SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
We must support Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats when they need our support to do the right things. We also need to push them when they need pushing. (Photo: Zach Gibson/AFP/Getty Images)
What to Expect of House Democrats
They will do little to change the growing imbalance of wealth and power in this country unless they are pushed to do so
Jan 03, 2019
Democrats are now in control of the House of Representatives, under Speaker Nancy Pelosi. I know and have worked with many of them. They are people of integrity who will strive to do what' right for America. Pelosi is tough and courageous. Were it not for her insistence, Obama would not have pushed for the Affordable Care Act.
But they are not miracle workers. Republicans still control the Senate.
They will make life harder for Trump, to be sure. They will investigate. They have the power of subpoena. The House Ways and Means Committee is specifically authorized to subpoena Trump's tax returns. They might even move to impeach Trump, if Mueller reports what I expect him to.
Do not ever underestimate the influence of Wall Street Democrats, corporate Democrats, and the Democrat's biggest funders. I know. I've been there.
But they will do little to change the growing imbalance of wealth and power in this country unless they are pushed to do so. Do not ever underestimate the influence of Wall Street Democrats, corporate Democrats, and the Democrat's biggest funders. I know. I've been there.
This is where you come in. Millions of us worked hard to create a "blue wave" and put Democrats in control of the House. But our work is not over by any stretch. Nothing good happens in Washington unless good people outside Washington are organized and mobilized to make it happen.
We must support Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats when they need our support to do the right things. We also need to push them when they need pushing. And we must fight them when they begin to cave.
So keep vigilant and active. Stay involved in the grassroots organizations that spearheaded the Democrat's victory in November - groups like Indivisible.org, MoveOn.org, aflcio.org, blacklivesmatter.org, swingleft.org, face2face-action.org, commoncause.org, friendsoftheearth.org, greenpeace.org, ourrevolution.org, publiccitizen.org, and workingfamilies.org, to name only a few. And if you're not yet activist members, join them.
The fight has only just begun.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
Robert Reich
Robert Reich is professor emeritus of public policy at Berkeley and former US secretary of labor. His latest book is the No. 1 New York Times best-seller, "Coming Up Short."
Democrats are now in control of the House of Representatives, under Speaker Nancy Pelosi. I know and have worked with many of them. They are people of integrity who will strive to do what' right for America. Pelosi is tough and courageous. Were it not for her insistence, Obama would not have pushed for the Affordable Care Act.
But they are not miracle workers. Republicans still control the Senate.
They will make life harder for Trump, to be sure. They will investigate. They have the power of subpoena. The House Ways and Means Committee is specifically authorized to subpoena Trump's tax returns. They might even move to impeach Trump, if Mueller reports what I expect him to.
Do not ever underestimate the influence of Wall Street Democrats, corporate Democrats, and the Democrat's biggest funders. I know. I've been there.
But they will do little to change the growing imbalance of wealth and power in this country unless they are pushed to do so. Do not ever underestimate the influence of Wall Street Democrats, corporate Democrats, and the Democrat's biggest funders. I know. I've been there.
This is where you come in. Millions of us worked hard to create a "blue wave" and put Democrats in control of the House. But our work is not over by any stretch. Nothing good happens in Washington unless good people outside Washington are organized and mobilized to make it happen.
We must support Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats when they need our support to do the right things. We also need to push them when they need pushing. And we must fight them when they begin to cave.
So keep vigilant and active. Stay involved in the grassroots organizations that spearheaded the Democrat's victory in November - groups like Indivisible.org, MoveOn.org, aflcio.org, blacklivesmatter.org, swingleft.org, face2face-action.org, commoncause.org, friendsoftheearth.org, greenpeace.org, ourrevolution.org, publiccitizen.org, and workingfamilies.org, to name only a few. And if you're not yet activist members, join them.
The fight has only just begun.
Robert Reich
Robert Reich is professor emeritus of public policy at Berkeley and former US secretary of labor. His latest book is the No. 1 New York Times best-seller, "Coming Up Short."
Democrats are now in control of the House of Representatives, under Speaker Nancy Pelosi. I know and have worked with many of them. They are people of integrity who will strive to do what' right for America. Pelosi is tough and courageous. Were it not for her insistence, Obama would not have pushed for the Affordable Care Act.
But they are not miracle workers. Republicans still control the Senate.
They will make life harder for Trump, to be sure. They will investigate. They have the power of subpoena. The House Ways and Means Committee is specifically authorized to subpoena Trump's tax returns. They might even move to impeach Trump, if Mueller reports what I expect him to.
Do not ever underestimate the influence of Wall Street Democrats, corporate Democrats, and the Democrat's biggest funders. I know. I've been there.
But they will do little to change the growing imbalance of wealth and power in this country unless they are pushed to do so. Do not ever underestimate the influence of Wall Street Democrats, corporate Democrats, and the Democrat's biggest funders. I know. I've been there.
This is where you come in. Millions of us worked hard to create a "blue wave" and put Democrats in control of the House. But our work is not over by any stretch. Nothing good happens in Washington unless good people outside Washington are organized and mobilized to make it happen.
We must support Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats when they need our support to do the right things. We also need to push them when they need pushing. And we must fight them when they begin to cave.
So keep vigilant and active. Stay involved in the grassroots organizations that spearheaded the Democrat's victory in November - groups like Indivisible.org, MoveOn.org, aflcio.org, blacklivesmatter.org, swingleft.org, face2face-action.org, commoncause.org, friendsoftheearth.org, greenpeace.org, ourrevolution.org, publiccitizen.org, and workingfamilies.org, to name only a few. And if you're not yet activist members, join them.
The fight has only just begun.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.