Congratulations, House Democrats: Now please don’t blow it
When Democrats retake the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in January, it is a chance for the party, out of the driver’s seat in the House for eight years, to prove it has ideas for improving all Americans’ chances to build fulfilling and prosperous lives.
It also is an important opportunity to impose a check on President Donald Trump’s destructive behavior and policies and to hold him accountable for any ethical or legal breaches he already has committed.
Our plea to Democrats: Try to do both, and do so with dignity and humility.
We have used this space many times to denounce, sometimes vehemently, Trump’s deplorable behavior and destructive policies. And congressional investigations of his and his family’s long list of apparent conflicts of interest and self-dealing, plus those of numerous Trump appointees, are legitimate. They should be undertaken with the sober deliberation their importance demands.
But they can’t be the sole focus of the new Democratic majority, nor should they be pursued in a vindictive or grandstanding style. The country has had quite enough righteous condemnation from politicians of both parties; Democrats should do better by showing they’re interested in governing responsibly.
The election results made clear that Americans want more-reliable health-care coverage and they want pre-existing conditions to be covered. Millions need better jobs with higher wages if they are to independently support themselves and their families. Cities and states are desperate for an infusion of infrastructure funding, both for the immediate jobs it would produce and for the boost it would give to their efforts to attract new businesses.
These are things on which Democrats in the House and Republicans in the Senate should be able to cooperate and make progress. Democrats will sacrifice all that if they approach their oversight role as avenging angels.
Republicans have failed shamefully to stand up to the leader of their party; in tolerating Trump’s selfinterested attacks on the federal justice system, the legitimate press and other institutions that try to hold him accountable, they have put political convenience ahead of the health of our democracy.
Democrats have the chance to be heroes, but they also have plenty of reason to be humble. The “blue wave” many anticipated turned out to be modest, especially considering their foil in the White House.
Based on the many victories by Trump-friendly Republicans, Democrats still aren’t reaching struggling rural and Rust Belt voters. To reclaim the electoral high ground, they have to show those Americans that they intend to fight for policies and programs that will make their lives better.
As a party, Democrats would be wise to look to pragmatic younger leaders — in particular, perhaps, to take advantage of what the record-breaking number of women in the House have to offer. Americans remain deeply divided, and neither party can govern well or fairly by ignoring half of the country.
Charismatic left-wing leaders may inspire more passion than head-down problem-solvers, but they are veterans of a decadeslong strategy that has largely failed to deliver the better deal for working families that long has been a core Democratic promise.
We welcome the chance for a Democratic majority to restore integrity to the House. We urge members not to forget that their duty is to govern on behalf of all Americans.