I wish I were less cynical about all of this. I am grateful to all the
hopeful people like the author, who keep trying, and who really do believe
that somehow, this time, things will get a bit better.
Miriam
The Backstory on the Pelosi Leadership Flap
By Norman Solomon, Reader Supported News
27 November 18
When Democrats take control of the House in early January, they'll have two
kinds of leadership - one from the top of the party's power pyramid, the
other from its base. With formal control, Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer can
brandish huge carrots and sticks to keep Democratic lawmakers in line. With
grassroots support, a growing number of those lawmakers can - and should -
strategically step out of line to fight for progressive agendas.
Pelosi and Hoyer have been running the Democratic machinery in the House of
Representatives since 2003, and they're experts at combining liberal
rhetoric with corporate flackery. Pelosi is frequently an obstacle to
advancing progressive proposals. Hoyer is significantly worse as he avidly
serves such "constituents" as giant banks, Pentagon contractors and other
Wall Street titans. Together, the two have often functioned as top-drawer
power tools in the hands of powerful corporate-military interests.
Pelosi is a longtime wizard at generating and funneling hundreds of millions
of election-cycle dollars, and as speaker she'll wield enormous power over
committee assignments. But she must keep Democratic House members minimally
satisfied - and along the way that should mean yielding more power to the
Congressional Progressive Caucus. Buoyed by wins in the midterm elections,
the caucus includes two-fifths of all Democrats in the House.
That's where the other kind of leadership comes in - if a hefty number of
self-identified progressives in Congress go to the mat to vigorously
represent progressive constituencies. For that to happen, a dubious aspect
of the Progressive Caucus past must not repeat itself.
"When historic votes come to the House floor, party functionaries are able
to whip the Progressive Caucus into compliance," I wrote six years ago. A
grim pattern set in during the Obama presidency, "with many Progressive
Caucus members making fine statements of vigorous resolve - only to succumb
on the House floor under intense pressure from the Obama administration."
Backing down had tragic consequences for the nation's healthcare system. In
September 2009, Progressive Caucus leaders sent a letter to President Obama
pledging not to vote for any healthcare bill "without a robust public
option." They wrote: "Any bill that does not provide, at a minimum, a public
option built on the Medicare provider system and with reimbursement based on
Medicare rates - not negotiated rates - is unacceptable." Six months later,
every member of the Progressive Caucus abandoned the demand and voted for a
healthcare bill with no public option at all.
In recent years, the leadership of the Progressive Caucus has become more
impressive. The current mix of leaders and new members - which includes
veteran lawmaker Raul Grijalva, more recent House arrivals like Mark Pocan,
Pramila Jayapal and Ro Khanna, and notable incoming progressives such as
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley -
seems to augur well.
There are encouraging signs that Congressional Progressive Caucus leaders
are using new leverage to gain more power for progressives. After meeting
with Pelosi on November 15, Co-Chair Pocan and First Vice-Chair Jayapal
released a statement saying "we are pleased that Leader Pelosi shares our
commitment to ensuring that CPC members are represented proportionally on
the key exclusive committees - including Ways and Means, Energy and
Commerce, Appropriations, Financial Services and Intelligence."
Progressive leaders can gain persuasive influence largely because they're
advocating for proposals that - as polling verifies - have wide support from
the U.S. public, such as a $15-an-hour minimum wage (59 percent), Medicare
for All (70 percent), progressive criminal justice reform (65 percent) and
higher taxes on the wealthy (76 percent). Behind such political agenda items
is an activist base eager to achieve many programs that have been obstructed
by most top-ranking Democrats in Congress.
Clearly, much of the Democratic Party's momentum is now coming from the
left. And many of the positions that the timeworn Democratic leadership has
staked out are now being overrun - outmatched by the cumulative power of
dynamic social movements that have generated electoral clout. Medicare for
All is a case in point, with numerous likely Democratic presidential
candidates climbing on board.
Ultimately, the most profound progressive leadership for Congress isn't in
Congress at all. It's in communities and movements across the country -
nurturing diverse progressive strengths in many aspects of social change,
including at election time.
No matter how intense the top-down pressure gets from Speaker Pelosi, we
should insist from the bottom up that members of Congress stand their ground
for progressive principles. And - no matter how fervently they embrace the
"progressive" label - if congressmembers aren't willing to fight for those
principles, then the grassroots should mobilize: to create an outcry, to
lobby, and to consider launching primary challenges. No elected officials
should be immune from scrutiny and accountability.
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Norman Solomon is co-founder and national coordinator of RootsAction.org. He
is the author of a dozen books including War Made Easy: How Presidents and
Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death.
Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission
to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader
Supported News.
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