Adam Schiff: How a Democratic House would check this erratic president

[ehrnst]

What will oversight look like under a Democratic majority? Given the wealth of disturbing conduct by the Trump administration, our caucus — led by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) — will need to ruthlessly prioritize the most important matters first. In the Intelligence Committee, we will assess the work we have accomplished despite the Republican efforts at obstruction, along with what the Senate and special counsel Robert S. Mueller III have examined, and determine what else needs a full accounting. There are serious and credible allegations the Russians may possess financial leverage over the president, including perhaps the laundering of Russian money through his businesses. It would be negligent to our national security not to find out.

In the Oversight Committee, ranking Democrat Elijah E. Cummings (Md.) has said he wants to scrutinize bread-and-butter issues, such as the high cost of prescription drug prices, and corruption issues, including whether Trump is profiting off the presidency. On the Judiciary Committee, ranking Democrat Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.) is demanding oversight of potential abuse of the pardon power, attacks on the rule of law, and campaign finance violations. And Democrats on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee want to make sure veterans are getting the best care and that decisions are being made by the professionals, not Trump’s unelected cronies.

.........................................................................

Make no mistake, our first task will be to put forward a positive agenda for the American people — one that focuses on raising incomes and lowering health-care costs. But at the same time, we must do what the supine Republican Congress has failed to do over the past two years: restore Congress as an equal branch and check the ambition of an imperial and erratic president.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/congressional-republicans-have-abdicated-their-oversight-duties-time-for-a-new-majority/2018/10/12/df95c994-c8e2-11e8-9158-09630a6d8725_story.html

[Garrett78]

1. This is crucial, of course. If we don't take the House...never mind, that's too scary to consider.

[spanone]

2. K&R...

[Kurt V.]

3. K&R

[FakeNoose]

4. Thank you Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi for your leadership!

We need as many Democrats as we can get - the bigger our majority the better!
It's going to be a new day on November 7th. Get ready my friends.

[Pepsidog]

5. Dems need to be tenacious and vicious in their investigations. I want fair but through, no

bullshit investigations. Under Bush Republicans ignored congressional subpoenaa under the guise of executive privilege. That conduct cannot stand

[Cha]

6. KR!!!

[BamaRefugee]

7. Key words "RUTHLESSLY PRIORITIZE"! No more f*cking hand-wringing and kum-bi-yah bullshit!

FROM DAY ONE, SET THE CONGRESS ON FIRE.
And every single day for the next two years, a new law proposed and passed, endlessly, wiping out voter suppression and CRIMINALIZING IT AND SENDING PEOPLE TO PRISON!!!!!

[Grasswire2]

8. No more mercy.

No going along to get along.

Too many times in the last fifty years or more.

No more.

[ananda]

9. Can't wait for Dems to be in charge of the House !!!!!!!!

...

[Doitnow]

10. We can and must do both investigate the R's for how they've been (not) been running the

government AND get out our message of taking care of the real needs of the country. We can walk and chew gum at the same time.

Sometimes the media tries to make us believe the Dems have no message. They surely do. Also, I already see them act to do the selecting who on the Dem side will be the "real" contenders in the 2020 election for president AND those who will never be mentioned. AGAIN. Makes my blood boil.

[90-percent]

11. No more

We did some bad things. We tortured some folks. But we have to look forward, not backward.

Fuck that shit. It's time we prosecuted war criminals, instead of letting them remain free and walking amongst us!

-90% Jimmy

[kentuck]

12. "imperial and erratic president"?

"Make no mistake, our first task will be to put forward a positive agenda for the American people — one that focuses on raising incomes and lowering health-care costs. But at the same time, we must do what the supine Republican Congress has failed to do over the past two years: restore Congress as an equal branch and check the ambition of an imperial and erratic president."

===========

Sounds almost presidential.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

13. It's absolutely mind boggling....

to try and envision the potential workload for our Democratic Reps after we take the House.

I do believe our leadership has been studying and planning for this event for a long time, though, and that gives me comfort.

Unfortunately, they will still have to battle Repug obstructionism and somehow counter their vile media blitz......

[kentuck]

14. They obstruct everything and anything that might help the people at large.

They are fooling a lot of people.

But, I think a few Democrats are wise to what they are doing.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

16. The Clinton's "vast right-wing conspiracy" is upon us.

Nowadays much more in plain view, if our citizens would only look.

[calimary]

15. There are SUPPOSED TO BE checks 'n' balances!

ONE of the three branches of the federal government is NOT supposed to run roughshod and unchecked to ransack the joint and do whatever chicanery and weaselry they can get away with. Since they know they won’t be held accountable by ANYBODY! And they know they CAN get away with it.

We HAVE TO have some checks on the Executive branch before it runs completely amok and runs this country and whatolefy of its long held and revered institutions straight down into the bowels of Hell. And the GOP, which now owns the whole damn thing, isn’t gonna do squat.

SOMEBODY has to. We MUST take back the House, at the very least. And a few more true-blue governors’ mansions and state legislative seats wouldn’t be bad either.

VOTE, DAMMIT!!!

[ehrnst]

17. "We need to ruthlessly prioritize the most important matters first." All Dems need to be on board

with this.

There will be attempts to divide Democrats by among others, the GOP and by yes, Russia - we will start to see memes and posts that tear down party leadership for not getting putting solar energy, M4A or other progressive goals first right away. We need to be resistant to those messages.

We cannot do it all at once, we cannot put everything first and foremost. That is not simply being "passive" or "obedient," that is understanding that we are at war for our very democracy and our planet, and we have to triage the wounded.