March 16, 2018--Step Aside, Nancy

An important promise that congressman-elect Conor Lamb made during his campaign in southwestern Pennsylvania was the promise that if elected and the Democrats take control of the House of Representatives, he would not vote for Nancy Pelosi to again become Speaker. 

In his calm if convoluted style, Lamb said, "I think it's clear that this Congress is not working for people. We need new leadership on both sides. It's not personal" he continued, "It's more about the fact that I expect leaders to get results, and the result of our congressional leadership has been to have people in the district dissatisfied with their performance."

Early in the campaign, with millions of out-of-district money flooding in to underwrite Republican Rick Saccone's efforts, most of the TV ads were about how beneficial the Trump tax cuts are for working people. When it became clear that voters were not buying this "white lie"--they knew the tax cuts were tipped to benefit big corporations and the wealthiest five percent--the Saccone campaign ran no more adds about taxes and switched tactics, airing new ones that claimed if Lamb were elected he would become one of Nancy Pelosi's sheep.

We know how that worked out. 

But, come the fall, in all congressional districts up for grabs, perhaps as many as 125, we know that there will be an avalanche of anti-Pelosi ads. 

GOP campaigns will focus on the few issues that remain for them to try to hoodwink voters--the evils of immigration, guns, and God. But front and center will be ads about aspiring-Speaker Pelosi who they will demonologize  

One thing we know they won't be doing is inviting Donald Trump to come campaign for them as the more he did for Saccone the worse it became for him. His lead in the polls evaporated.

Lamb is right. Pelosi is no longer an effective leader. She had her turn in 2009-2013 and with it made history--as the first female Speaker she presided over a productive House of Representatives where she was essential to the passage of Obamacare legislation.

Now, she is more political liability than asset. For the sake of her party, as her best contribution to resisting Trump's agenda come November, she should step aside now and in so doing reap all the accolades she has earned. This is a better exit from the spotlight than being voted out as Lamb and his-soon-to-be-gathering colleagues will surely do.

There comes a time for all of us.

March 15, 2018--Trumpian Sans Trump

I've been arguing for some time that if Democrats want to recapture Congress, much less the White House, we have to erect a big tent that in fact is widely welcoming. Not just a tent for appearances sake.

This means we need to select and support candidates who in addition to sharing our social justice concerns are likely to believe in some things that are Trumpian. Especially in congressional districts in the vital middle of the country where Electoral votes are in play and incumbents can be flipped.

Case in point this week was the election in southwestern Pennsylvania of Democrat Conor Lamb.

He won in a squeaker but astonishingly in a district that went for Trump in 2016 by 20 percentage points. A district where in the previous two congressional elections a Republican was elected unopposed. It's that Republican, that red.

Lamb in his first TV commercial was pictured handling and firing an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. It was not just to remind us that he had been a Marine but also to signal to his gun-oriented potential constituents that he not only believes in the "right" to bear arms but is comfortable with them. More specifically that he's not a Democrat who if elected will descend in a black helicopter to take away people's guns.

To most of my Manhattan friends this would be enough to lead to disdain for him and doom for his candidacy.

If my friends could somehow manage to get by his comfort with guns what would they think about the fact that as a practicing Catholic he does not believe in abortions?

For pretty much everyone I know in New York City failing these two litmus tests (pro guns and pro "life") would make it impossible to vote for him. And so Rick Saccone (Lamb's opponent) would easily have won and there would be one more Republican in Congress lending enthusiastic support to Donald Trump's regressive agenda. (Saccone Tuesday night claimed that Democrats "hate America and hate God.")

On the other hand, Lamb is dovish and a strong supporter of strengthening and protecting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and various other social safety nets. He also is a fervent friend to organized labor and was endorsed by virtually all the unions that have a large presence in his district.

And, I almost forgot, though he personally does not support abortions, he unequivocally opposes any efforts to limit them.

In some ways he is Trumpian but his version does not include the actual Trump. Just a congruence of views on a few social issues. Important ones, to be sure, but ones we have to get comfortable with tolerating if we want to win in much of America.

There are 435 congressional districts in the United States, each with a member in the House of Representatives. To take control of the House, Democrats need to flip at least 24 seats. Tuesday night Keystone Staters flipped one. To win the others, and perhaps a dozen more, will require that our tent welcomes and we vote for candidates such as Conor Lamb. 

Like Lamb most middle-of-the-road Democrats will fail some of our traditional litmus tests. But if we want to again became the majority party, we need to attract similar candidates who appeal to their local constituencies and thereby have a chance of winning.

We claim we embrace diversity. If that is more than just words, it is imperative that we put our votes where our mouths are.