If we were serious about good governance

Partisan isn’t politics

Congress spends its days in performative posturing while ignoring real responsibilities that have actual effects on the world outside the Washington beltway. Our notional representatives have become partisans instead of politicians and are playing a game that reflects their disconnect from the people who elect and pay them. The reflexive partisanship that has become the norm in DC has already resulted in degraded credit for the US Treasury, failure of the House to pass a bill that supports the defense of the country, and complete inaction on the growing epidemic of gun violence that seems intractable.

TCinLA suggested one solution for this problem would be a deal between the administration and the 18 “Biden Republicans” in the House to pass a clean Continuing Resolution to fund the government while the budget process plays out by promising those who are running for re-election that they would face no challenge from a Democrat in the 2024 election. Jerry Weiss at FeathersofHope.org has proposed a larger bipartisan coalition to 1) remove Kevin McCarthy as Speaker and 2) install a moderate Republican like Don Bacon (there are other possibilities) in order to defang the “Freedom Caucus” whose interests are chiefly publicity, fundraising and, God knows why, the defense of the 4 times indicted, defeated, and disgraced former president. Those are both practical political solutions to a problem that shouldn’t even exist and are worth exploring in a phone call or letter to your Congressperson. A return to what used to be ‘regular order’ in the House would enable the timely passage of budget and appropriations bills, and the consideration of reasonable ways to address the growing problem of environmental degradation that impacts every aspect of our lives.

Removal of roadblocks like the Freedom Caucus in the House and the ‘blue slip’ concept in the Senate that has enabled Mr. Tuberville, the Senator from Alabama (maybe Florida?) to hold up over 300 flag rank personnel actions in the Armed Forces with the resultant weakening of our ability to support our allies and, in extremis, defend the country, would give our legislators time to engage in governing and, possibly, result in some progress toward a resolution of the issues we face as a society. It’s worth a call, a letter, even an email and it’s definitely worth making a plan to vote in the next election that comes up.

This too will pass, but not as quickly as we’d like and not without our active participation.