Pols panned for fighting Pelosi

But Murphy, Soto should be applauded for bipartisan try.

Nancy Pelosi has long been a popular punching bag for conservatives.

But last week, some of the biggest obstacles the California Democrat faced in regaining her position as speaker of the U.S. House came from members of her own party — including two representatives from Central Florida.

Nine Democrats banded together, refusing to support Pelosi unless she agreed to change the House rules to give Republicans more influence in the now-Democrat-controlled chamber.

To be clear: Democrats had little to gain — and, in fact, something to lose — by demanding that minority members get more sway.

So, not surprisingly, the criticism heaped on these Democrats — part of a bipartisan group called the “Problem Solvers Caucus” — came primarily from the left.

“The ‘Problem Solvers Caucus’ Would Solve a Lot of Problems By Sitting Down and Shutting Up,” blared the headline from Esquire’s liberal pundit, Charlie Pierce.

“9 Dems are choosing to hold the entire 220+ caucus hostage if we don’t accept their GOPfriendly rules …” tweeted Democratic Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Two of those hostage-takers were Stephanie Murphy of Winter Park and Darren Soto of Kissimmee.

Both are blue politicians pushing purple principles.

Good for them.

It’s so easy to talk about bipartisanship. It’s much harder to make it happen.

To appreciate the challenge, think of Congress like a preschool. (An apt comparison for many reasons.)

If one toddler sees another with a bag full of gummy bears, the first toddler will think that

sharing gummies is a wonderful idea … until he’s the one with the bag. Then he wants all the gummies for himself.

That’s Congress. Members of the minority party always whine that the majority doesn’t let them play on the swing set … until they get to run the playground … and do the same thing.

The hard thing to do is give away power when you have it.

So that’s what members of the Problem Solvers Caucus vowed to do before the last election, with members of both parties promising to withhold support from their respective speaker nominee unless that candidate agreed to give everyone more of a say.

And it worked. The concessions, while deep in the procedural weeds, are designed to prompt upand-done votes on any bill that has 290 co-sponsors and any amendments that have at least 20 co-sponsors from both parties.

“The American people and certainly the people of Central Florida are really tired of hyper-partisan gridlock,” Murphy said. “People want to see things get done. And the only way is to work together regardless of political affiliation.”

I think most Americans agree with that.

Unfortunately, some of the political, pundit and partisan class isn’t like most Americans. For them, it’s more about screaming and decrying anyone who talks of compromise as a sellout.

Soto said he tries to tune out the noise, adding that most of his constituents “know I have progressive values, but that I’m willing to compromise to get things done.”

I’d argue Soto’s constituents not only know that; they crave it. See, his Orange and Osceola district had a choice this year — between Soto, a moderate compromiser, and Alan Grayson, a fire-breathing, take-no-prisoners liberal. Voters chose Soto overwhelmingly.

Soto has supported things I don’t like in the past — including the ridiculous and unconstitutional Docs vs. Glocks bill that tried to stifle free speech about guns between doctors and patients back when he was in the Legislature.

But I’ve yet to meet the perfect politician. Partisans who take a scorched-earth approach to every issue, vowing to kick someone out of office for disagreeing with them on one issue — while ignoring 99 other issues they liked — are often their own worst enemies.

Soto said that, many times, the demand for what some consider a “perfect bill” without compromise often ends in total failure.

Critics of this bipartisan group say they are corporate driven. And they certainly have their corporate backers, as Esquire’s Pierce noted. Members say they’ll work with anyone, regardless of partisan or profit motives, if it helps advance their overall goals and break DC’s gridlock

I don’t suffer delusions that any of the new procedural policies will magically

I don’t suffer delusions that any of the new procedural policies will magically “fix” Washington.

“fix” Washington. In fact, some of the concessions the Problem Solvers extracted were watered down — not guaranteeing votes or transparency, but rather increasing their chances while leaving exploitable loopholes. But it’s a start.

And I’m pretty convinced it’s what most of America wants.

So is Murphy, noting that voters have elected divided branches of government. “Across the country,” she said, “people told us they wanted us to work together.”