General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Other than Katie Porter & a couple others, the Democratic Party STILL doesn't know how to fight back [View all]betsuni
(25,119 posts)Gutting of Capitol Hill staff began with the Gingrich Revolution, getting rid of lawyers, economics, investigators, auditors, analysts, and subject-matter experts. After the 2010 elections they cut even deeper:
"It's not as if the halls of Capitol Hill grew empty, free of scurrying staffers. Rather, Republicans dismissed policy-making aides and hired communications staffers -- whose principal responsibilities included writing talking points and raising their bosses' media profiles. GOP lawmakers, quite literally, decided to become less invested in governing and more invested in public relations. .... between 2011 and 2014 ... policy-making staff shrank by nearly 20 percent, while press and communications staff grew by nearly 15 percent. ... All of this was the opposite of what a governing party is supposed to prioritize."
Steve Benen, "The Impostors, How Republicans Quit Governing and Seized American Politics"
Democrats prefer to actually govern.