Dear America,
It's the day after election day now, and as I always say, the country got what it deserves. The Republicans will be firmly in charge of the federal legislature, and for what it's worth, the Connecticut legislature along with those of many other states. All progressives have in their favor is a president whose diffidence is what has led to the ruination of the Democratic Party thus far. But just as past is prologue, so is the present, and those who claim to be knowledgeable about politics are already projecting that the Republicans will be big losers in 2016...small consolation at present, but in the long run, I think the 2014 election will turn out to be a good thing.
The Republicans are already talking about cooperation in congress, as if they have been for it in the past and now can demand it from the position of the majority party. But the fact is that cooperation only means "give me what I want and I'll call it even" to the Republican Party. That is their creed, and it always leads to short term gains for them, at least over the past fifty years that has been the case. Still, the maneuvering in Washington will continue to be internecine for the nation as a whole, and the Republicans will cry their crocodile tears over it...blaming the Democrats for everything and refusing to acknowledge that supply-side economics has been a disaster for everyone but the richest Americans, and for the nation as a whole except for the now infamous 1%. Yet, with all that in mind, this is an opportunity for the Democrats that is unparalleled in recent history. The Republicans now have what they want: control of congress. And the onus is on them to do something with it. At the same time, The Democrats have an opportunity to change the system so that obstructionism by the minority party cannot thwart the majority party in its quest to do the bidding of the electorate that sent them to Washington, and simultaneously, hypocrisy can be suppressed to the point that it no longer can yield political gains. Of course I am talking about the first day of the 104th congress on which The Senate can change the rules. Now, while the Democratic progressive party has a backstop in the veto power of the President of the United States for the next two years...in other words for the entirety of the 104th congress...they can advocate for the exercise of the "nuclear option" and end the filibuster as a political ploy by which to institutionalize "gridlock," otherwise known as obstructionism. It is near certain that Mitch McConnell and John Boehner will remain in power, McConnell now being the leader of the majority in The Senate instead of the minority. And if the Democrats hand them carte blanche by sponsoring the elimination of the filibuster, they have too choices. The first, and most likely, is to decline to accept it, but that is risky because every time the Democrats exercise their filibuster rights the way the Republicans have without conscience for the past six years, they will have no one to blame but themselves, and the Democrats can blame them with impunity for the failures that will inevitably follow their ascent to control of congress just as they did when the Democrats took control.
The other option...that is accepting the challenge to end the filibuster as a political ploy that eviscerates democracy in The Senate by allowing the majority to prevent the implementation of the majority party's platform...will make the Republicans responsible for everything they legislate over the next two years, and when the American people get a taste of that, we will finally have a real election based on what the American people actually want rather than what gerrymandering and political manipulation of the legislative process make possible for the minority party. Mind you, the Democrats are as guilty of manipulation of the system in favor of their positions whether they are in the majority or not, just as the Republicans have done in the recent past...and flagrantly so. The bottom line is that the American people could better chart the nation's political course if the effect of every election was to empower the majority that the American people elect rather than empowering the minority to demagogically alter the course chosen by the electorate and make that choice seem mistaken by doing so.
It is time for the Democratic Party to show some foresight by holding the Republicans' feet to the fire once and for all by demanding that they do what they are going to do and take responsibility for it rather than blaming all failures on the opposition. If I were President Obama, I would address the nation before the next session begins and tell the American people that I acknowledge that they want what the Republicans are offering them, and that while I wouldn't foreswear the veto entirely, I would exercise it with great restraint in deference to the popular will. Then, each time the Republicans passed a law that favors the 1% at the expense of the rest of The People, I would go on television again and explain to the people what the new law will do to them...and that I was going to sign it unless the Republican majority asks him not to...and then let the people decide whether to make it clear to their representatives that they don't want the law if indeed they don't. It is time that everyone bore responsibility for what he does, including us voters. But of course, what are the odds that the Democrats and our diffident president will seize this opportunity. Unfortunately, as I noted at the start, past is prologue in this instance too, and I have no doubt that once again, the diem won't get carpe'd.
Your friend,
Mike
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