Could we get a revolution in the House? BlueRidgeNow.com

LeRoy Goldman
The Shadow Knows

Published: Sunday, February 3, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

We all know that most Americans have nothing but contempt for the way Washington doesn't work, and we know that there's plenty of blame that belongs on the shoulders of both parties.

In fact, the problem is growing worse. Recent polling by Public Policy Polling, a national survey company, tells us that the American people have a more favorable view of root canals, head lice, used car salespeople and cockroaches than they do of Congress. Congress still outpolls Lindsay Lohan, but it's close (45 percent to 41 percent).

The hard fact of the matter is that the epicenter of the gridlock in Washington is the House of Representatives. It isn't a House of Representatives. It's a police state!

Every member of Congress shares the same priority, getting re-elected. And House members figured out long ago that the best way to get re-elected is to have a district that the other party can never win. It's called gerrymandering.

It's become an art form that both parties employ with the use of sophisticated software that enables them to draw district lines so that they win and your vote makes no real difference.

Of the 435 House districts, well over 300 of them are gerrymandered in this way. Both parties do it, and neither is willing to cry out, "Stop me before I kill again."

In most states, the 10-year reconfiguration of congressional district lines is done by the state legislatures. Look what happened here in North Carolina two years ago when the GOP took control of the General Assembly for the first time in over a century. At that time, the N.C. congressional delegation had seven Democrats and six Republicans. After redistricting, it now has nine Republicans and four Democrats.

Our own district here in the mountains is a perfect example. The good ol' boys in Raleigh sliced out the heavily Democratic precincts in Asheville and moved them to an adjoining heavily Republican district, where their addition made no material difference, and voila, Mark Meadows wins going away!

But once all these gerrymandered congressmen (and women) get to the Hill, the story gets worse — a lot worse. One of the most powerful committees in the House is one that you've never heard of — the House Rules Committee. No bill can reach the House floor without first passing through the Rules Committee. There it gets a rule that dictates what can happen to it on the House floor.

Virtually every bill of significance is given a "closed rule." That means when the bill reaches the House floor, the minority party is precluded from offering any amendments that would change the bill. There's the sharp end of the stick in the police state.

Speaker John Boehner appoints all the Republican members of the committee, and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi appoints all the Democratic members. All of them are their respective leader's puppets. Think of them as Don Corleone's Luca Brasis and Clemenzas — thugs.

And with the rise of the tea party zealots since 2010, a bad situation has become immeasurably worse. They control the House Republican Caucus. They will not compromise. Their rallying cry is the defeat or humiliation of the president of the United States. They have become the House organ grinder and Boehner is their dancing monkey.

None of us should be surprised at this tawdry tale. I'll bet many of you have seen private or public organizations right here in Hendersonville that get into trouble because their elected leaders fail to do their jobs and then focus their energy on saving their collective hides. Too frequently when this happens, the members of the organization are either ignorant of what's going on, cognitively challenged, or lack the courage to demand change. If that occurs in our backyard, why should we be surprised that it happens in Washington?

But what's the point? Is all of this hopeless? Maybe not. The Republicans only control the House by 17 votes. Think what would happen if 17 or more Republicans chose to break ranks on crucial procedural and substantive votes. It would change everything. Not only would the GOP have lost control of the House and the shape of legislation, but the power of the tea party would be profoundly undercut.

And there's more. If a band of Republicans defied party discipline, it's likely that moderate Democrats would soon begin to do the same thing. And most importantly, it would not be long before President Barack Obama realized that, by negotiating with this growing block of moderates from both parties in the House, he could make progress on a host of issues that otherwise were out of reach.

Forget it, you say. It will never happen. It has happened! David Rogers in a post on POLITICO.com last month reported that in 1981 House Minority Leader Bob Michel seized control of the House with the help of 29 Democrat defections. The bold move made possible the enactment of billions of budget cuts supported by President Ronald Reagan.

Plotting a successful revolution requires careful planning, brilliance and courage. A man who could put all of this into play is Republican Congressman Peter King of New York. Initially elected from a district in central Long Island in 1992, King is now the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. He is a moderate conservative and recently blasted Boehner for delaying the vote on aid for the victims of Superstorm Sandy.

King has the moxie and the connections to put all of this together. Maybe The Shadow can help him plot a revolution.

Although the Shadow’s whereabouts remain unknown, readers can reach Goldman at: Email Me