Dear Congressional Democrats,

As you’re already aware, you’re about to get clobbered in today’s elections. You’re likely to lose the House and may, if you’re lucky, hold on to the Senate by the slimmest of margins. While I’m far from your biggest fan, I tend to agree with your positions more than with Republican stances, and I hope to see you become the energized, intellectually vibrant party that political discourse in this country sorely needs. Perhaps in examining how you got into this mess in the first place, we can devise some strategies for how to best move forward.

First off, you’ve had a couple of strikes against you that aren’t entirely your fault. As some might say, “It’s the economy, stupid,” and on that front you’re hurting. Unemployment is dragging along at 9.6 percent, and third-quarter growth of two percent won’t even begin to make a dent in that number. While your ability to affect market forces is minimal, none of these economic conditions inspires voters’ confidence in your governing abilities. America’s military performance abroad is similarly underwhelming, another knock against you that you can’t entirely change.

But I think what really ails you is entirely within your control. It goes beyond any particular policy or law and has everything to do with psychology. You’re about to lose these elections because you’re spineless. Yes, Obama inherited many messes from his predecessor, but you’ve shown little-to-no passion in attempting to tackle those problems. Even when you do manage to get something mildly constructive done, like passing landmark health care legislation, you promptly run away from your accomplishments.

For instance, you’ve apparently decided that health care can only be used advantageously by Republicans. We all know that the law was far from perfect, but I’ve heard no full-throated defenses of its more popular provisions, like its allowance for young adults to stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26 or its mandate that insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to those with pre-existing conditions. Republican vows to repeal this legislation imply opposition to provisions like these which benefit a great number of Americans. Yet I’ve heard few Democrats championing the law in the campaign. Democrats, since when do you cede entire issues to the opposition? Have you completely lost any and all conviction in your accomplishments simply because your political opponents have adeptly twisted them to their advantage?

You may attribute your leadership deficiencies to your belligerent and completely uncooperative opposition party. This is partly true, but only partly. Apparently Republican threats to filibuster a vote are enough to derail any bill, and you won’t even bring to a vote anything for which you lack at least a 60-person majority. Aside from this complete abuse of the filibuster solely for obstruction, why not force Republicans to make good on their threats? Strom Thurmond’s 24-hour-plus filibuster of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 didn’t stop the Senate from passing that historic legislation. Why do you let even the mere possibility of a filibuster cripple any legislative priority? Bowing to that threat tells Americans you’re really not all that passionate about your agenda.

Now, I’m not saying that, as you transition to a minority in the House and potentially a slim majority in the Senate, you should do what Republicans did after 2008 and become unequivocally hostile and uncooperative. Remaining passionate about your principles and priorities doesn’t mean you should never work or compromise with Republicans. But don’t let their adept political maneuvering push you away from your ideals.

It all comes down to Wedding Crashers’ Rule 76: No excuses, play like a champion. Grow a spine. Show us that you care about your principles.

Respectfully,

Hana Suckstorff

Hana Suckstorff is a Weinberg senior. She can be reached at [email protected].