On Legitimacy Part Deux

The key to successful governance is to be seen by the vast majority of people as governing legitimately with the consent of the governed.  Incidentally, this is different than Democracy - Singapore's government is very legitimate - meaning that the great majority of its citizens respect and approve of the government's actions without being particularly Democratic.

But the death of representative government is when it acts in ways perceived to be illegitimate by the people.  This is what got the Obami into so much trouble:  despite being opposed by majorities of the population they passed into law a trillion dollar stimulus and health care reforms that benefited their base.  As a result they were crushed at the poll.  Legal Insurrection points out that the same repudiated, discredited politicians are trying to pass sweeping legislation into law during the lame Duck Session.  Mitch McConnell and the Republicans should do all they can to block them.  For the sake of Constitutional Legitimacy.

We've seen this bad movie before.  It resulted in Stimulus, and the Christmas Eve Obamacare vote last year.

And it appears to be happening again.

This lame duck Congress has no political legitimacy to pass anything other than a continuing budget resolution (including defense) to keep the government operating until the new Congress can consider a full budget, and perhaps to straighten out the tax situation since taxes will rise before the new Congress is seated if nothing is done.

Much beyond that, Mitch McConnell should be shutting down the Senate.

Sweeping social legislation and other non-emergency items should be deferred until the new Congress, rather than having several dozen Congressman and several Senators who have been voted out of or are leaving office decide the fate of such matters.  If these social agenda items were such a priority, they could have been brought up months ago, when Congressmen with a political stake in the vote were voting.

Mitch McConnell has a chance to earn the trust of the voters who have given him six new votes, and provided him with the backing of an incoming Republican House.  Don't blow it.