2_5256034058898507033

57

During Obama’s last six years

in oce, Congress consumed itsel

with budget showdowns and passed

little legislation o signicance. In the

view o congressional Republicans,

from the Tea Party iconoclasts to the

leadership, they were merely doing

what their voters had sent them to

Washington to do: oppose Obama. Yet

Obama was elected with a majority o

the popular vote in both 2008 and

2012, and so from the Democrats’

perspective, it was the Republican

Congress that was opposing the will o

the people. In a country with a popu-

lace that is divided and a political

system that equates electoral victory

with governing legitimacy, the correct

course o action for elected leaders

remains unclear.

These questions have become even

more urgent in the Trump era. The

surprise result o the 2016 election

appeared to indicate that the electorate

had rejected the Democratic agenda

(even though Clinton won the popular

vote), and yet the Republicans’ losses

in the 2018 midterm elections sent the

exact opposite message. One response

to the mixed messages would be to

craft a bipartisan agenda to address

shared priorities, but that seems largely

beyond reach. Now, as Democrats

absorb the report compiled by Robert

Mueller, the special counsel appointed

to investigate Russian interference in

the 2016 election, they are debating the

question o what standard should be

met before Congress should consider

removing an elected president. The

Constitution oŽers very little in terms

o answers—yet another instance o an

institution failing to keep pace with

political realities.

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09_Azari_pp2_Blues.indd 57 5/20/19 3:34 PM