by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Nancy Pelosi may smile effusively as she welcomes the incoming members of the 116th Congress, but one suspects that behind presumptive Speaker's show of expensive dental work is at least a fair amount of trepidation regarding the two years that lie ahead. As the leader of the party in control of the House of Representatives, Pelosi should expect to move the agenda of the Democratic leadership (an agenda of which she was the primary architect) forward without too much discussion or dissension among members of her own party.
That's what she should expect, but the reality could turn out to be quite different.
One new member in particular is already throwing down markers which indicate that she has no fear of bucking Pelosi and working toward goals that she deems to be in the national interest - whether they are priorities of Pelosi or not. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez is a 29-year-old novice congresswoman out of Queens, New York, who as recently as a year ago was working as a waitress. She believes that her working class background and her connections with struggling wage-earners gives her a broad knowledge of the hardships and frustrations facing ordinary Americans, and she does not seem to be shy in engaging the powers that control Congress.
During one of Ocasio-Cortez's first full days on the Hill, as she was being "orientated," she joined in a sit-in of 150 young people who were holding down the floor outside of Nancy Pelosi's office. The youth activists were trying to draw attention to the immediate dangers of climate change and garner some show of support from the Speaker-to-Be. And there, in their midst, sat a new congresswoman who was not afraid to ruffle the feathers of one of the most powerful members of Congress.
Ocasio-Cortez just turned 29 last month, making her just under half the average age of the 116th Congress which clocks in at 58.5 years. Pelosi will be 79 in March, making her a full twenty-years older than the average member of Congress, and a full half-century older that Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, who, when she takes office in January, will be the youngest member of that body.
So far Nancy Pelosi has been the picture of grace under pressure when dealing with Ocasio-Cortez and several other seemingly emboldened new Democratic members, but one suspects that once all of the swearing-in photos are taken, Nancy will begin welding her gavel to tamp down dissident behavior. She is likely to find, however, that the effort to bring the young Turks into line may end up resembling a game of "whack-a-mole," and as she pounds one back into place, three others are likely to pop up somewhere else.
This group of newcomers has a different feel about it than other freshmen classes of the past. They almost seem to be hellbent on making a difference, and their energies and determination will not mesh well with the hoary old procedures of the House of Representatives, procedures enacted over more than two centuries with the specific aim of slowing things down and thwarting populist uprisings. Nancy Pelosi may deliver her agenda, but don't be surprised when other ideas spring directly from the floor of the House.
Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (did I mention that she is just 29?) is already pushing one idea that could have a significant impact on getting more Americans to the polls. She has announced that she favors elimination one of the ten federal holidays - Columbus Day - each year, and replacing it with a federal holiday for voting on the November Election Day of every even numbered year. That would save the federal government money because it would only have to let its workers off two days in four years for that holiday - instead of the four that Columbus Day would have eaten up - and it would also de-emphasize the importance of Christopher Columbus whose current favor in history is slipping drastically. Every thing about this plan is a plus, except Republicans and some conservative Democrats won't like it because it will give more working people an opportunity to vote - and when working people vote, people like Ocasio-Cortez wind up getting elected to office!
This particular strategy may not make it into law, but with the current surge of youth and energy within the Democratic House, other manifestations of democracy are sure to appear and demand to be heard. The iron lid of control over the House of Representatives is about to be blown, and all of the Democratic heavyweights - people like Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, and James Clyburn - will be helpless to hold it in place.
House rules and procedures be damned - the people are fixing to be heard! Hang on tight, Nancy, it's going to be a bumpy ride!
Citizen Journalist
Nancy Pelosi may smile effusively as she welcomes the incoming members of the 116th Congress, but one suspects that behind presumptive Speaker's show of expensive dental work is at least a fair amount of trepidation regarding the two years that lie ahead. As the leader of the party in control of the House of Representatives, Pelosi should expect to move the agenda of the Democratic leadership (an agenda of which she was the primary architect) forward without too much discussion or dissension among members of her own party.
That's what she should expect, but the reality could turn out to be quite different.
One new member in particular is already throwing down markers which indicate that she has no fear of bucking Pelosi and working toward goals that she deems to be in the national interest - whether they are priorities of Pelosi or not. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez is a 29-year-old novice congresswoman out of Queens, New York, who as recently as a year ago was working as a waitress. She believes that her working class background and her connections with struggling wage-earners gives her a broad knowledge of the hardships and frustrations facing ordinary Americans, and she does not seem to be shy in engaging the powers that control Congress.
During one of Ocasio-Cortez's first full days on the Hill, as she was being "orientated," she joined in a sit-in of 150 young people who were holding down the floor outside of Nancy Pelosi's office. The youth activists were trying to draw attention to the immediate dangers of climate change and garner some show of support from the Speaker-to-Be. And there, in their midst, sat a new congresswoman who was not afraid to ruffle the feathers of one of the most powerful members of Congress.
Ocasio-Cortez just turned 29 last month, making her just under half the average age of the 116th Congress which clocks in at 58.5 years. Pelosi will be 79 in March, making her a full twenty-years older than the average member of Congress, and a full half-century older that Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, who, when she takes office in January, will be the youngest member of that body.
So far Nancy Pelosi has been the picture of grace under pressure when dealing with Ocasio-Cortez and several other seemingly emboldened new Democratic members, but one suspects that once all of the swearing-in photos are taken, Nancy will begin welding her gavel to tamp down dissident behavior. She is likely to find, however, that the effort to bring the young Turks into line may end up resembling a game of "whack-a-mole," and as she pounds one back into place, three others are likely to pop up somewhere else.
This group of newcomers has a different feel about it than other freshmen classes of the past. They almost seem to be hellbent on making a difference, and their energies and determination will not mesh well with the hoary old procedures of the House of Representatives, procedures enacted over more than two centuries with the specific aim of slowing things down and thwarting populist uprisings. Nancy Pelosi may deliver her agenda, but don't be surprised when other ideas spring directly from the floor of the House.
Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (did I mention that she is just 29?) is already pushing one idea that could have a significant impact on getting more Americans to the polls. She has announced that she favors elimination one of the ten federal holidays - Columbus Day - each year, and replacing it with a federal holiday for voting on the November Election Day of every even numbered year. That would save the federal government money because it would only have to let its workers off two days in four years for that holiday - instead of the four that Columbus Day would have eaten up - and it would also de-emphasize the importance of Christopher Columbus whose current favor in history is slipping drastically. Every thing about this plan is a plus, except Republicans and some conservative Democrats won't like it because it will give more working people an opportunity to vote - and when working people vote, people like Ocasio-Cortez wind up getting elected to office!
This particular strategy may not make it into law, but with the current surge of youth and energy within the Democratic House, other manifestations of democracy are sure to appear and demand to be heard. The iron lid of control over the House of Representatives is about to be blown, and all of the Democratic heavyweights - people like Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, and James Clyburn - will be helpless to hold it in place.
House rules and procedures be damned - the people are fixing to be heard! Hang on tight, Nancy, it's going to be a bumpy ride!
No comments:
Post a Comment