As the Republicans prepare to take over the majority in the House of Representatives, their second-ranking Republican leader, Eric Cantor, wrote a 144-page guide to Congress for his new colleagues. According to press reports, it was mostly do’s and don’ts on congressional inside baseball.
Don’t sit in the wrong place: “There are no assigned seats on the House floor…But you are more likely to find your fellow Republicans on the right side of the chamber.”
Don’t talk openly about committee assignments.
Use the Capitol’s tunnel system to avoid the media when heading to votes.
Members should dress properly on the House floor.
There’s a lot to learn about Congress. Being a new member is daunting. So perhaps new members need this kind of Boy Scout manual advice.
But we all should be disappointed that there were no do’s and don’ts on what they should do to make the lives of the American people better, safer and more financially secure. Do create jobs. Do reduce the deficit. Do end the war in Afghanistan. Do enact reform that will make home ownership an American value again. Do ensure an honest and transparent Wall Street and protection for consumers in the marketplace.
Do lead.
That is important because the Republican rule book for the past four years had 143 fewer pages. It was simply “Don’t do anything. Try to stop everything. Don’t lead.” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was unabashedly irresponsible in his playbook for the next two years: His “top political priority over the next two years should be to deny President Obama a second term in office.”
I wasn’t asked, but let me share what I think Republicans should do and don’t do.
- Do something. It was cynical when the Republicans decided to pick up their paychecks month after month after essentially going on strike on working for a better America, especially in such perilous times. They won’t have minority status as an excuse anymore. They have a real responsibility now.
- Don’t assume that every Democratic idea is bad. The Democrats did not act that way. In fact, throughout the consideration of the health care bill, Democrats accepted more than 200 amendments and ideas from Republicans even though not a single one voted for it. Wall Street Reform included 51 Republican amendments and 24 bipartisan amendments, yet only three House Republicans supported the final bill. I have worked with Republican colleagues on bipartisan legislation that helps victims of domestic violence.
- Don’t accept bipartisanship’s death. It was fair enough that Cantor told the new members where they’d most likely see other Republicans on the floor, but does that mean we shouldn’t speak together or shouldn’t work together? In times of severe unemployment, we have joined together to extend unemployment help, whether it was President Bill Clinton or George W. Bush. Why should it be different under President Barack Obama? There are issues on which we can find common ground, and that’s what people expect of us.
- Don’t gloat. You won. You don’t need to go on the floor, the talk shows or the blogosphere and talk trash. In the Milwaukee region, my congressional neighbor Paul Ryan and I disagree on almost everything, but we have agreed not to be disagreeable. Republicans and Democrats could accomplish so much more if we debated with respect for each other.
We have to lead, and we have to do it together. We owe it to the American people to follow a playbook that is based on ideas and solutions to improve the quality of their lives. Young guns: Let’s enter into a non-aggression pact, and put down our weapons.
Rep. Gwen Moore, a Democrat, represents Wisconsin’s 4th Congressional District.