Conventional political wisdom treats the relationship between House leadership and members as static. It isn't, and we desperately need a new vision of the speakership
The rank and file could reform the House Rules if they (a) worked together across party lines; and (b) had a clear vision of the way the House should be run. Here's how: BEFORE the midterms, when no one knows which party will be in the majority, write out fair House rules. Incumbents and challengers alike could then commit to supporting them on Organization Day, and opposing any other rules package, regardless of if they ended up in the majority or minority party.
There are many ways to operationalize rules reforms. The reality is that you need a rump of the majority to insist on something. Even better is if you have some of the factions insisting on it.
Well, there's 1,000+ candidates for the House at the moment, seems like a good opportunity to start a conversation with them about how they'd like to see the 120th Congress function. A path to a more functional house would be a selling point to voters: "I've signed onto the bipartisan agreement to reform House rules; whether I'm in the majority or minority party. It's the people's house, and the people deserve better." And if you can get a faction of the minority to support it (because it's always easier to support something when you're in the minority) then it improves the odds of support when they end up in the majority.
The rank and file could reform the House Rules if they (a) worked together across party lines; and (b) had a clear vision of the way the House should be run. Here's how: BEFORE the midterms, when no one knows which party will be in the majority, write out fair House rules. Incumbents and challengers alike could then commit to supporting them on Organization Day, and opposing any other rules package, regardless of if they ended up in the majority or minority party.
Here are the bipartisan rules reform my organization and a conservative organization endorsed for the start of this Congress. https://www.thefai.org/posts/renovating-the-people-s-house-rules-reforms-for-the-119th-congress
There are many ways to operationalize rules reforms. The reality is that you need a rump of the majority to insist on something. Even better is if you have some of the factions insisting on it.
Well, there's 1,000+ candidates for the House at the moment, seems like a good opportunity to start a conversation with them about how they'd like to see the 120th Congress function. A path to a more functional house would be a selling point to voters: "I've signed onto the bipartisan agreement to reform House rules; whether I'm in the majority or minority party. It's the people's house, and the people deserve better." And if you can get a faction of the minority to support it (because it's always easier to support something when you're in the minority) then it improves the odds of support when they end up in the majority.