Just to reiterate something that The American Prospect’s Sam Rosenfeld brought up yesterday, Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), the ranking Dem on the House Intelligence Committee, had a noteworthy reaction to Republicans killing the intelligence reform bill.
“If there is another major terrorist attack on our soil — and sadly, there will likely be one — we will have only ourselves to blame. Congress had a chance to protect America, and Congress failed.”
Harman sees herself as part of a whole. The House of Representatives, from her perspective, speaks with its own voice. When the chamber fails, it’s a collective failure. How terribly quaint.
Harman’s remarks reflect why Dems always seem to lose political/rhetorical fights. We’re interested in sharing responsibility, working collaboratively, and compromising to reach goals — but we’re the only ones.
Harman was being far too magnanimous in her assessment. This wasn’t Congress’ failure; it’s not as if the House voted unanimously to quash the intelligence reform legislation. There were a handful of far-right House Republicans who circumvented their own leaders and killed the bill. Congress had a chance to improve national security, but a few GOP lawmakers failed. Harman apparently wanted to appear non-partisan in a situation in which partisanship is clearly called for.
In contrast, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi understands the game here.
“House Republicans single-handedly doomed that compromise by insisting on weak and unrelated provisions. When the 9/11 Commission issued its recommendations, it did so with urgency. But that urgency was never matched by House Republicans, who did not want the 9/11 Commission in the first place, and who never truly wanted to pass a meaningful reform bill.”
Is this partisan? Of course it is. Is it accurate? You better believe it. Harman accepted broader responsibility for a failure she had nothing to do with; Pelosi lays the blame on those actually responsible.
I’m not trying to pick on Jane Harman, whom I think is a terrific lawmaker. The point is Dems are in as tough a spot as they’ve been in a very long time, due in part to an inability to effectively pitch our message. Improving our communications techniques, and pinning blame on Republicans when appropriate, will be key to reshaping the debate.