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Dear Group, Today, June 3, as the 116th Congress opens, we may take some solace in sending McMorris Rodgers back to the House of Representatives in a powerless position, part of a Republican minority, having lost her flagship position as head of the House Republican Conference to Liz Cheney (R-WY). The Republicans have even fewer House women (13, down from 25) to chose from to smile behind their new minority leader, Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). Ms. Cheney comes from the over-represented state of Wyoming where two Senators and one Representative represent a population of only 579,315. In contrast, the average Congressional District contains 711,000 people (as of the 2010 census). She holds the same seat her father, Dick Cheney, held from 1979 to 1989. Recently Ms. Cheney made a little news in Wyoming. She announced she will forgo her salary until the government shutdown is resolved. I’d be more impressed if I thought delaying her salary could be a financial hardship for her and her family, but I’m sure there is plenty of money to go around. Her father was not only Vice President under George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense under George H. W. Bush, but also the CEO of Halliburton when he was between government jobs in the late 1990s. McMorris Rodgers was quoted in the NYTimes on December 29 in an article entitled “‘You Control Nothing’: House Republicans Brace for Life in the Minority”: Trying to find the bright side, Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, a member of the departing Republican leadership, said it was an opportunity for Republicans to better hone their message. “Being in the minority is a chance to think big picture and be visionary and make sure we are drawing the contrast between us and the Democrats,” Ms. McMorris Rodgers said. “As Republicans, we really need to focus on what it is going to take to win back the voters we lost in 2018.” “We lost too many women, Republican women, in the suburbs and we lost men and women,” she said. “We must win hearts and minds, and we can do it.” She definitely has her work cut out for her. Her actions will be harder to track now that reporters won’t be seeking out her opinion as a supposedly prominent Republican. It will take diligence to keep watch over her, call her office with our concerns, and press her to hold real town halls. She must be called to account for the actions of her party and her “positive disruptor” as we head toward 2020. Keep to the high ground, Jerry |