Article Title
Barack Obama and Congress: How the Rules of the Caucus Hinder the President’s Legislative Agenda
Abstract
In order to fix the Democratic caucus, strong leadership, combined with effective rules, are needed. First, the overall leadership needs to be restructured according to the ideology of the caucus. While strong leadership may come from the center or the left, it is important that leadership tend toward the center of the caucus, not the national political center. A moderate member of the caucus who is under no threat of removal, such as Senator Schumer, Senator Stabenow, or Senator Durbin, would make effective leaders. Part of the problem with the current leadership is, at times, it has failed to “pull punches” when it is necessary. Occasionally, it is necessary to let a Senator know that their intransigence is not politically popular in their own state, and force some public pressure on the rogue Senator.