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11/20/08 |
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Richard John Neuhaus said, “Effective leadership is not only earned once; it must be earned over and over again”. Not so in the House and Senate. In fact, our committee chairmen, don’t even earn it once. The committee member with the most seniority inherits the role of leadership. Winston Churchill said, “If you have an important point to make, don’t try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit a third time, a “tremendous whack”. My most important point has been to end gridlock in Congress. I’ve been hammering on it ever since the GOP Caucus put term limits on their committee chairmen. Rotating the chairmen was a naïve and futile attempt to get new leaders with fresh ideas. It didn’t work because seniority was left in place. Consequently, Orrin Hatch gave his Judiciary gavel to Arlen Specter, next-in-line with seniority. From my own experience seniority may have a place on the factory floor, in the postal service and in the armed services. In Congress, however, it’s absurd and stupid to grant the role of leadership to the committee member with the most seniority. Under this scenario --the least competent could inherit the chairmanship. Thomas Sowell, author and columnist, said, “We need leaders with experience in the real world, not experience in the phony world of politics”. In a second article, writing about the political corruption in Washington, he wonders what could be done about it. That was written more than two years ago. Admittedly, he had no real solution. It was another example of talk, talk, and talk which doesn’t solve a problem and neither do words in print. When both parties strive to control the legislative agenda they give us a government divided in endless gridlock. So, how do we end this corrupting struggle for power between our two parties? Apparently no one has a “fix” on how to end political gridlock. A quote from FDR, our 32nd president, should give us some insight on how to accomplish our goal. In his first inaugural address he said, “There is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. There are many ways to achieve our goal, but if we only think and talk about it we won’t get there. We must act and act quickly”. For me, Churchill’s “tremendous whack” is long past due. It’s time to abolish seniority. This is the sine qua non for changing the status quo and for finding our new leaders. Unilaterally, The GOP Caucus can begin the process by letting committee members select their most qualified and persuasive member to be their chairman. With seniority gone the doors will open for new leaders with fresh ideas and with the courage and imagination to implement them. Then, most importantly, effective leadership will have to be earned more than once. Making seniority obsolete in the Republican Caucus is only a first step in ending political gridlock. The Democrat Caucus, in order to compete and stay relevant, in turn, would have to do likewise. With new leaders in both parties the status quo can change readily. Working together they can:
The President can now be accountable for his agenda. However, since a shift of a single vote in any committee would let the minority party prevail, checks and balances would remain in place. The rank and file, plus new members of Congress would love to vote for this reform. With the advantage of seniority gone, many senior incumbents would not seek re-election. With a bi-partisan search for truth we can put an end to gridlock and a divided government. Let’s fix it now. We could create a true democracy.
Hugo Cipriani |