High Noon Approaching in the House of Representatives?

The media has moved into an almost apoplectic state in their coverage of the House drama involving Majority Speaker Pelosi and the Squad led by AOC.  Pelosi is learning the lesson that haunted her Republican predecessors; herding cats is easier than herding two-year-term Napoleons in the U.S. House of Representatives.  Perhaps the defining moment in this drama has already occurred and passed beneath the radar.  I am referring to the coalition of House Democrats and Republicans that passed the Senate version of the Border Relief Bill. 

Although it had previously passed a House version that typically would have gone to conference and been reconciled with the Senate bill, the House instead succumbed to the rapidly closing window of time to pass the necessary legislation.  They chose to swallow the distasteful bite rather than choke on the public relations disaster of obstinance.  This decision by Pelosi infuriated many of the more liberal Democrats in the House, generating derisive and critical remarks about her leadership.  Many referred to it as essentially abject surrender to Senate Majority Leader McConnell and the Republicans in Congress.  In her defense, Pelosi simply stated that it was an imperfect bill that had to be passed due to circumstances.

Let’s look at the bill for just a moment.  I love it when the old gray lady herself has to cover a Democratic legislative episode that runs counter to its ultra-liberal agenda; let us examine their approach https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/27/us/politics/border-funding-immigration.html .

As stated in their article, the vote was 305 to 102 in favor of the bill that was passed over from the Senate.  That vote reflected that 129 Democrats joined with 176 Republicans…in the HOUSE.  The very House where the Democrats hold a 235 to 197 advantage over the Republicans (there is 1 Independent and 2 vacancies) and the Democrats routinely spend the bulk of their time investigating all things Trump.  The bill that was approved in this reluctantly-bipartisan effort had previously passed the Senate by an 84 to 8 margin; an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote.  To complete the picture, remember that the party count in the Senate is 53 Republican, 45 Democrat, and 2 Independents (both of whom caucus with the Democrats).  One can argue with the provisions in this bill and the wisdom of what is in and what was left out.  What was obviously not up for argument was the critical need for the $4.59 billion piece of legislation to be sent to the President in order to address the crisis at our southern border.  This is the point I would like to emphasize. 

I have generously heaped criticism and scorn upon Congress over the life of my blog.  The sophomoric and ludicrous manner in which our legislators often conduct their business is a large and simple target to shoot at.  The House in particular is a bubbling cauldron of arrogant opinions held by self-aggrandizing characters who have been elected to two-terms in a House of 435 members by, at most, a handful of counties.  The logistics of the challenges faced by a House Majority leader are so intimidating that it is a marvel to me why anyone would seek the position.  If anything supports the self-affirming quest for political power and wealth that drives American politicians; the quest for House Speaker is right at the top of them.  But in this particular instance, as we witness all too rarely, the Senate and the House responded to a very real need in our government and they did so in a bipartisan and effective way.  Even though the House completed the process with a gun held to its head, I celebrate the accomplishment of the deed.  At the end of the day, the process worked and the necessary legislation was passed.  Pelosi made a hard decision; the right decision; and she deserves credit for it.

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I was recently working on a building project with my son-in-law and eight-year old grandson; we are adding a shed addition to a cabin.  At some point in the proceedings, the conversation led to a discussion of my grandson’s behavior and how impressive it could be…on selected occasions.  He had been spending a few days with us and had been on one of those exceptional good behavior trips.  The talk naturally covered those times when he did not quite behave up to expected standards.  I commented to him that he had tipped his hand when he demonstrated the capacity to behave in a responsible and mature fashion; demonstrating his clear ability to fulfill that expected role.  I tried to express to him that these impressive episodes only made his moments of infantile actions seem even more disappointing and undesirable.  The point being that one is expected to be the best person they are capable of being for most of the time they are living.  I believe this is what we, as citizens, expect of our elected officials.  It is what infuriates us when we witness the partisan bickering that paralyzes the legislative process.  It is largely the source of dissatisfaction with our President’s personal behavior when he lowers himself and his actions to those of his critics. 

                                                                                             

I dare to hope that this moment of accomplishment (not to raise it to a seminal level) will somehow serve to clarify and crystallize the potential in a poisonously-divided House to actually perform the duties for which they were elected.  For all of its imperfections and glaring misjudgments, our government can function in a responsible and substantive manner.  Our nation's framers did an ingenious job of designing a resilient system; if we will only adhere to their plan.  Even though the explanation for the passage of this border legislation lies largely in a rapidly-expiring legislative deadline and the desperate need to pass something; perhaps the fact that a few House Democrats peeled off of their strict Party ideology to join with Republicans in this effort will demonstrate the potential for future legislative successes.   The next time around, it might be a few Senate Republicans crossing over to join Senate Democrats in the passage of some legislation.  The point is…it is possible. 

If President Trump can somehow minimize his flamboyant personal behavior, he might be less involved in the daily fare of the media talking heads and more involved in the necessary legislative efforts that are critical to the function of our nation’s government.  If he can somehow cease fighting fire with fire, his detractors might stop throwing flammable bombs at him and instead turn their attention towards doing their jobs.  As is the case with my grandson, once one has demonstrated the heights to which they might rise, we can reasonably expect them to perform at that level on a consistent basis.