First things are always first, and my judgement on the Democratic sweep (other than mild amazement) is that a useful priority would be to cross the aisle and shake the hand of the nearest Republican.
There is so much to do, but the doing will be more productive once partisanship is off the table and Congress can catch its breath.
I’m told there are many Republicans who braved two Trump presidencies in fear of election loss and harbor a general disgust of the man running the show.
America has a very long way to go, both internationally and at home. A gotcha attitude by Democrats won’t serve those goals well at all.
Not only that, but Democrats need to realize that their party has long been part of the problem. For decades they forgot who they were elected to represent, and the blue tide can go out as quickly as it came in. It’s an old reality that ‘you campaign in poetry and govern in prose.’ So, an announcement of bipartisanism from the floor of the House or Senate won’t be sufficient.
Former president Lyndon Johnson was a master of that art form. During his presidency he made it his business to invite every Republican in the Senate and House to dinner at the White House, one by one. That’s a powerful invitation and, one on one and in complete privacy, without an audience, Johnson made his case over dinner, brandy and cigars.
He never used those meetings for advantage, which was their power.
The moment now is not a time for power politics.
There will be no better time to lay partisan politics to rest than immediately after January 3rd. President Trump will have two years left in office, and the choice for Democrats will be either confrontation or quiet persuasion. Will they have the opportunity to impeach?
Possibly.
Would that be a good idea?
I think not. That’s too obviously a blame-game, and hardens the very attitudes that need softening. It’s too easy a complaint to blame Donald Trump for the state of American affairs, and wrong to do so. He is not the cause of our decline, but merely the result of decades of political dysfunction by both parties, mostly dating back to the Reagan presidency.
These are not the times for atonement, but an opportunity not to be missed for bringing effective government back to Washington. It’s been far too long gone, the victim of partisan politics.
Forgiveness is the strongest medicine for a path forward, and Democrats will not be forgiven for abandoning that opportunity.
The rules of politics are the same as those for sailing a very large and complicated boat, and a wind at your back can quickly turn against a helmsman’s progress. It takes a capable crew, experienced and dedicated, which means Democrats and Republicans working the sails in harmony.
Forgive the metaphor, but the mid-term election results are more opportunity than victory.
And the entire world is holding its breath…