Reasons To Be Thankful

Let's look on the bright side of politics

Photo by Megan Watson on Unsplash

On this Thanksgiving, we can be thankful for a few brighter bits of political reality.   

With all the uproar around Donald Trump impending presidency, especially his cabinet nominations, it’s important to remember that he isn’t the only game in Washington. The House and Senate have just come through elections. And though Trump’s GOP (yes, he owns the party now) won control of both sides of Capitol Hill he’s not guaranteed to get everything he wants.

As you know, Trump’s first choice for attorney general, the scandal-scarred former representative Matt Gaetz, was opposed by so many Republican senators that he was forced to withdraw from consideration.

The senators who quietly let their concerns about Gaetz be known included Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, minority leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and senator-elect John Curtis of Utah. Politics came into play for the four, but so did morality. With Gaetz facing allegations that he attended drug-fueled parties and had sex with a minor, he was not going to pass muster.

While the Senate has the Constitutional power to affirm or reject cabinet nominees, the House has no such role. But with a slim majority, if Trump wants legislation passed, he cannot afford to lose more than a handful of GOP votes. He will have to keep a close eye on so-called moderates from “purple” districts like Reps. Mike Lawler of New York and David Valadao of California. Lawler would like to be governor of New York State. He’s not going to get there if he’s seen as a Trump lackey. If, like every member, Valadao is already concerned with winning the next election he’s going to have to vote like a moderate.

On the Democratic Party’s side of the House we should expect nearly constant unity, while they hope to pick-off the handful of GOP votes needed to block parts of the Trump agenda. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t expect a lot of defections, but there will be enough uncertainty to give GOP Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) some headaches, and to cause Trump just a little bit of heartburn.     

While the Senate enjoys its’ power to “advise and consent” and Republican unity in the House is not quite guaranteed, we can also be thankful for changes in the federal courts where Joe Biden and Senate Democrats are racing to put as many moderate-to-left-leaning judges on the bench as possible. So far, the president has been able to win confirmation for more than 220 judges. More are coming. All of this means that that plaintiffs opposed to Trump legislation and policies will at least get a fair hearing.  Their lawsuits will take time to adjudicate. In the meantime, judges could restrain Trump from moving forward on aspects of his agenda.

In general, I am wary of lawsuits that seek to overturn ordinary acts of Congress and I think presidents should be able to exercise their power in reasonable ways. But we are not in a time where we can expect the president to be reasonable and Congress will, to please him, stray far from the ordinary. Often, we’ll need to intervene in the courts.

Finally, I see in the Democratic Party a new willingness to moderate its own policy proposals and culture. In Kamala Harris’s defeat, in the popular vote as well as the Electoral College, the country told the Dems that they had, themselves, strayed too far into the weeds of Progressivism. I believe that by harping on pronouns, for example, Democrats came off as know-it-all scolds. Democrats also lost their connection to the majority as they mishandled the issue of illegal immigration. People who are concerned about this problem are not all uncaring bigots.  

If Democrats think back to their big breakthrough election victory – Barack Obama’s 2008 win – they’ll remember that he prevailed with the promise of “hope” and “change.” He appealed directly to middle-class voters who were frustrated by their economic challenges and he struck a tone of optimism in the face of a financial crisis. This message resonated with a solid majority.

I believe that the party that stands against Trump can, and will, learn to stand for issues that will win back a majority. With the help of moderate “Blue Dog” House Democrats, party leaders are already talking about how to attract moderates because they recognize there’s no way to win without them. And winning, after all, is the point of elections.

So there you have it. In Congress, the courts, and the Democratic Party we can see possibilities for the near and long-term future.  In my political view, these are things to be grateful for.

Happy Thanksgiving.