Most Americans are not happy with the way Washington works (or doesn’t work). Conservative Republicans complain that they keep voting for Republicans, Republicans win, and nothing changes. Democrats complain that the Republicans are blocking President Obama’s policies, but almost everything President Obama has wanted to do, he has done–if not through Congress, through Executive Order. There is, however, someone in the House of Representatives who has proposed a way to change the status quo.
On Monday, Breitbart posted an article about Representative Mark Meadows of North Carolina. Representative Meadows has initiated a “motion to vacate the chair.” The motion would remove Speaker John Boehner from his position as the Republican leader in the House of Representatives.
The article reports:
Meadows said “it’s time for our leaders to stop making promises and leaving them unfulfilled.” He added that, based on the whip count, if a vote had taken place to remove Boehner from the speakership before the recess, he would have had to wrangle up votes from house Democrats to keep his seat.
“At town hall meetings and every where I go, people tell me, ‘I’m, standing with you. We’re standing behind you.’ There is a growing momentum. I’m hoping that leadership can change course and they are willing to listen, and willing to fight for Americans.”
Meadows believes that it’s a good sign that, if we had a presidential Republican primary right now, we would have a “more non-conventional nominee than an establishment one.” Meadows concluded saying that, “Having the people at my back is better than having D.C. in my Pocket.”
The dissatisfaction with Washington politics is on both sides of the aisle. The dissatisfaction partially explains why both political parties have popular candidates that have historically had very loose relationships with the parties–Bernie Sanders is described as a Socialist–not a Democrat, although he caucuses with the Democrats in Congress, and Donald Trump has been a Democrat for more years than he has been a Republican.
I think Representative Meadows represents the feelings of the average American. They may not know exactly what is needed, but they know something is wrong. Representative Meadows is willing to take a first step toward changing Washington.