A Contract For America

Turning the Tables

I came of age in the 1980s. We had Republicans and Democrats. We had spirited debates. And we had respect. I still remember Gary Hart dropping out of the 1988 presidential race because he was caught being unfaithful to his wife. Imagine that. High standards for those who wanted to hold the highest office. At the risk of uttering a line that would cause my adult daughter to say, “ok boomer”, those were the days. (for the record, I’m not a Boomer. Just close to Boomer)

The nasty era began with the nomination of Bill Clinton. At least that’s how I remember it. I guess the Republicans just couldn’t fathom the idea of their incumbent president losing an election to the governor of a small southern state. I think they were especially angry because if not for Ross Perot, Bush 43 might have won a second term.

Along with President Bill Clinton, history also foisted upon us the reign of New Gingrich. When he has left the mortal world history will judge him and I don’t believe it will be kind. But there will be a certain level of respect for his political prowess.

The election of 1992 left the Democrats with an 82-seat advantage over the Republicans in the House. They had a 14-seat advantage in the Senate. Those were the days. But those days were numbered.

Newt Gingrich was the leader of the Republican Party. He would lead what became known as the Revolution of ’94 or The Gingrich Revolution. Say what you want about him, he knew how to lead his party. He didn’t let being in the minority cower him. And he didn’t play nice. He didn’t care about traditions or “the institution.”

He used two tools to pull off his ‘revolution’. The first was a relentless and merciless attack on the character of Bill Clinton. Aided by media tabloids, it seemed like Newt was calling for a new investigation every day. The second tool was what he called The Contract With America. It was eight bullet points that all had at least 60% approval with the American public. He made a grand spectacle of presenting it to the public. It was signed by all but 2 incumbent Republicans in the House and all of the Republican congressional candidates. After the 1994 election the Republicans controlled the House with a 230 R to 204 D advantage, a 54-seat swing. There was one Independent. In the Senate, the Republicans had a new 56-44 majority whereas before the election the Democrats had a 57-43 advantage.. This was the beginning of Republicans who would say anything and do anything. Smears didn’t have to have any truth to them. No attack was to distasteful. In the 2002 election Republican Saxby Chambliss defeated Max Cleland by portraying him as “unamerican”. Cleland lost two legs and an arm to combat in Viet Nam. Newt Gingrich led his party by playing for keeps.

I don’t want a Democratic leader in Washington, D.C. that behaves the way Gingrich did with respect to disrespectful, personal, false attacks on political opponents. But I sure would like to have one that had a little political moxie. Somebody with bold vision and determination like Gingrich had in 1994. Instead, we have Hakeem Jeffries. Handpicked and handled by Nancy Pelosi. Twice she was made the Speaker of the House and twice she couldn’t hold the House. So she picked Jeffries as her successor and gives him his daily marching orders. Jeffries is leading a caucus that is in the minority by only 2 votes. He can’t even be bothered to rally voters in the three upcoming special elections that could give him a majority and make him the Speaker.

Given the absence of an actual leader in a position of leadership. I’ve decided to write what I wish Jeffries was capable of writing. Perhaps we’ll get lucking and this will find it’s way to him and provide him with a way forward. It’s a Liberal version of Gingrich’s contract. But this one is A Contract For America. It’s what I would be presenting if I were the Minority Leader in U.S. House.

A Contract for America

If the American people shall choose to entrust the Democratic Party with control of the United States House of Representatives by electing a majority of Democrats in 2026 then the Democratic Party members of the House shall pass the following legislation and/or House policies:

1) The American health care system is beyond broken. The Affordable Care Act provides important protections for ensuring that Americans cannot be denied health care due to pre-existing conditions. It also provides certain minimum standards to protect consumers from unnecessary medical procedures and billing. But it has not lived up to its name. Health care is not affordable for the average American. Therefore, the Democratic House shall pass legislation enabling all Americans, who wish to do so, to enroll in the same health care plans that members of Congress enjoy and with the same costs that members of Congress enjoy.

2) In 1994 the Republicans promised that, if given the majority, they would select a major, independent auditing firm to conduct a comprehensive audit of Congress for waste, fraud or abuse. They failed, quite spectacularly, to fulfill this promise. The Democratic House shall pass legislation requiring a biennial, comprehensive audit of Congress to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse.

3) Too many members of Congress have come to these hallowed halls as middle-income Americans only to become millionaires due to the unwarranted and unethical practice of using their positions as members of Congress to have unfair advantages over the American public with respect to buying and selling shares on the various stock markets. The Democratic House shall pass legislation prohibiting members of Congress and their immediate family members from buying, selling, or otherwise trading properties on any stock exchange.

4) When the House doesn’t work, it is the American people who suffer. For too long Democrats have clung to antiquated ideas of institutional seniority in order to pick their leaders. The Democratic House will have rules, policies, practices, and procedure to ensure every member of the House Democratic Caucus has an equal opportunity to be chosen for leadership positions in the Caucus and on committees without regard to seniority.

5) For too long legislation needed by and for the American public has been held hostage to the destructive tradition of what has become known as the Hastert rule. It prevents good, bi-partisan legislation from progressing because denying ‘the other side’ a win has become more important than providing the American people with a win. The House Democrats will have a rule stating that any legislation with at least 40 favorable votes among Democratic Caucus members will automatically be moved for consideration by the full House.

6) The United States House of Representatives should be modeling the best possible examples of efficiency, productivity, and respect for the family unit. The Democratic House shall have a rule allowing members to cast votes remotely in order to accommodate members who have family needs that require them to be home.

7) While lobbyists are a necessary cog in the machinery of government the people do not have lobbyists. The Democratic House shall ensure that special interest lobbyists have no more access to members than does the average citizen.

8) The American people have made clear their desire for our federal government to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in all areas of the federal government. The Democratic House shall form a special standing committee dedicated to finding and eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in federal government operations through appropriate and legal methods. This committee will have equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats.

9) 1) Article I, Section 1 of the Constitution says: All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. For too many decades, Congress has allowed the executive branch to slowly but surely appropriate powers for themselves that our founders entrusted to Congress. In more recent years, the United States Supreme Court has surrendered their ability to be a third, co-equal branch of government by all but declaring the President to be above all laws. Presidents don’t make laws. Courts don’t make laws. Congress makes laws. The Democratic House shall rebuild, and reinforce the Constitutional separation of powers between the three branches of government. We will pass legislation to reestablish boundaries between the branches. Furthermore, to ensure we never again have a Supreme Court that places its loyalty to one man, one party, or their ideological beliefs above their loyalty to the Constitution and the people it was written for, The Democratic House will pass legislation to expand the Supreme Court and establish a clear ethics code for them to abide by. The Democratic House will pass limits on how long a Justice can serve on the bench of the U.S. Supreme Court. If the Justice wishes to continue in his/her life-term then he/she may do so at a lower court level.

10) One of the primary jobs of Congress is to fund the government and pass budgets to distribute said funds. What was once a routine fulfillment of basic Congressional responsibility has metamorphosized into an annual, and sometimes more often, opportunity for partisan gamesmanship that punishes the people of this great nation. This cannot be allowed to continue. The Democratic House shall pass legislation requiring 1) members of Congress to stay in session anytime government funding authority expires until such time as spending authority is reauthorized; 2) all spending bills to authorize spending for no less than 6 months; 3) require members of Congress to work without pay during any period of government shut-down due to expired spending authority.

11) 1) Corporations cannot bleed. Corporations cannot sacrifice on a battlefield. Corporations are not people and should not be declared so for the purposes of pouring unlimited funds into elections and overriding the average American’s right to political speech. The Citizens United decision by a corrupt United States Supreme Court has done great damage to our democracy by nullifying the political speech of citizens. The Democratic House will pass legislation to overturn the Citizen’s United ruling.

This Contract For America shall represent a bond between the American voter and the Democratic Party in Congress. By entrusting Democrats to once again control Congress they expect us to fulfill this contract. Conversely, If the House Democrats fail to make every effort to fulfill this contract, then we fully expect the American public to revoke our privilege and replace us in subsequent elections.

(signatures of Democrats willing to commit to the American voter)