With Democrats expected to win the House and possibly narrow the margin in the Senate, the question becomes what is next for Congress and the White House. The past two years of a Republican Congress and White House have offered limited results, primarily because of the chaos created by Trump and the lack of congressional oversight. Going into the polls, voters said that the economy was the top issue our country is facing and had soured on Trump’s approach to it. According to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, threats to democratic values/norms, followed by corruption, were the next issues. With that in mind, how should Democrats start the new term?
By a two to one margin, voters disapprove of the job Trump has been doing in leading our country. More voters would vote for the Democratic candidate over the Republican candidate by 9 points. Voters disapprove of his key officers (VP, Secretary of State, Health Secretary) by about the same margin as Trump’s disapproval. Even in terms of how he is handling immigration, voters disapprove of it. The same is true on every single issue listed. Finally, voters believe Democrats would do a better job handling the economy than Republicans. Where Democrats trail Republicans are on crime, immigration, but not by much.
With that in mind, how should Democrats start the term with regards to an agenda for the country? Hakeem Jeffries, the expected next Speaker of the House, plans to propose legislation to end tariffs, reverse the Medicaid cuts, reinstate ACA premium subsidies, and direct Trump to end the war in Iran. Those reverse the actions of Republicans when they took office, but will be a challenge to pass the Senate which may not flip. Even if it did, those bills would have to go to Trump who most likely will veto the legislation. Democrats are banking on large bipartisan support which is doubtful.
After that, Democrats plan to crank up investigations and oversights of everything from perceived corruption in federal government to cryptocurrency. With corruption being a high priority item with Americans, these hearings will most likely focus on Trump’s families and allies of the president.
What I don’t see in that agenda are some critical items such as work to address the Social Security and Medicare crisis, dealing with the high cost of healthcare, work to reduce our continuing annual deficits and the national debt, or helping make housing affordable. Also, there’s immigration reform, improvements to our nation’s infrastructure, particularly the grid, and dealing with energy diversity.
I get that some want to go after this administration after the two years we’ve experienced, but right now that serves no productive purpose other than to allow both sides to grandstand and increase the divide. It’s time for both parties to start looking for common solutions and proving they can work together for the nation.
I’ve gotten tired of writing to my congressman or senators and getting the same “they are the problem” response letters. For once, I’d love to see a letter come back and brag about what they did in a bipartisan way. Just think of how unlikely it would have been if our founders had taken the same approach to governing as Republicans and Democrats do today. I doubt we would even exist if they had.
So, if you’re of the group who wants to get back at Trump when Democrats take control of the House and possibly the Senate, I’d prefer you take a back seat for now. I’m looking for solutions to the problems of the nation and looking to our nation’s elected officials to find those solutions.