OK newly elected Democrats, so what's the plan?

[essaynnc]

So we have a new crop of excited democratic congress people that were selected during the last election (I hesitate to call it a tsunami, but that's another post).

Has anyone laid out the priorities for the short - medium - long term for the house? What legislation will we propose and pass? I guess that I'm asking to see Nancy's plan!

Yes I know that we all want to investigate the crap out of the orange guy and his minions, and there are an unending number of issues that we can have hearings on. But I'm just not seeing vindication and opposition as being a winning strategy. Yes we're mad, and it motivated us to GOTV, but so are the Republicans, and it motivated them the same way, hence ONLY a blue wave.

I am not suggesting that we ignore the craziness of the last two years.... Crimes have been committed, laws have been broken, we need to investigate. but what's the balance? Lets show that we're the better legislators that can actually govern, and not just oppose and hold endless hearings. I think more than anything, actually governing will show that the Dems can do their jobs and get our country back on the right track.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

1. Step 1: elect a Speaker.

Not all the new Dem representatives are excited by Pelosi. But someone needs to get a majority, and fast.

[MrsCoffee]

4. Pelosi will be speaker.

They don’t have to be excited by her, but they do need to learn from her.

[MineralMan]

2. The plan will come together once the new Congress is in session.

First, a Speaker of the House must be elected. Then, the planning can begin.

[LBM20]

3. Pelosi Says: HEALTHCARE - JOBS - INFRASTRUCTURE - OPIOID CRISIS aka America's Priorities!

[beachbum bob]

5. 3 things House Democrats can do and only 3 things

- they can exert oversight on every level of the Trump admin...and take action where laws HAVE BEEN IGNORED
- they can stop ALL trump and GOP initiatives
- they have all the power on the budget and appropriations

they will have little or no chance to pass any legislation that is not approved by the Senate or Trump

[customerserviceguy]

6. There is no plan

As others have said, a Speaker needs to be elected first.

Then, we either have investigations with no legislation passing through Congress, even budgets, as Trump will be only too happy to shut the government down and blame the House for it. When Tad and Muffy in the suburbs expect to take the brood to some national park, and find that it's shut down, then they are in a position to be susceptible to Trump's ploy, and just like 2016, will see him as their "underdog". This election seems to have been about the level of pampering that suburbanites feel they haven't gotten from Republicons.

The other possibility is that Nancy Pelosi dangles investigations in front of Trump to get him to back her priorities, but the GOP Senate will not go along with them, and Trump will have little to no influence over them, other than to convince them to say that if articles of impeachment come from the House, they are inclined to acquit Trump. Of course, there's a possibility that the GOP Senate and the Democratic House will arrive at compromises in conference committee that will have some of us howling over what we gave away. And, in the final result, if Trump finds the compromises not to his satisfaction, he can always veto them, and there is no chance of any override of any of his vetoes with the composition of the Congress for the next two years.

I'm hunkered down for two years of solid gridlock, at the end of which, I can only hope that the GOP gets more blame for than our side. I can't feel very confident about that, this time around, Trump has the powers of incumbency on his side, and there are deplorables out there who will indeed vote for him, who had been discouraged two years ago; we will have to overcome them this time around, too.