Consolidating power in a dark hour: Make Government Work Again

Democrats should take five steps to enable better governance and deter wanton obstructionism

Our nation faces many challenges. Sadly, too often, our government has been inept, dysfunctional, and not up to the task. Unless you count unnecessary tax breaks for the wealthy, what systemic challenge has Congress solved in the recent past? Our government couldn’t find a real solution on immigration, climate, endless wars, or almost any other issue of the day. The only notable legislative accomplishment in recent years may have been the Affordable Care Act of 2010, when a filibuster-proof majority of Democratic Senators came together to basically pass the Republican healthcare solution, Romneycare, instead of any progressive variant of healthcare policy (e.g., Medicare for All). It is worth repeating: It took a supermajority of Democrats (bending over backwards to appease turncoat Joe Lieberman, then paying a high political bill in 2010) to pass a Republican healthcare plan in the face of unanimous Republican opposition in the Senate. Republicans spent the next decade wasting time and resources, futilely trying to “repeal and replace” their own healthcare idea.

For the better part of four decades, Republicans have been the party of “small government,” believing that “government is the problem.” Sadly, the actions of many Republicans demonstrates that they prefer a dysfunctional government to demonstrate why government can’t be trusted and why less government is better — that is what “deconstruct the administrative state” is all about. When one party seeks to use government to solve problems and the other seeks power and exploits loopholes to undermine government, society’s problems metastasize. For example, McConnell and the GOP prioritized denying Obama a second term and embraced being the party of obstructionism to deny Obama any achievements, to the detriment of our country. Step-by-step, that mentality has lead us to the January 6 coup attempt.

Now that Democrats have the thinnest of majorities in the Senate, they have a small window to consolidate power as a means to reform our government and disable the tyranny of a minority that doesn’t genuinely believe in government (and that disqualified itself from governing by facilitating the sack of the Capitol). While Biden, Schumer, and Pelosi do not have the natural audacity of Republicans to use all levers of power at their disposal, perhaps they can be encouraged to do so. The continued viability and credibility of the US government may depend on it. Some tactics Democrats should consider include:

1. Eliminate the filibuster: Perhaps in past centuries, the filibuster had a productive and valuable role in the world’s “greatest deliberative body.” However, in this polarized era, especially with McConnell and the GOP’s obstructionism, the filibuster serves merely to hamstring government. In the aftermath of ACB’s speedy confirmation to the Supreme Court, Schumer declared that “nothing is off the table,” suggesting the elimination of the filibuster. It is unclear whether Schumer has ever demonstrated in his political career that he had a spine or red line — certainly, McConnell has not yet encountered it.
2. Add Puerto Rico and DC as states: Our country was founded largely to ensure “no taxation without representation,” so either PR and DC should be admitted into the Union as full states, or they should be freed from federal taxes so they can deploy their own resources more effectively (Trump has demonstrated how poorly the US can treat these territories without adequate representation in DC to fight for them). Adding these two as states would add 4 Democratic seats to the Senate, creating more paths to compromise, though it would likely require the elimination of the filibuster first.
3. Pursue purpleization: We live in a “purple” nation, yet too many legislators behave in “red” or “blue” ways and neglect the urgent needs of their constituents. Gerrymandering is part of the problem (perhaps Congress can incentivize independent redistricting commissions and other good behavior with funding formulae and policies). Another part is the separation of urban vs. rural concerns in states like Connecticut vs. Wyoming. Democrats can help make our government more “purple” by facilitating the movement of people between states. In particular, Democrats can a) build new cities in “red” states as part of a climate change adaptation strategy to relocate people (e.g., away from sinking coastal areas); b) and incentivize (tech) companies to transfer employees or build new campuses in “red” states; c) Build new “free” colleges and public service academies in “red” states to attract (and educate) younger demographics. These efforts will help make many safe “red” Senate seats “purple” and competitive (similar to how GA recently played out), thus encouraging Senators from those places to act in moderation. As Trump demonstrated with his re-purposing of funds for the border wall, this tactic does not necessarily require eliminating the filibuster (or legislative input at all).
4. Reestablish elements of FCC Fairness Doctrine for various media: Political polarization in the US has many roots, but the removal of this policy directly resulted in the misinformation bubbles many Americans live in. There is an unfortunate appetite for bias and lies in America. While the Fairness Doctrine required “balance,” perhaps more importantly, it mandated “honesty” on public airwaves. Diverse opinions are great, and the First Amendment is important, but truth is even more important. A more informed electorate would result in a more responsible political class. A version of this solution could perhaps be started by Biden directly, but it would likely require legislative action (and the elimination of the filibuster) to last.
5. Encourage debate, de-centralize power back to committees, and allow amendments: Legislative leaders have consolidated power and stifled debate in recent Congresses. The role and value of committees in the legislative process has been minimized. 0 amendments have been brought on the floor under the last two Speakers. Congress instead relies on various omnibus bills that lawmakers have to vote on before having a chance to read. This setup prevents “clean” bills on a number of popular issues from ever seeing the light of day. Pelosi and Schumer could reform this dynamic quite easily, though they may prefer not to.

Some may panic at the thought of a “radical left agenda” suddenly passing through a reformed or filibuster-free Congress. In reality, any legislation that moved forward would likely be as moderate (or conservative) as Joe Manchin, who voted with Trump over half the time (or a similarly centrist tie-breaking Senator, like Susan Collins). But at least legislation would move forward. Adopting these measures and removing the Senate filibuster would simply mean our government would once again deliberate and legislate, rather than remaining a forum where solutions arbitrarily die.