Byron York: How Democrats came to love 'coequal'
by Byron York
| January 20, 2019 08:37 PM
The divided government of 2019 is a mirror image of the divided government of 2011. Back then, Democrats controlled the White House and Senate, while Republicans had recently taken control of the House with a big victory in the 2010 midterm elections. Today, Republicans control the White House and Senate, while Democrats have recently taken control of the House with a big victory in the 2018 midterm elections.
It's the same situation, essentially. But today there is a vastly different public conversation about the balance of power in government. These days, we are often reminded that Congress is a coequal branch of government, and therefore, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., stands on an even level with President Trump. Back in 2011, when the two players were Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and President Barack Obama, there wasn't as much of that kind of talk.
A comparison, from the Nexis database of newspapers, magazines, websites, and television transcripts: From Election Day 2010 until Jan. 20, 2011, there were 18 mentions of "Boehner" and "coequal." From Election Day 2018 until Jan. 20, 2019, there were 683 mentions of "Pelosi" and "coequal."
Democrats have been saying it every day, starting with Pelosi the morning after the election. Congress' role is "not to be a rubberstamp, but a coequal branch," she said, adding that she and her colleagues had a "responsibility for oversight as an independent, coequal branch."
more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/byron-york-how-democrats-came-to-love-co-equal
