Yes. The best thing to do to show up the GOP is to get to work and get something done. If the Senate doesn’t take it up, SHOW their obstruction and keep working. Don’t get distracted. Don’t get sucked in.
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So long as people keep their expectations in check on any good legislation getting pass McConnel in the Senate and Donnie in the WH.
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As Democrats we are perfectly capable of pursuing investigations into the corrupt Trump Crime family at the same time we’re legislating on behalf of our fellow citizens.
There are many, many committees, my friend.
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I am constituent of a recently flipped. And there is only one thing that matters to me: That the crooks in the Trump administration be held accountable, and Kavanaugh impeached. There is absolutely no chance that any significant legislation advances with republicans in control of the WH and Senate. Worse, if anything advances will be some monstrosity that benefits the rich or the rural whites only. And Trump is going to brag it as his “accomplishments”.
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Erecting roadblocks and exacting prices. Wall funding, if any, would now require a path to citizenship for DACA kids for example. Funding Trump kid travel woukd require operating the official border crossings to allow refugees to apply for asylum.
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Further, these idiots were voted in by an electorate in which a high percentage were voting because they hate what Trump has done.
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This is a great messaging point, and it’s entirely consistent with the 2018 campaign, which Pelosi coordinated
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Yup. I mean, I get what they’re saying. It’s similar to the leadership’s realistic acknowledgement that they won’t rush into an impeachment they can’t win in the Senate. That’s courting a backlash with no possible upside. The consensus is obviously for a middle course. But this worry seemed nearly pointless to me.
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The idea that you can only do one, at the expense of the other, is stupid and sounds stupid when you say it out loud.
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There is no “obsession.” There are a few (<16) folks who ran in areas where Pelosi was hated. Another commenter suggested Dems “get power first.” That means being in office.
It’s naive to think any bills are going to get passed in this congress. Republicans are totally recalcitrant and Trump is, well, Trump.
Bills will be sent up as a show of what Democrats would do with more Power, but that is about as far as they will go. McConnell will make sure we don’t make any progress.
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Yeah, that’s why it needs to be stressed. Impeachment is a high bar because of the Senate. Even if Dems weren’t the minority, they still wouldn’t have the votes and even if they had the votes impeachment is basically a nuclear option. What they CAN do is stall the agenda, which winning the House has made very likely.
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Unlike Repubs, Dems are smart enough to govern and exercise oversight at the same time. Watch them, freshmen/women - the Repubs are not the example to react to.
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hey. newbies; most adults can multi-task!
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What’s up with the hostility toward the incoming Freshman? They just flipped the house in our favor, so let’s give them some respect. The default response should not be to side with the powerful, whether they be Republican or our own leadership. Lets listen to the folks the PEOPLE just elected, they must have liked something about them, right? In fact some of them flipped seats the Democratic leadership abandoned years ago. So give them their due.
Freshmen Dems Prove They’ve Forgotten What the Senate Is
The only thing McConnell can’t stop is investigations. Yeah, we can do two things at once, and we need to show we intend to govern. But McConnell will let zero liberal laws pass, and the federal government is still on fire.
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Oh now I get it, we’re back to the “it will never pass so let’s not even try” strategy. That’s worked out so well for us in the past. Maybe things won’t pass, but let’s show the voters that we stand for something for Christ’s Sake.
No one is saying “don’t try”. We’re just saying prioritizing legislation over investigations is just as dumb as the other way around.
Any legislation passed is for sure going to die in the Senate, that’s just the reality. Anything passed is going to be just as symbolic as the Republican’s repeated votes at ACA repeal during the Obama years… And could carry the same political cost in the end if all this congress does is pass meaningless, go nowhere, DOA legislation…
The have to do both.
As to the committee appointments… Seriously, freshmen?
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If the choice is between investigations into the president’s lawlessness to show that no-one is above the law and empty show votes on legislation that has no chance of passing like the Republicans million+ votes to repeal the ACA I know which I would pick, but as others have pointed out that isn’t the choice and if Democrats are doing their actual jobs they will make an effort to do both.
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What I think this article helpfully if not explicitly points out is there’s a kind of bell curve—some House members want to impeach right away, others say no no don’t investigate too much that doesn’t help anyone looking at bills on their kitchen table, and the middle says we can do both no thing. It’s really kind of a normal thing, and if this weren’t a special interest venue it wouldn’t be much of a story.
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