Democratic Dilemma
Though they're kings of the Hill, not much is getting done
Democrats are in a real hurry. They're struggling to plow through a broad range of issues on Capitol Hill: an expansion of children's health insurance, implementation of 9/11 commission recommendations (which actually did pass late last week), and new lobbying and ethics rules. If they can pass more of this legislation before leaving late this week for the August recess, Democratic lawmakers figure they can return home with a decent report card.
That's if the public hasn't already given them an F. After taking over both houses of Congress last fall and enjoying a brief honeymoon, Democrats are facing a public that has reverted to being fed up with Washington gridlock. Democrats started off with a tidy list of poll-tested issues and won some early coups, but now they have run into trouble on big issues like the war in Iraq and immigration reform. Not our fault, Dems say; Republicans are tying things up. But the public sees a Congress that's not getting much done, and the Democrats are ultimately in charge. And that puts the Dems in a political bind. The window of opportunity to get much done is closing, because the political silly season—campaign 2008—is moving into full swing.
Congressional approval ratings hit a high of 37 percent in February, but they've since plummeted to 27 percent, four points below President Bush's ratings. Congressional ratings are never stellar, but Democrats haven't done enough to prevent the public from returning to its usual state of discontent with Washington, says Princeton Prof. Julian Zelizer. "Frustration," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says. "That's probably the kindest word that may be applied."
Bogged down. The Democratic presidential hopefuls are taking notice, too, even if Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Chris Dodd are all themselves members of the bogged-down Senate. "People in '06 voted to end the war," says Clinton adviser Howard Wolfson. "They don't quite understand why it's not."
Iraq is the most prominent of the unresolved issues. But the fact is that just two of the Democrats' original six priorities for this year—an increase in the minimum wage and the 9/11 reforms—have been passed, with most of the rest stuck in the Senate. Democrats control the Senate with a 51-to-49 advantage, but to end debate, the key number of votes is 60, meaning nine Republicans must break ranks. It's a game of tit for tat, with the parties simply trading places from last year. Republicans like Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona blast Democrats as a "do-nothing Congress" or a "post office Congress"—for the dozen or so bills passed to rename post offices. Democrats respond by calling Republicans "obstructionists" for tying up Congress with procedural technicalities. "Delay for delay's sake," carps Hoyer.
Democrats are still trumpeting a list of accomplishments: the wage hike, the first in a decade; increased funding for veterans' healthcare; and more than $6 billion in Hurricane Katrina relief. House Democrats also boast of more than 500 oversight hearings since January. In the Senate, Democrats brag of 100 congressional hearings on Iraq alone. "We're going to have 100 more," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid cheers. A celebration Democrats held on the wage issue with a labor union crowd last week portrayed the struggle between the parties. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi beamed, "This is a day that signals change." Republicans countered with posters saying, "The American People Just Called. They Want Their Vote Back." Newspaper editorialists don't seem too sympathetic with either side. The Chicago Tribune titled its view of Congress: "The art of ... not much."
Democratic activists have run television ads ahead of the recess that praise Pelosi and Reid for a "willingness to act." Congress will take up Iraq policy again in September, but Democrats won't find the going any easier. "No one is going to want to give the other party something to campaign on," says Zelizer.
Still, Democratic leaders take comfort in some poll results. "It's the Republican incumbents who are suffering," says Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York. The three freshmen Democratic senators in Ohio, Missouri, and Virginia have approval ratings above 44 percent, and a poll of House contests that Republicans narrowly won in 2006 now shows Democrats on average in the lead. "Who do we have on our side?" Schumer asks. "The American people." For how long, though, will depend a great deal on what they're able to accomplish, especially on Iraq, in the coming months. Given the current atmosphere, it's hard to be optimistic.
With Liz Halloran
This story appears in the August 6, 2007 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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