Posted by Shyam Moondra
The White House, Senate, and House of Representatives are all controlled by the Democrats and yet they are unable to move forward on a number of defining issues such as health care and regulatory reforms. The Democratic Party lacks discipline and unity. They have wasted so much of their time bickering on health care that other important issues including regulatory reforms, executive compensation, Afghanistan, energy independence, climate change, and education still remain to be tackled.
Most of the blame for non-performance of Democrats, of course, lies with their leaders:
· President Obama has not done much to unify his party. He lacks strong leadership skills. He is way too conciliatory (President Lincoln once said, "Be sure you put your feet in the right place, and then stand firm"). Being the president means you listen well, but it also means you lead based on your convictions and twist some arms if you have to. So far, on health care, Obama has been more of a follower of a chaotic process characterized by Democrats going in thousand different directions and there is no one with a strong personality to bring them together. Obama shouldn't hesitate to withhold money for states (or threaten to close military bases in those states) whose senators and congressmen have been creating obstacles in the passage of his agenda in the Congress.
· The Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, is a total disaster. He is very weak and he has almost no control of his senate caucus. Reid should immediately step aside. The Senate Democrats need to elect a new leader, someone with the hardedge political skills of the late President Lyndon B. Johnson, who became the Senate Majority Leader in 1955 when Democrats had a majority by just one vote.
· The Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, is one of the most polarizing political figures in the country. She is extremely disliked not only by the House members but also by the population at large, as is evident by her very low approval rating. On most issues, Pelosi tends to be far left of the center where most of Americans are. It's no coincidence that many Democrats and almost all of Republicans in the House mostly vote against her. If Democrats elect a new Speaker, it will help them immensely to unify the Democrats and also win over at least some of the Republicans in the House.
· DNC Chairman, Tim Kaine, is the most invisible Chairman in the history of the Democratic Party. No one really knows where he is and what he is doing. Kaine needs to be more proactive in playing a leading role in bringing in the strayed senators and congressmen to the fold by using campaign money and other prerogatives as bargaining chips.
With the Democratic control of the White House and both houses of the Congress, they should be able to move on most issues simultaneously with a lightening speed, especially when Republicans are bogged down with their ideological tendencies (that most Americans don't agree with) and they have nothing new to offer. Unfortunately, every Democrat is playing his or her own tune - that's not the way to get things done. The so-called "Blue Dog Democrats" may get self-gratification by showing off their power but they should remember that they can't govern if they are not united. And if they can't govern then the American people are less likely to put them in power the next time around. The Democrats have a golden opportunity to get big things done but only if they could unify and work together for the good of their party and country.
