It was neither the best of times nor was it the worst of times.

The ongoing debate over the future of America was not resolved yesterday.  But there were a few simple truths.

Racism in America

Yesterday, a significant portion of voters chose not to reject the Republicans’ closing message.  Black candidates are unqualified to run state governments.  Latinos seeking a better life for their children are criminals and a threat to America. A candidate with a foreign sounding name is scarier than a candidate indicted for using a quarter million dollars in campaign funds for personal use.

Racism in America is alive and well.  Yes, it needs to be called out.  But the best antidote may be how the African-Americans, Latinos and Muslims who won election to state and federal office yesterday represent their constituents.  What better way to say, “See, I am one of you.  The same things that are important to you are also important to me.”

Oversee the Constitution, Not Trump

Within minutes of NBC’s projection the Democrats would retake the House of Representatives, the likely chair of the House Ways and Means Committee Richard Neal said he hopes to obtain Donald Trump’s tax returns either voluntarily from Trump or, if necessary, from the IRS.  There were also reports Democrats have a list of 60 plus subpoenas ready for administration officials next January.

The new House leadership would be wise to listen to incoming chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Elijah Cummings.

Right now, we have a president who is accountable to no one. I don’t want people to think we are going to rush in and beat up on Trump.  But, we need to look at all the things the President has done that go against the mandates of our founding fathers in the Constitution.

The worst thing Democrats could do is duplicate the efforts of special counsel Robert Mueller.  Their primary responsibility is to ensure Mueller is allowed to complete his investigation unfettered and the American people have access to his findings.  In other words, “Let Mueller be Mueller.”

And for heaven’s sake, heed the lessons of Watergate.  Impeachment is not the way to remove a president.  Remember, when it became clear Richard Nixon had violated his oath of office, there was a bi-partisan consensus he needed to resign or (as we just learned from the release of archived documents) face criminal indictment.  Unless there is iron-clad evidence of crimes, there is no way 67 Senators will vote for conviction.  And if there is such evidence, the Republicans will be quite eager to get rid of that albatross around their neck and demand Trump’s resignation.

The committees do need to take their oversight responsibilities seriously.  There are many items on Trump’s agenda which need to be stopped dead in their tracks.  But do not use Trump’s personal flaws and possible malfeasance to make that happen.  Reject the agenda because the agenda is bad for America.  And use the oversight function to make that case to the public.

Solve Problems

Which brings me to what Democrats should be doing on day one of the new Congress.  If the term had not already been used, I would suggest they issue a “contract with America.”  Trump and the GOP have focused on repealing the Affordable Care Act and on corporate welfare and tax cuts for the wealthiest in lieu of  issues and injustices which could be quickly addressed.  So, on day one, the Democrats should introduce legislation to do the following:

• Give permanent status to the Dreamers who qualify under DACA guidelines.
• Decriminalize marijuana, reduce felonies for possession to misdemeanors and commute the sentences of those who have been incarcerated based solely on possession.
• Reinstate the Voting Rights Act and make it apply to all 50 states.
• Reverse the Federal Communications Commission repeal of net neutrality.
• Allow the Department of Health and Human Services to negotiate Medicare and Medicaid prescription drug prices with pharmaceutical companies.
• Require federal background checks on all gun purchases.
• Fund major infrastructure investments to be paid for with a dollar for dollar reduction in the 2017 tax cuts.
• Congressionally mandate participation in the Paris Climate Accords.
• Congressionally mandate participation in the Iran nuclear arms agreement.
• Make election day a federal holiday and encourage state and local governments and private employers to honor America by also declaring it a holiday.

Based on polling, there is strong public support for all of these proposals.  Be the House of Representatives.  Represent the people.

A National Disgrace

In the most technologically advanced country in the world, there is no reason why any American should have to wait in line for four hours to vote or have to worry whether their vote is correctly registered.  Instead of issuing subpoenas, on day one of the next Congress, the House Judiciary Committee should introduce legislation which would mandate all electronic voting systems have a paper backup in case the count needs to be audited and prohibit the obvious conflict of interest when individuals, such as a Secretary of State, oversee an election process in which they are a candidate for statewide office.

The House Judiciary Committee should also request the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice to study the distribution of polling resources within each state.  Of particular interest are discrepancies between rural and urban areas or why a university campus with over 50,000 students has a single polling place.

Conclusion

On Tuesday morning, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders described the election as a contest between problem solvers and obstructionists.  Of course, she implied that Democrats were the ones creating all the road blocks.  (Projection has been honed to a fine art by Trump and his surrogates.) Nancy Pelosi has the opportunity to prove her wrong.  The exit polls confirm voters were more worried about things that affect their lives–health care, immigration, the economy–than the tone of the national discourse.

Trump will be emboldened by yesterday’s results.  And his advisors will continue to believe their interests are best served when they “Let Trump be Trump.”  Pelosi and the Democratic party can either fuel that fire by giving Trump and the GOP an excuse to say, “I told you so.”  Or they can do what the voters elected them to do.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP