Unity

During the near decade of Republican rule of the House, the occasional lack of party unity and focus among House Democrats has been disturbing. When broached on the subject, many Democrats do not believe this issue is a problem. Instead they extol the virtues of the Democratic Party, expounding on the ideals of a modern democracy by allowing dissenting views. But mention the name Sen. Zell Miller to them and they forget all about the right of dissent, they want his head on a pike.

Prior to Miller’s apparent defection the last time a Senate Democrat stayed within the party and stepped far out of line was David Boren. At issue was President Clinton’s energy bill. It had passed the House along party lines and headed to the Senate where the Democrats held a slim majority. The White House had worked hard for the bill and needed 100% party support in order to pass the bill. But Sen. Boren refused to back the bill without several poison pill provisions and it died. The loss cost the President valuable political capital. White House staffers pledged to make Boren pay for his disloyalty. Sen. Boren resigned his seat shortly after this event. He is probably the only one who knows if this event played a part in his decision to retire. If he was not going to support the party on important legislation he did the honorable thing in resigning his seat.

In the House with its current makeup, unity is harder to establish and enforce. Significant differences are evident as party members represent both large metropolitan areas, and rural farming communities. With greater numbers comes greater difference of opinion. The Democratic Party allowed dissenting opinions during their long reign in the House, provided they still held the votes necessary to pass legislation. This is the root of the current problem, too many Members remember their behavior during the majority years, and do not know how to properly act as a minority party. When Members in a minority party fail to unite together they lose what little influence they may have. The Republican Party has maintained its strong unity, exacerbating this problem. They still have some Members who remember their minority day, and also in part due to their party nominating and electing more homogeneous Members. With fewer defections by the majority party, the minority needs even greater unity.

Unity goes beyond just voting the party line. It also means Members and staffers not make comments to reporters badmouthing members of the party. The leadership and its members should ensure any dissension of opinions be kept private. This would limit the ability of the opposition to drive wedges in the party, and ultimately strengthen the party’s bargaining position with the majority.

A democratic society guarantees you the right to voice your opinion. Compromise is the true key to democracy. All parties should meet in the middle ground, and once the party has arrived at a compromise position the members of party should support it. A unified voice is a voice best heard.