American Consequences - January 2019

STALEMATE AND STRUGGLE

President Barack Obama found it difficult to get anything done after the 2010 midterms brought to Congress a Republican majority determined to block administration initiatives. ENOUGH POWER TO INVESTIGATE, NOT LEGISLATE While today’s House Democrats hold different political beliefs than did their party brethren 144 years ago, they confront a similar situation. A Republican president and Senate spell doom for the Democratic House’s legislative agenda. But Democrats can check their foes’ ambitions. A target-rich environment of rumored corruption, malfeasance, and scandal may prove sufficiently tempting to spark a series of investigations that could undermine the Trump presidency. They could also enhance Democratic political prospects for 2020. Originally published on The Conversation

Even if the majority party retains control of both the presidency and both houses of Congress, a president may still find his agenda languishes. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s desire for additional New Deal initiatives was frustrated by Republican gains in 1938. Those gains allowed the minority party to join with southern Democrats to block further legislation. Sometimes the opposition party increases its control of both houses. In 1866, an overwhelming Republican triumph led to veto- proof majorities in the Senate and the House. Just two years after the end of slavery, Republicans wanted to pass Reconstruction legislation to re-establish state governments throughout the South that included African- Americans as voters, convention delegates and officeholders. When Democratic President Andrew Johnson tried to obstruct the legislation’s passage, lawmakers overrode his vetoes. On occasion, the party in the White House loses control of both houses of Congress, forcing the president to seek common ground with his political foes where possible. Just as often, the outcome results in stalemate and confrontation. President Bill Clinton resisted House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s vision of a “Contract with America,” which promoted slashing various federal programs, eventually leading to a pair of government shutdowns totaling 27 days in 1995 and 1996.

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