanship is still possible.

Follow their lead.

Photo credit: Photo by Lucas Sankey on Unsplash

Calling on Republican Senators

As I write this, the US presidential race has not yet been called, although it is likely to be called later this weekend for Joe Biden. This would mean that Kamala Harris, as vice president, would preside over the Senate, with the power to break tied votes.

We also don’t know what the final make-up of the Senate will be and we won’t know until January as the state of Georgia, in a highly unusual circumstance, will have run-off elections for both of their Senate seats in January.

Regardless of the final composition of the Senate in 2021, I am making a plea to those Republican senators who actually want to help craft legislation and govern the country rather than engage in obstruction under the leadership of Sen. Mitch McConnell.

I think that those senators should form their own caucus. Their first act would be to vote for Sen. Chuck Schumer as majority leader, so that House-passed legislation would actually be considered in the Senate rather than gathering dust on McConnell’s desk as it has been.

They would then meet with the Democratic caucus on a regular basis to offer their ideas for advancing bipartisan solutions to the nation’s problems, which could then be enacted and signed into law. I’m sure that the Democrats would gladly agree to this solution to the Senate gridlock that has prevailed for years.

In my mind, some senators who might consider such an initiative are Sen. Romney of Utah, Sen. Collins of Maine, Sen. Murkowski of Alaska, and Sen. Toomey of Pennsylvania. Perhaps Sen. Sasse of Nebraska. They would not necessarily have to leave the Republican party to become independents, although some with strong support in their home states might be able to do that, thus obviating the threat of a primary challenger.

A lot would depend on what becomes of the Republican party without Trump as president. Will it attempt to revert to being a traditional conservative party or continue in the rather haphazard counter-factual populism it has exhibited in recent years? Would even the willingness to engage in bipartisanship be enough for the Republican leadership to kick out any senators who dared to attempt it?

In the House, the Democrats will still hold a small majority, but there might be some Republicans willing to form a similar caucus to help craft and advance bipartisan legislation.

Joe Biden has a long history of bipartisan cooperation as a senator and as vice president and has been speaking for months about restoring unity to our deeply fractured country.

Republican members of Congress, how do you respond to this call? You swear an oath to the Constitution which proclaims that our government is to “form a more perfect union” and to “promote the general welfare”.

Are you willing to act for the good of all people or only that segment that voted for you?

Update: A few minutes after I posted this, Joe Biden was projected the winner and is now President-elect. This will mean Vice-President Kamala Harris will preside over the Senate and have the power to break tie votes.