Bruce Lear lives in Sioux City and has been connected to Iowa’s public schools for 38 years. He taught for eleven years and represented educators as an Iowa State Education Association regional director for 27 years until retiring. He can be reached at BruceLear2419@gmail.com 

Dear members of Congress:

I know your job is difficult. I’d hate coming to work where I’m expected, at least in public, to despise almost half of my co-workers just because we disagree.

One side knows the republic hangs in the balance, but can’t decide how to cut it down to keep it from choking. The other side twists itself into knots defending a mercurial president who rides one whim after another, depending on the day. Both sides hurl insults via cable news noise.

It’s a dysfunctional work environment.

The American people are caught in the middle.

Here are some suggestions for improving your workplace and getting back to doing the people’s business. 

The chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee advised Republicans not to hold in person town hall meetings. That’s bad advice. You shouldn’t have to put up with violence, but you do need to answer hard questions from real constituents. 

That’s a huge part of your job. Also, let’s put this to rest. No one is paying people to get up early on a cold Saturday to attend a town hall meeting.  Virtual town hall meetings are virtually worthless. You need to show up. A lot of constituents are following the advice of Harry Truman. He said, “I never did give them hell. I just told the truth, and they thought it was hell.”

But here’s some advice for Democrats. Stop holding signs and wearing pink to protest. Articulate an alternate vision that isn’t just, “I hate Trump.” In the future, when a 13-year-old cancer survivor is introduced, have the courtesy to stand and applaud. 

I understand that right after you win, it’s time to start raising money for the next election. It’s easier to raise money by torching the other side. But remember, your opponents are torching you, and that fire burns any possibility of problem solving together. I’m no stranger to negative campaigning. But campaigns need to end, and governing needs to begin. If you govern by listening and working together, elections won’t have to be your primary focus.

No politician wants a primary, but protecting the republic is more important than protecting your right or left flank. 

Executive orders are like eating candy for breakfast. It gives a sugar high, but you’re hungry before noon. President Joe Biden’s executive orders vanished, and so will President Donald Trump’s. 

Laws that are sustainable are bipartisan, where both sides meet in the middle. Compromise is hard, but those laws are sustainable no matter who’s in power.

Congress is a co-equal branch of government. Unfortunately, presidents from both parties must have skipped that 7^th grade civics lesson. Most try to stretch executive power. This president is taking that stretch to the breaking point. 

It’s the job of Congress to provide a check and balance. Legislators who refuse to push back when they fundamentally disagree with a president from their own party, need to be shown the door by voters. Show some political courage.

It’s important to govern on the platform you campaigned on. Almost every successful candidate campaigned on lowering prices. That seems forgotten amid chaos. Remember now. Also, “America First,” can’t mean America Alone. We are citizens of the world. We must stand for freedom against aggressive tyrants.

We’ve all heard stories about $1,000 government hammers that should cost $10. That needs to be fixed. But an untrained person wielding a chainsaw to do scalpel surgery to our government will leave the patient bleeding to death and the American family grieving.

In 1787, Elizabeth Willing Powel asked, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?

Benjamin Franklin replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”  He was correct then.  He’s correct now.

Sincerely,

Bruce Lear