Rep. Murphey: The misuse of great power

I have enjoyed the opportunity to observe the leadership of five different Speakers of the House. I have attempted to learn all I can about the strengths and weaknesses of the different leadership styles and apply the lessons I have learned.

I have noticed that there are two types of House Speakers. One group creates an environment conducive to productivity and resists the temptation to use the Speaker’s office to create fear. These Speakers are remembered in a more positive light and maintain the loyalty of their former colleagues even after they leave office. We feel a regard for these individuals, not because we agreed with all their policies, but because they treated fellow House members with respect and didn’t use their great power to inflict harm.

The second type of House Speaker deliberately used fear as a tool to maintain discipline. He reminded members of his power by making examples of real and perceived enemies. This resulted in a toxic environment of fear and trepidation which hides under a fragile facade of outward happiness and contentment.

This poisonous atmosphere has a chilling effect on policy. No one wants to be next on the enemies’ list, so even the Speaker’s friends are hesitant to speak out too much.

Eventually the free flow of ideas begins to dry up, thus significantly compromising the mission given to us by the taxpayer. The Speaker’s inner circle becomes an echo chamber into which honest and truthful advice is not produced. House members become demoralized and the attentive constituents notice the change of quality in their representation.

There is a tremendous amount of power vested within the Speaker’s office, and the use of fear to stay in power is extremely effective in the short run. In the long run, however, nearly every House member is happy and relieved when this Speaker moves on from his seat of power.

It should be the goal of every Speaker to govern in a fear-free environment. As custodian of the role of Speaker, he should view it as a personal failure if a caucus member expresses fear because of any of his actions. It should be his primary goal to be a servant to the members and help them succeed in their legislative endeavors.

It should be our goal as members of the House to remove this power and disperse it amongst the members of the House. In this way this type of abuse will never occur again.

Thank you for reading this article. Your interest and input are much appreciated. Please do not hesitate to email [email protected] with your thoughts and suggestions.

Sincerely,