We just got used to a new Democratic ticket. Now we have to deal with a whole Convention! Some commentators fuss about getting the candidates’ own proposals. Others insist they vote for people, not parties. I take a different view, more focused on candidates’ alliances – who will influence them, affect the shape of legislation and implement their policies.
Plainly presidents have to bargain with Congress and survive the Supreme Court. Even Franklin Roosevelt, with an overwhelmingly Democratic Congress, couldn’t get his plan to pack the Supreme Court passed so that nine old men in black robes wouldn’t prevent him from modernizing the economy and taking care of the American people. But his associates helped him shape legislation so the Court would accept it.[1] And in combination they created a much fairer world for American workers. No one can do the presidency solo. There’s too much and it’s too complex.
Instead of specific proposals, we need to know the direction presidents will take. Lyndon Johnson’s specific proposals were less important than his committment to equal rights and anti-poverty legislation. Obama’s specific proposals for medical care were less important than his commitment to getting legislation that would pass Congress. Biden got important legislation through Congress with the aid of a strong team.
It mattered that they had the right allies. They knew some of America’s greatest public servants and could appoint highly talented and committed cabinets and staffs. I had the pleasure of studying with Francis Perkins, Roosevelt’s Secretary of Labor in both New York and Washington. She witnessed the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist fire in New York City and entered public service determined to protect the men and women who do the work that we and our families rely on and helped steer labor legislation that has been fundamental ever since. Roosevelt’s wife, Eleanor, dedicated her life to working with so-called ordinary Americans and became a crucial advisor to her husband. They and many other allies and advisors were important for what Franklin Roosevelt brought to the White House.
No candidate is an island. People are more than their platforms – their accomplishments will depend very much on whom they trust and appoint. I think my Congressional representative has an excellent understanding of the issues but it matters that I expected him to support Nancy Pelosi and Hakeem Jeffries because they were effective in advancing important legislation. And it matters that Biden chose Kamala Harris, a multi-racial woman as his running mate, and that Harris has now balanced her ticket with a running mate who has strong connections and understanding of the American heartland.
You’ll better understand Trump’s direction by looking at the Federalist Society’s Supreme Court preferences and the Heritage Foundation’s proposals for 2025. Trump can disavow them as much as he wants but the people around him will do the dirty work and they’re dedicated to taking bureaucracy apart so that the powerful can have decisions in their favor. That’s a guarantee of lousy government, incompetent services and irresponsible business. The Federalist Society has already shown the consequences of turning to them for Supreme Court picks.
I have enormous respect and a lot of confidence in Kamala Harris, and it’s buttressed by the quality of people she associates with and consults. Harris pulled Gov. Walz onto the ticket. Supporters she considered for the ticket include Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders who she ran against in primaries four years ago are on her team as are Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, leaders of the Senate and the House Democrats, among many other excellent people on the Harris team. I could choose which one I like best, but a good team needs all its players.
Harris will be a strong leader with a great team – infinitely better than the Trump-Federalist Society-Heritage Foundation combination.
[1] See e.g. Michele Landis Dauber, "Overtaken by a Great Calamity:" Disaster Relief and the Origins of the American Welfare State: The Sympathetic State, 23 Law & Hist. Rev. 387, 388 (2005).
Steve Gottlieb’s latest book is Unfit for Democracy: The Roberts Court and The Breakdown of American Politics. He is the Jay and Ruth Caplan Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Albany Law School, served on the New York Civil Liberties Union board, on the New York Advisory Committee to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, and as a US Peace Corps Volunteer in Iran.
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