To all liberals - especially those in Hollyweed - whose heads are still exploding over the election of Donald Trump, stand down and relax. Congressional Republicans have your back.
In what can only be called one of the most tone-deaf actions the party of Lincoln has ever delivered, House Republicans voting on a 2017 rules package decided the first vote of the new Republican rule in Washington would be to restructure the independent ethics office overseeing House members.
Not even Donald Trump can drain the swamp when status quo Republicans have a fire hose on the other bank pumping enough water to turn the swamp into Lake Michigan. Of course, after seeing the backlash the next day and being chastised by Trump, Republicans backed off the vote in what is clearly an embarrassing start for the House. You have to wonder if these folks were even paying attention to what voters said in November.
Unfortunately for the 62,979,879 people who voted for Trump, this lack of understanding of what voters are saying is not solely related to the decision to alter the rules for the ethics office. There seems to be a thread in Congress that belies the harmony promoted by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan. At the very least, there appears to be little understanding of whose name was on the top of the ballot in November.
Exactly who elected Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham president? Based on their comments about the widely analyzed Russian hacking episode, McCain and Graham took it upon themselves to go way beyond senatorial talking points in whacking Russia and Vladimir Putin over the head. Similar to what President Obama has done with all his antics in trying to preserve his legacy and make Trump's entrance as difficult as possible, McCain and Graham were unable to control themselves and do what was best for Trump by moderating their responses.
It seems virtually every Republican wants to repeal Obamacare, one of the core promises Trump made on the campaign trail. Senate Republicans introduced the repeal this week as part of a budget bill that Democrats cannot filibuster. Yet, for all the bold talk, what have congressional Republicans done to prepare a replacement plan? It appears little.
What they are talking about now is some grand ceremonial vote that includes the Obamacare repeal, getting Trump to sign it and then going home and saying, "Look what I did." All the while, Republican lawmakers are talking about actually replacing the program over a period of years (plural). I understand you can't do a replace plan all at once, but we don't even have an outline yet. We are two months short of the seven-year anniversary of the health care law being passed. One would think some time over seven years Republicans might have dedicated a little time to thinking past the initial repeal vote.
We can only hope that as the administration unfolds in 2017, congressional Republicans will realize getting the job done for those citizens who voted in November is the most important objective. Trump understands the need for compromise, and he will do so when compromise is in the best interest of America. Whether it is the wall, tax reform, infrastructure or immigration, it is likely, but unfortunate, that Trump will not only have Democratic opposition but also opposition from different groups of Republicans.
Trump's vision for the country will require every lesson he has learned in negotiating toward a solution. It will make "The Art of the Deal" look like child's play.
W. Davis Lundy is director of Small Cities Coalition of Hamilton County, a former small business owner and a practicing journalist.