A summer breeze has swept through the Capitol for the past two weeks.
Not the “summer breeze” that Shields and Crofts sings about, but a political summer breeze that has lawmakers “running like the wind” toward the exits.
In the words of Gino Vannelli, lawmakers from both parties declared, “I just want to quit,” and left Washington for the summer.
Watch out for July 15: Trump assassination attempt, Biden ends reelection campaign in tumultuous month
It would be wise to enjoy this small respite in governance. The autumn and winter will be challenging for Congress.
So, here’s the lowdown: “Yacht rock” is the term that can best describe many of the events unfolding on Capitol Hill.
Lawmakers may be counting down the days “by the minute” until they have to return to Congress in the fall, when election season is in full swing. (Beata Saurzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Both houses of Congress typically recess for four to six weeks between late July and early September. But this year’s Congressional summer winds have been political gales. Lawmakers have barely spent any time in session over the past few months. Both the House and Senate recessed for a week in mid-July so Republicans could hold their convention in Milwaukee. That was after a shortened one-week session in Washington just after the Fourth of July. Congress had been in recess since late June until the Fourth. The House recessed early last month, cutting its schedule by a week. In fact, the House has only been in session for a few weeks since May 24.
Yacht rock impresario Rupert Holmes would describe it as an “escape.”
Do you really need any more reasons to blend a Pina Colada?
Can we expect Congress to get anything done the rest of the year? Well, that yacht has sailed. We are in the midst of tough election campaigns for control of the presidency, the House, and the Senate. All lawmakers have to do the rest of the year is find a way to avoid a government shutdown in late September. Can Congress do more than that? Well, I doubt it. But as the Doobie Brothers lyric goes, “What a Fool Believes.”
A cryptocurrency bill? It might pass during the lame-duck session, but I doubt it. A tax bill with a parental credit? Ditto. What about the bill proposed by Republican vice presidential candidate and Ohio Republican Sen. J.D. Vance and Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown to improve rail safety after the Norfolk Southern railroad crash in East Palestine, Ohio, early last year? Hardly anyone supports it. Democrats don’t want to give Vance a legislative win so close to the election. Republicans aren’t going to help Brown, who faces Republican opponent Bernie Moreno in the nation’s toughest Senate race.
Like the Doobie Brothers and James Taylor, Senator J.D. Vance can be seen “taking to the streets” and speaking at a campaign rally in Philadelphia on August 6, 2024. (Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)
Farm bill?
Hey. Different genre. This is about yacht rock. Talk to John Cougar Mellencamp or Neil Young about that.
Lawmakers won’t necessarily be donning captain’s hats and reclining on the foredeck, sunbathing and sipping Mai Tais in the coming weeks. Democrats are setting their GPS for the Chicago convention in two weeks. They are campaigning vigorously for a chance to protect control of the Senate and flip the House. Democrats are especially enthused about their chances now that President Biden has effectively handed the Democratic nomination to Vice President Kamala Harris. Why did it take so long for Biden to hand it over to Harris, or anyone else? The Eagles would sing “I Can’t Tell You Why.” But it’s “Just the Two of Us,” so Democrats were freaking out about losing seats in the House races.
Had Democrats stuck with the incumbents, they would have been, as Pablo Cruz sang, “destined to lose.”
Republicans claim that 14 million voters cast ballots for Biden in the Democratic primaries earlier this year. They could even argue that Ray was right when he wrote, “That can’t be changed.” Biden was “still the only contender” for a few weeks after the Atlanta debate debacle in late June. But once Biden was gone, Democrats quickly recaptured voters who might have abandoned them. The Players’ “Baby Come Back” could have been the theme song for Democrats trying to convince people who were thinking of staying on the sidelines this fall.
But some politicians will welcome an early break from Congress. Most incumbents in the House and Senate aren’t in competitive races this fall. They may not be in Margaritaville, but who could blame them for escaping the 100-degree heat in Washington and heading off to the Caribbean?
Former President Trump certainly has a band of ultra-loyal people who are willing to campaign for him, or at least be seen as his defenders. They may want to win cabinet posts, or at least try to curry favor with the former president, to avoid his wrath. And many Democrats are now furious that Biden is not running. They will do everything they can for Harris. So these senators are going to be very busy in August and early September.
But the others will have it easy. In fact, in Robbie Dupree’s words, they may even “steal” secretly. You’ll probably find some of these politicians sipping chardonnays and dry martinis on a yacht somewhere, watching the sun set over the ocean. You’ll be lucky if you see them at all. Of course, you can always leave a message on their “answering machine.”
No one uses answering machines these days.
With the election campaign in full swing and Donald Trump facing off against Kamala Harris in the presidential election, Republicans and Democrats alike will be hoping for a little bit of Olivia Newton-John magic. (Getty Images)
Yacht Rock may not capture everything that’s going on in politics right now, and it’s understandable that people need a break from the political environment this month, especially after the Biden drama and the assassination attempt on President Trump.
Yacht rock is great for summer, but when it comes to elections and politics, it’s classic rock season.
“Surely there’s a way out of here, the Joker told the thief,” proclaimed Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix in “All the Way from the Watchtower.”
But Parliament will return as scheduled in early September. Tens of millions of people will vote. And no one has spoken more poignantly about it than The Who.
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“We introduce you to a new boss, just like the last one, you won’t be fooled again,” they sang.
Maybe a distinctive Roger Daltrey scream would be enough.
That’s why the “yacht rock” era of politics is so much more fun.
