How do we move toward a Congress that accomplishes more and isn’t reeling so often from one potential government shutdown to another?
Over my time working in the Senate as a staffer, running for Congress, serving as the U.S. trade ambassador and writing three books about the Senate, I have undoubtedly given more thought to Congress than any reasonable person should. The presidential race has become electric in the last few weeks, and I worry that congressional elections are likely to get even less attention than they usually do. This is unfortunate, because despite our focus on the presidency, America cannot have a functioning government without the legislative branch. And it is in dire shape.
While Congress has always been the butt of jokes — Will Rogers once called it “the only American criminal class” — the truth is that we had a capable Congress doing the hard work of governing from the 1950s through the 1980s, with Gallup polls showing a respectable level of public support. Things changed dramatically 30 years ago, when Newt Gingrich became speaker of the House. Gingrich viewed bipartisan cooperation with contempt; he saw politics as war; and he rode the rise of 24/7 cable news to transform the discourse of American politics to a harsher, hateful tone.