The U.S. House of Representatives: A new definition of courage

By Howard W. Karsh

December 2, 2009

The health care bill has passed the House and has been delivered to the Senate. In the course of action, the Senate must first approve a bill, and only then will there be a conference committee, which will try to create one bill that can be sent to the president for his signature.

The House bill passed, but with a much smaller margin than the actual number of Democrats in the House, and when it did, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi congratulated all of the members who voted to pass the bill, and called many of the younger members, courageous.

It is the use of the word "courageous," in this context, that I would like to call to your attention. There are no asterisks in speeches, and so if you were surprised to hear the speaker use it over and over again, you had to figure it out yourself. It seems to be directed at first-term representatives, who came to the House with President Obama, but who will have to run again, next year, in an environment that is dangerous to their career. That very well may be, but why is that act "courageous," and would we expect them to vote for their "careers or for what they thought was right."

We find ourselves in this position because we have compartmentalized love for our constitutions' intent. The history seems to suggest that, like the men who were there in the beginning, the writers and the formers of that constitution had no reason to believe politics would be a career path. It was in the beginning, not a highly sought after job, and dangerous at that. Sentiments ran high, and in those days, sentiments often translated into violent action.

In the midst of a more dangerous America, we often allow ourselves to imagine the past as idyllic. It wasn't. A very few people lived long lives, and part of the reason was violence, toward those in power and everyone in general.

We know that the first rule of government and every other organization is self-perpetuation, and we also know that one of the first real groups that get together after each exhausting national election is one focused on staying in power. It makes sense, but in the House of Representatives, it translates into Representatives always in motion, always raising money, always trying to assess the heartbeat of the constituents to put them in office.

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