No, You Don’t Understand, It Will Be A Referendum

The strategic premises of Larry Lessig’s campaign are quite deeply silly. But he still sees himself as a hardnosed realist:

Lessig, however, believes that Democratic control of Washington—which we had just six years ago—is an extraordinarily improbable outcome that shouldn’t be the basis of a political strategy, unlike his own extraordinarily improbable candidacy. “Republicans are here to stay, and…a Democratic supermajority in Congress is as likely as world peace,” he wrote. Voters are too resigned to believe that partisanship is the answer, he told me. To that end, he believes it would be counterproductive to attack Republicans and more effective to go after the root causes of political polarization on both sides.

Yes, the Democrats regaining control of Congress with either 60 senators or a Senate majority willing to further dismantle the filibuster — that’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard! In the long sweep of history, there’s no chance of that happening! We need a more realistic plan, like many Republicans voting for extensive electoral reform because a Democratic candidate runs a single-issue campaign. All the sensible plan needs is legislators willing to SHAKE THINGS UP with more threatened resignations:

But Lessig’s cure-all is flawed, even if you assume it’s just a provocation. Critics have piled on Lessig for having an overinflated view of the presidency, as the president cannot simply wave a wand to force Congress to pass legislation, and there’s nothing about a presidential campaign that would change the deep polarization of the Congress. Lessig insists that the extraordinary circumstances of his election would make his mandate “hard to ignore,” adding that his campaign would try to elect “referendum representatives” to Congress who’d also resign after passing the Citizens Equality Act.

Yes, the logic is impeccable:

Democratic legislator: “Vote for Citizens Equality Act!”

Republican legislator: “No.”

Dem: “But the election was a referendum!”

GOP: “No it wasn’t.”

Dem: “You can’t ignore the issue that ignites the hearts of every American, procedural reforms deliberately untied to any substantive issue.”

GOP: “Sure we can.”

Dem: “But the election was a referendum!”

GOP: “No it wasn’t.”

Dem: “But this is so important that we will resign after it passes.”

GOP: “So?”

Dem: “We will resign! Hard to ignore that!”

GOP: “Look, this is all very amusing, but I’m meeting a lobbyist at the Capital Grille. Hope not to see you in the future.”

Dem: “But the election was a referendum!”

[exeunt]