CAN WE FIX CONGRESS? SI, SE PUEDE.
A broken Congress, where “winning” trumps governing.
Can we fix it? Si, Se Peude. Yes, we can.
“We have to look at states [for] models” – Norman Ornstein
Our Campaign is the first Congressional Campaign to commit to the ONLY PROVEN way to reform Congress – a reform already successfully tested in a large, real-world “Pilot Project”, with bipartisan support.
What’s the evidence of its success in removing divisive partisanship from Government?
80 years' worth of evidence!
Reading these words, you’re probably dubious, asking the obvious question :
How could there be a proven reform,
field-tested in a large-scale “Pilot Project”,
applicable to Congress,
going on for 80 years . . .
and no one knows about it ?
Excellent question.
Recently, thanks increasingly to The Atlantic, POLITICO, NPR, and our Congressional Campaign , people are starting to know about it.
Wyoming, a state not given to proselytizing, gave women the right to vote in 1869, but they didn’t boast about it.
Maryland, paying little attention to Wyoming, eventually followed, but at glacial speed, and not until 72 years later ! ( Maryland did not ratify the 19 th Amendment until 1941)
Fast Forward : The proven, Western-state model for Congressional Reform -- Pilot-tested for 80 years is - - - Wyoming's neighbor, Nebraska.
(And the reform IS NOT ‘Unicameralism’)
Instead, it’s about the legislative body having been made officially nonpartisan, i.e. containing no controlling divisive, partisan, Party structure, all the way back in 1934.
No Majority/Minority/Leaders/Whips. No more divisive, playing-to-win-a-Zero-Sum-Party-Game, no more non-Constitutional, partisan-agenda-driven Party Leaders in any Official Capacity, whatsoever.
Partisans are by nature divisive. So, if you don’t like constant, unrelenting divisiveness, put a few limits on the partisans, and don’t let them be in control.
They can participate. But they cannot be in charge. Not anymore.
Did you know? Congress had no official Party Leaders or “Whips” - until 1899, when they were simply created – made up - by a Congressional Rule change?
Another simple Rule change today, and they’ll all be gone. That is all it will take, and partisans will no longer be in control of Congress.
Will there be resistance?
Powerful, privileged men resisted women’s suffrage, too.
In place of partisan, divisive Leaders and “Whips” telling Members what to do, and how to vote, and picking their favorites to chair committees, in the reformed Congress, Members will vote to elect their Speaker, and all their Committee Chairpersons, by secret ballot.
The secret ballot will allow the less partisan Members to vote for Members of the other Party, when the other-party Member is the most competent person for the Speakership, or the Committee Chair position – without getting grief from their more extremely-partisan colleagues over their lack of “party loyalty”.
We’ve seen where “party loyalty” gets us. And we don’t much like it. Do you?
Once adopted, this system will mean Congress will effectively have bipartisan agreement on its choices of Speakers and Committee Chairs – instead of their appointment continuing to be made by a partisan Political hack, as they are today. This will have a profoundly moderating effect on Congressional extremism.
PROOF : In RED Nebraska, "Senators", electing their Chairpersons by secret ballot, with no official partisan structure or pressure, in 2014 elected Democrats to chair 8 of the Legislature's 14 standing committees . That happens no where else in all of America. No where else in America does a Majority Party, share power with the Minority, as they do in Nebraska.
If that isn’t true nonpartisanship, what is?
Are Nebraskans any better than the rest of us ?
I don’t think so.
But they have a better system. It works.
It can also work in Washington. (But not the “unicameral’ part)
Political Parties will still participate in the setting of our national agenda, in coalition building, in mobilizations, and in many good things they do well.
But we’ve seen what it’s like when Parties are in control.
So let’s have no more Government capture by Partisans and Dividers.
And, there’s another virtue of this reform : all the Members of Congress become empowered.
Without party bosses & whips, telling them how to vote, Members do their jobs – they study the issues & vote on the merits, rather than being forced to obey, and to do as they are instructed, like sheep whipped around by their masters.
Nebraska, again, a "RED" state, has operated this way for 80 years.
In 2015, the legislature there, absent party bosses, “whips” and dictates:
•eliminated the death penalty;
•raised the minimum wage;
•raised the gas tax;
•gave undocumented DREAMERS driver’s licenses.
How was this possible, in a RED state?
Because, without "party discipline", they could vote on the merits,
Nebraska is still a RED state. But now, their legislators can think for themselves.
A majority of the United States Congress Members also don’t want to be sheep.
And that's why - although it will likely take 1-4 years before we can get a final vote to implement these simple reforms in the Rules*of Congress - we can fix Congress. Si, se puede !
* With Two Rules changes:
1) Eliminate the 10 or so divisive, partisan Political Party positions – the non-Constitutional Majority/Minority leaders, Whips, party caucuses/conferences; and ban official, structural partisanship from the Capitol (as has been done in Lincoln, for 80 years)
2) let all House Members elect their Speaker, and their nineteen Chairs of the Standing Committees, all by secret ballot (as is done in Lincoln).
For good measure, we'll also push to enact Congressman John Delaney's (Md-6) "Open Our Democracy Act" , which calls for implementation of open, nonpartisan primary elections for Congressional seats, nationwide. And ends the disgraceful disenfranchisement of INDEPENDENTS and UNAFFILIATEDS, who, today, can vote in the Maryland primary, ONLY if they go online before April 5, 2016, and temporarily chose the party affiliation of the Candidate they wish to support. Then, after being “officially” a registered Democrat or Republican (just for three 3 weeks between the April 5 th registration deadline, and the primary election on April 26) the INDEPENDENTS and UNAFFILIATEDS can go back online on April 27 , and convert their voter registration back to UNAFFILIATED.
The URL , at the Maryland State Board of Elections , to temporarily change your registration , online is :
https://voterservices.elections.state.md.us/OnlineVoterRegistration/InstructionsStep1
Here are four foretastes of what the new Congress will look and feel like once we’ve achieved this reform (but not the unicameral piece)
The Atlantic (2015)
Politico (2014)
NPR (2015)
Congressional Campaign DanToCongress.com
Can we fix Congress ?
Si, se puede. Yes we can.