WHAT DO DEMOCRATS DO NOW?

DRAIN THE SWAMP, INSTALL SAFEGUARDS, AND PASS PROGRESSIVE LEGISLATION

Democrats took control of the House of Representatives on January 3. They immediately challenged President Trump on his government shutdown by passing bills the Republican controlled Senate approved last year. Following loud protests by the right wing media, Trump reneged on a pledge he’d sign the legislation that would fund the government while Congress debates his border wall request.

Speaker Pelosi knows her majority must do much more than try getting the government open. We agree. House Democrats should act boldly on oversight and policy change, demonstrating they can “walk and chew gum at the same time.”

Oversight

Limits exist on what the House can do,  given a Republican Senate apparently  more concerned about loyalty to Trump  than the country’s wellbeing. Still, after two years of government by scandal and  Tweet, Americans want oversight of the  Trump administration. For some, that means an  impeachment inquiry. While House Democrats  acknowledge that possibility, especially after Special Counsel

Robert Mueller completes his work, they don’t see  impeachment as inevitable. They recognize the danger in  impeachment that appears purely motivated by politics. 

We believe, however, the House shouldn’t wait on Mueller before beginning the oversight process, a responsibility of Congress, not Mueller. Congress must not only address the potentially impeachable offenses Muller might find, but also the other harms Trump has done to our democratic institutions. These include his irresponsible criticisms of the judiciary, the intelligence community, and the military. In exercising oversight, we hope Congress calls expert witnesses like former State Secretary Madeleine Albright,

intelligence officials Malcolm Nance and James Clapper, and historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Jon Meacham who can detail the consequences of Trump’s actions. To anyone who sees this expansive focus as unprecedented and unwarranted, we can only say how unprecedented and unwarranted Trump’s behavior has been and offer a reminder that democracy hangs in the balance. 

If the Democratic House majority fulfills its oversight responsibilities, it will have plenty on its plate, including:

·Investigating Trump’s potential violations of the

emoluments clause of the constitution through his 

business enterprises.

·Securing and reviewing Trump’s tax returns.

·Examining the ethical breaches of Trump’s current and 

former agency heads.

·Conducting a fair, thorough, and impartial investigation 

into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. The House 

Intelligence Committee probe was a sham because the 

Republican majority on that committee protected Trump. 

Under Democrats, Congress must reassert itself as a co-

equal branch of government.  

·Holding hearings on voter suppression in places like 

Florida, Georgia, North Dakota, and North Carolina as a 

predicate for passing voter protection legislation.

This list will keep members of Congress busy during the  coming year and beyond. While the House doesn’t confirm  

appointments as the Senate does, the House can and should play a critical role in overseeing executive departments. It has subpoena power and the power of the purse. Republicans wouldn’t use their oversight powers because they feared angering or endangering Trump. Now, Democrats must use those powers and assure Americans their government operates fairly, ethically, and efficiently. 

Policy

The House members who rode last November’s blue wave 

to Democratic control ran on substantive policy issues that  

appealed to the young, voters of color, and suburban women. Now this coalition that “looks like America” must deliver.  We suggest they focus on:

·Health Care – The 2018 midterm elections were, in 

general, about health care and, in particular, about 

preserving coverage for pre-existing conditions. The 

new  House majority must keep the pressure on the 

Senate and Trump on health care.  After all, Republican 

senators may find it unpleasant facing the electorate in  

2020 after a vote that imperils the Affordable Care Act 

or  endangers pre-existing conditions coverage.

·Infrastructure – That the nation must do something

about its crumbling roads and bridges isn't in doubt. 

Trump claimed in 2016 he'd offer an infrastructure 

program. He hasn't. The Democratic House should 

pass a big infrastructure program that includes a fair, 

meaningful funding mechanism, forcing the hands of the

GOP-led Senate and Trump.

·Tax Fairness --- The House should repeal the 2017 tax 

cuts, thereby promoting fairness for middle and working 

class taxpayers, deficit reduction, and protecting Social 

Security and Medicare.

·Immigration Reform –  Yes, we must secure our 

borders (with something that works, not a wall).  Then 

we need a path to citizenship for the millions already 

here who live in the shadows. Experience, research, 

and common sense say doing this will befit the 

economy. Any immigration reform measure should 

address the plight of the Dreamers – the approximately 

800,000 people brought to the United States as 

youngsters who’ve grown up here, often serving the 

country in various ways including in the military, but who 

Trump and some of his nativist supporters suggest 

deporting even though those individuals have known no 

other home. 

The Start

The new House majority has already offered a major reform package aimed at making government more transparent, fairer, and more responsive to public will. HR 1 concerns voting rights, ethics, campaign finance, and other areas Congress should address in cleaning up the disgusting mess Trump and his cronies have made in the last two years. The measures are a good start and suggest Pelosi and her team are serious about change.

The GOP Senate and Trump will balk at many of these ideas, as they will balk at much on our list.  Let them balk. There’s another election in 2020 and the eight-point Democratic victory in 2018 indicates where the wind is blowing and what’s blowing in it. Balk too much and they might find themselves on the street two years from now. 

   

An American Political Agenda for 2018 and 2020: Six Suggestions for the Upcoming Election Cycles: Part 5

We’ve suggested four areas on which 2018 and 2020 candidates should focus for bringing America back from its current morass (Read Part 4 here).  We’ve written about restoring the dignity of the Presidency, promoting racial reconciliation, addressing income inequality, and formulating an intelligent foreign policy rooted in our values and the shared interests of the United States and its allies.

Now, we turn to the domestic agenda candidates for Congress and the White House should press if they want to improve the lives Americans lead.  We could propose an endless list of policies and programs, but we’ll limit the discussion to six areas the next few Congresses and the next President have to get right to make America truly great.

Public Education   
The three of us grew up and into the middle class through public education.  A strong America depends on a strong public education system.  Private schools, which not everyone can afford, have their place in American education, but a vibrant economy and a society in which people believe they can improve their lives depends on continuing investment in and a commitment to public education.  For America to remain a world leader the nation must produce a broadly educated citizenry. Public education remains the most proven vehicle for achieving that.  

Infrastructure   
Democrats and Republicans sort of agree on this.  At least both seem to understand the need for rebuilding crumbling roads and bridges and investing in navigation projects, airports, and other transportation facilities.  The disagreement lies in paying for it.  Candidate Trump claimed he would propose an infrastructure package.  His administration floated, but hasn’t pushed in Congress, a tax credit scheme that would mostly benefit Trump’s rich friends.  A meaningful infrastructure program requires putting significant federal dollars into the kinds of projects America once specialized in building.  Trump and Republicans often claim business tax cuts will pay for themselves by spurring economic growth. Historically, tax cut have not had that result.  They just increase the deficit.  Prior experience suggests Infrastructure spending, however, will pay for itself in jobs, lower public and private maintenance costs, and improvements in everyday life.  It’s time to quit talking about this and do something about it.

Affordable Housing   
Recent books like Richard Rothstein’s The Color of Law have emphasized the connection between housing policy and the country’s seemingly intractable economic and racial problems.  It seems important now to develop policies and programs that insure Americans of all races and ethnicities access to quality, affordable public and private housing.  This area of federal policy has stagnated in recent years under Democratic and Republican presidents.  The next group of people in charge, in Congress and in the White House, must renew the conversation about what programs and policies will give more Americans access to affordable housing while stimulating the construction industry.  The next Housing Secretary should understand and appreciate the nation’s history of socioeconomic and racial discrimination in housing and how local, state, and federal government policy, with the help of the building trades, contributed to the problem. Perhaps the next President can involve people like Professor Rothstein in selecting a HUD Secretary.

Immigration Reform   
Perhaps nothing causes as much emotional upset among Americans today as immigration policy. The issue brings to the surface the culture war over who determines domestic policy, illustrating the difference in a world in which people of color have a say in such decisions and the way the world once worked.  This issue divides the country in to red and blue.  Red America, generally, wants to punish undocumented immigrants and favors drastic measures, like a wall, to keep out immigrants from certain countries. Blue America, generally, wants a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants here and opposes draconian border security measures.  The challenge lies in finding a sensible middle ground between those poles.  We favor a more welcoming policy toward immigrants.  Any comprehensive immigration reform proposal must provide a path to citizenship and border security that controls the flow of illegal immigrants.

Energy and Emissions Policy   
They go hand-in-hand.  We need more, not less, public investment in solar, wind, and other forms of clean, renewable energy.  These industries will produce more good jobs than we can save in the coal fields.  The global movement toward such energy sources won’t stop because of the Trump administration’s obsession with coal.  The clean energy train is pulling out of the station and the United States needs to get on board.     

Tax Policy   
The “tax reform” proposals now being rushed through Congress by Republicans come nowhere near the kind of tax policy we need to move our economy forward, give relief to those who really need it, and insure everyone pays his or her fair share. The “loopholes” being closed – deductions for state and local taxes, reduced ability to deduct interest on student loans, etc. – hurt middle class people, not the wealthy.  Meantime, too many ways still exist for corporations and wealthy individuals to hide taxable income offshore and in other ways that keep the tax system unfair.  The next Congress and the next President need to correct that situation.  Involving scholars and observers like former Labor Secretary Robert Reich and journalists Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum in the process wouldn’t hurt either.   

We could talk about lots of other things.  But, we think we’ve offered a good starting point.  

What do you think?