Tucker Scott ‘26
Opinions Editor
For the past fifty years the government has been run by the silent generation. And nothing has been done. If anything, divisions have gotten much much worse. Gridlock, compromise, and political disagreements have been symbolic of the federal government and politics in general. Now finally these politicians are retiring at the ripe old age of 80 or older after holding onto power for half a century.
Now on its own gridlock, compromise, and political disagreements aren’t a bad thing. In fact they are quite good. That is how our system works and was designed. So that in order to enact any major policy you would need a broad majority to ensure that both the minority and the majority’s rights are protected. Hypothetically it should lead to more moderate policy that best serves all Americans. But when both parties decide to just give up and not do anything but continuously fund the government each year, it leads to a breakdown in the governmental order and is what frustrates and sows seeds of malcontent among the populace.
The clearest example is the Tea Party rallying against Obamacare. Republicans promised for four straight elections to overturn and replace Obamacare. Yet once they had power, none of that happened. Democrats likewise have been campaigning on gun control policy for decades, and yet every time they have power nothing happens. We have been debating policy on major issues for decades and yet Congress and the federal government has made no effort to represent the desires and ideas of the American people. Even if it’s a policy that I don’t agree with, at least try to enact it, so we can see the consequences of the ideas and change policy. And changes could be made to a bill and updates would be made no doubt, which is when politicians would listen to their constituents and explain that while they might not get everything they want, they are forwarding their principles as much as possible. It is better to do something and be wrong then do nothing and be right.
This change in government status is coming about thanks to younger voters. Gen Z voters have found common ground on a number of polarizing issues, from abortion to immigration and from foreign policy to medicare. They are more moderate and are demanding change and action from their governmental officials. Now this is not translated into immediate change because many of the older politicians have many of the power seats, however the shift can be seen even now with the passing of the Laken Riley Act. We in this country have been debating immigration policy for decades, and yet nothing has been done. Within a few years of Nancy Pelosi leaving the Speakership of the House and a few months of Mitch McConnell stepping down from Senate leadership, an immigration bill passed with a broad majority in both the House and Senate. A shocking 48 Democrats (264 – 159) in the House and 12 Democrats in the Senate (64 – 35) joined Republicans to pass the Laken Riley Act with a broad supermajority. To be sure you can hate the bill and what it represents, good news is in two years there will be another election and if the voters agree, the Congress can overturn the bill. But at least something is actually being done to solve the issues the American people face.
It’s why I prefer the politics of AOC over Nancy Pelosi, of Matt Gaetz over Mitch McConnell. Because you can disagree with what they believe. Believe me I have strenuous disagreements with both politicians and I shudder to think what would happen if either gained any notable amount of political power. But at least they want to get something done. At least they are honest and actually are trying to enact the policy that their districts want. AOC ran as a democratic socialist and was elected as a democratic socialist and has been trying to enact the changes that her district apparently desires. I would rather her than Nancy Pelosi’s manipulation behind the scenes where she says that she’s moderate but also that she’s progressive while also doing nothing. Same thing for Matt Gaetz and Mitch McConnell.
The only way anything gets passed is these giant omnibus bills that are 900 pages long and drop at midnight and everyone is expected to vote yes or no. That isn’t how the founding fathers envisioned government being run. That isn’t how the government should be run. Instead Congressman and Senators should be forced to vote yes or no on every piece of legislation and have it come up in separate bills. This will get these officials on record so we can better know what they believe and, if necessary, replace them with those who better reflect our views.
Featured images courtesy of The University News
Copy Edited by Lilly Baumfeld ’28
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