General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRepublicans have been fighting a "procedural war," while Democrats fight a "policy war."
The posting of a David Faris article and this SCOTUS news reminded me that someone had asked me to re-post the following article, which is one I think Democrats better take to heart once they are back in power or sooner:
https://www.vox.com/2018/5/1/17258866/democratic-party-republicans-trump-election
I definitely want to get into some of these structural barriers, but lets be clear about this point youre making. A lot of people still think theres some meaningful connection between policy outcomes and voter decisions, but theres a good bit of political science research to suggest thats just a fantasy.
David Faris
Right. People just dont seem to make the connection between policies and the party in power.
So, for example, the Democrats passed Obamacare and gave millions of people heath care, and yet tons of people who benefited from it have no idea what it is or how they benefited. And its like that with a lot of policies voters simply dont connect the dots, and so they reward or punish the wrong party.
I think the idea that were going to deliver these benefits to people and theyre going to be like, Thank you Jesus, thank you for everything that youve done, let me return you with a larger majority next time, is just nonsense. Its the wrong way to think about politics.
That doesnt mean we shouldnt do things for people, but weve got to be serious about how elections are won. And theyre not being won on the basis of policy proposals or policy wins.
Sean Illing
In the book, you say that Democrats are engaged in policy fights and Republicans are waging a procedural war. What does that mean?
David Faris
The Constitution is a shockingly short document, and it turns out that its extremely vague on some key procedures that we rely on to help government function at a basic level. For the government to work, cooperation between parties is needed. But when that cooperation is withdrawn, it creates chaos.
Since the 90s, when Newt Gingrich took over Congress, weve seen a one-sided escalation in which Republicans exploit the vagueness or lack of clarity in the Constitution in order to press their advantage in a variety of arenas from voter ID laws to gerrymandering to behavioral norms in the Congress and Senate.
Sean Illing
What the Republicans did to Merrick Garland was one of the most egregious examples Ive ever seen.
David Faris
Right. They essentially stole a seat on the Supreme Court a swing seat, no less. But they correctly argued that they had no clear constitutional obligation to consider the presidents nominee for the seat. They didnt violate the Constitution. They violated the spirit of the Constitution. They violated the norms that have allowed these institutions to function normally for years and years.
This is the sort of maneuvering and procedural warfare Im talking about, and the Republicans have been escalating it for two decades. And theyve managed to entrench their power through these dubious procedures.
The result is that the structural environment is biased against Democrats and the Republicans have engineered it that way.
...more at the link.
Phoenix61
(17,028 posts)I've seen 16 year olds use this very effectively.
Garrett78
(10,721 posts)I dont really disagree with your logic, but doesnt this spiral of norm-violating give you pause? I get that this is a war Republicans are already waging, and its near suicidal for Democrats to ignore that. But I wonder what the end game is here.
David Faris
Were in the midst of a slow-motion unraveling of democracy in this country. If we dont return the favor with some of this procedural war stuff, the only other option is to continue watching the other side do it. Thats not an acceptable option in my opinion.
I dont think we can restore order by respecting rules that are not respected by Republicans. I do believe well have to find a way to end this procedural war at some point, but now is not that time. Republicans need to know what its like to be on the other end of normative violations. The Republicans are behaving like a party that believes it will never be held accountable for anything theyre doing, and so far they havent been.
That has to change before we can fix this mess.
elleng
(131,457 posts)If we dont return the favor with some of this procedural war stuff, the only other option is to continue watching the other side do it. Thats not an acceptable option in my opinion.'
Phoenix61
(17,028 posts)and beat their evil little asses at it. I think if we had they would have knocked it off and we could have gone back to ruling like adults.
elleng
(131,457 posts)in which Republicans exploit the vagueness or lack of clarity in the Constitution in order to press their advantage in a variety of arenas from voter ID laws to gerrymandering to behavioral norms in the Congress and Senate.'