Dwain Northey (Gen X)

I realize that when and if, or if and when, Democrats take back the House and Senate in November, there are going to be investigations. Lots of investigations. Investigations into the current administration, the shenanigans, the questionable decisions, the things that were done in broad daylight while everyone in charge pretended not to notice.

And honestly, we have to.

If people in power broke laws, abused their authority, misused taxpayer money, or decided the Constitution was more of a suggestion than a governing document, then somebody needs to look into it. That is what oversight is for. You don’t get to burn down the house and then complain when the next owners want to know who left the matches on the kitchen counter.

But I am looking forward to the day when our elected representatives can stop spending a considerable portion of their time investigating the previous administration and actually get back to doing the job we elected them to do.

You know, passing laws.

The whole governing thing.

Making the country better for the people who live here instead of treating Congress like a never-ending episode of Law & Order: Political Dysfunction Unit.

I understand that accountability matters. It matters a lot. Especially when the people who were supposed to protect the country decided that protecting their own political interests was a higher priority. But there comes a point when the investigation stops being the work and becomes the entire workplace.

And I would really like to see us get back to a government that spends more time asking, “What can we do to improve people’s lives?” and less time asking, “What did those assholes do last time?”

We have roads that need fixing. Healthcare that needs fixing. An economy that should work for more people than the ones who already own everything. We have an environment that would appreciate a little less political neglect. We have voting rights, education, housing, and a dozen other things that could use the attention of people who were elected to address them.

Instead, we get hearings. Subpoenas. Press conferences. Another round of cable news speculation about whether someone will be held accountable this time.

And then, six months later, we’re still waiting for the legislation.

Look, I am not suggesting we ignore wrongdoing. That would be stupid. The whole point of having a government with checks and balances is that nobody gets to do whatever the hell they want just because they won an election.

But I would like to see the investigations serve a purpose beyond giving the next election cycle something to campaign about.

Find out what happened. Hold people accountable. Fix the laws and procedures that allowed it to happen. Then move the hell on.

Because the people who elected you did not do so because they wanted you to spend four years conducting an autopsy on the last administration. They elected you because they wanted a government that works.

And I know this is a radical concept in modern American politics, but maybe we could try passing legislation that makes people’s lives better.

Maybe we could investigate the previous administration while also doing the job we were elected to do. I realize that sounds like a lot to ask from a Congress that has occasionally struggled to agree on whether the sky is blue, but I remain cautiously optimistic.

I am looking forward to the day when the headlines are about laws passed instead of laws broken.

When our representatives are competing over who has the better solution instead of who has the more damning subpoena.

When the question isn’t, “What did the last administration screw up?” but, “What are we going to do about the problems facing the country right now?”

Because accountability is necessary.

But governing is the point.

And after all the years of watching Washington turn into a perpetual investigation with occasional legislation, I would really like to see us get back to the part where the people we elected actually do something for the people who elected them.

Imagine that.

A government that investigates when it needs to, passes laws when it should, and doesn’t confuse the two as if they’re interchangeable.

I know. Crazy talk.

But November is coming.