Dwain Northey (Gen X)

The Work’s Not Over

Well, would you look at that. It appears that when Democrats actually get off their asses, read the assignment, and show up to vote, things can happen. Last night, voters stepped up. They sent a message, and hopefully a pretty unmistakable one: enough is enough. It looks like we’re taking back the reins of Congress, and come January, we’ll have an opportunity to start steering this country in a different direction.

Take a moment and enjoy that. Seriously. After everything we’ve watched over the past several years, a little political optimism is probably good for the soul. We ran through the tape, we showed up, and we did what needed to be done.

But here’s the thing: the work isn’t over. Not even close.

We have a tendency in politics to treat winning an election like crossing the finish line. It isn’t. It’s the starting gun for the next race. And the people we elected need to understand that they weren’t sent to Washington to celebrate, collect their committee assignments, and spend the next two years making cable news appearances. They were sent there to do a job.

And that job isn’t simply to get even.

Yes, there need to be investigations. Plenty of them. We need to examine the damage done to our institutions, the abuse of executive authority, the questionable dealings, and the people who decided that loyalty to one man was more important than loyalty to the Constitution. There may very well be grounds for impeachment. Some people in this administration might finally discover that accountability isn’t just a word Democrats use in campaign advertisements.

But impeachment, investigations, and political retribution cannot become the entire Democratic agenda. We cannot spend the next two years doing nothing but pointing at the mess and shouting about who made it. We already know who made it. We watched the damn thing happen in real time.

Our primary responsibility is to the people who stepped up and voted for us.

They didn’t vote Democratic because they wanted another political circus. They voted because they want affordable healthcare, reasonable prescription prices, better wages, affordable housing, functioning schools, infrastructure that doesn’t crumble around them, and an economy that works for ordinary Americans instead of a handful of billionaires. They want their Social Security protected, their retirement secure, their rights respected, and their government to actually give a damn whether they’re getting ahead or simply managing to survive another month.

That’s the assignment.

And if we spend two years investigating Donald Trump but accomplish absolutely nothing to improve the lives of the people who put us in office, then we’ve missed the point entirely. We will have traded one political circus for another, and the American people deserve better than that.

Now, let’s talk about something else: the power of the purse.

Apparently, somewhere along the way, Congress forgot that it is an equal branch of government. Under Mike Johnson’s leadership, the House essentially dropped its pants, handed over its constitutional responsibilities, and let Donald Trump run around pretending he was the king of the United States. The Senate hasn’t exactly covered itself in glory either.

Well, gentlemen, it’s time to pull your pants back up.

Congress has constitutional responsibilities, and one of the biggest is controlling federal spending. The president does not own the Treasury. He doesn’t get to spend money simply because he wants to, and a Supreme Court that occasionally seems determined to reinterpret presidential authority doesn’t magically turn the executive branch into a monarchy.

Congress controls appropriations. Congress has oversight responsibilities. Congress has the authority to investigate, hold hearings, subpoena witnesses, and use the legislative powers granted to it by the Constitution.

And yes, that means we can refuse to authorize funding for things that violate the law, ignore congressional intent, or undermine the interests of the American people. We can use the power of the purse as the constitutional check it was always intended to be, rather than treating it like some ceremonial responsibility we hand over to the White House.

I have absolutely no doubt Trump will attempt to obstruct, intimidate, threaten, and generally throw the political equivalent of a five-year-old’s temper tantrum. That’s what happens when someone accustomed to getting his way suddenly discovers that other people have authority, too.

Let him.

This isn’t a monarchy. It isn’t an authoritarian government. It isn’t a Trump-branded corporation where the CEO gets to fire anybody who disagrees with him and spend everybody else’s money however he pleases.

It’s a constitutional republic with three branches of government. Equal branches. Checks and balances. Separation of powers. These aren’t decorative phrases printed in a civics textbook. They’re the operating instructions for our government.

And it’s about damn time somebody started following them again.

Democrats need to take back the responsibilities that congressional leadership willingly surrendered. They need to stand up, assert their authority, and remind the executive branch that the Constitution doesn’t have a presidential exception clause.

But more importantly, they need to govern.

Fix the healthcare mess. Protect working families. Restore environmental protections. Invest in infrastructure. Defend voting rights. Protect Social Security and Medicare. Make housing and education more affordable. Rebuild confidence in institutions that have been battered by years of political chaos.

And do it in a way that people can actually see and feel in their everyday lives.

Because the best response to an administration that has spent years tearing things down isn’t simply to spend the next two years tearing them down in return. It’s to demonstrate that government can actually work for people. That democracy can deliver something better than outrage, division, and another round of campaign merchandise.

So, yes, celebrate last night. Enjoy the victories. Thank the voters, the volunteers, the organizers, and everybody who stood in line, filled out a ballot, and decided that their voice mattered.

We ran through the tape. We got across the finish line. We took back some ground.

But January isn’t going to be a victory lap. It’s going to be the first day of work.

And to the Democrats who will be sworn into office: You weren’t elected to become the anti-Trump party. You were elected to become the party that actually governs. There’s a difference, and the American people are going to be watching to see whether you understand it.

Investigate where necessary. Impeach if the evidence and circumstances warrant it. Hold people accountable. Absolutely.

But fix shit.

Give people something to believe in again. Give them reasons to vote for you beyond simply being the alternative to the other guy.

And when Donald Trump starts throwing his weight around, remind him that he’s the president, not the king. Congress has a job, the Constitution has rules, and the American people didn’t elect a monarchy.

You wanted to run the country like you owned it? Well, guess what? You don’t.

The voters have spoken. Now it’s time for the people we elected to speak with their actions.

The work isn’t over. In fact, it’s just getting started.