Congress, you had one job: show up and vote on things that matter to the American people.

Instead, members spent last week - a legislative week that was already shortened to three days (because apparently five is a lot to ask) debating and voting on nonsense. The highlight was yet another brainless resolution to impeach the President, a piece of political theater with the production value of a middle school play and about the same chance of changing anything.

Here’s what I know - roughly 90 percent of the American public do not care about political theater. People care about the price of gas and about whether they can make a salad without risking a week of explosive diarrhea. They care about rent, groceries, child care, and earning a paycheck that allows them to support their families. Somewhere between the floor speeches and the fundraising emails, that message got lost. 

Read the room

Americans are hurting. Outside the Beltway, people are afraid, fed up, and have zero faith in the people they sent to Washington to fix things. That isn't a hot take. It's the one thing every poll agrees on, and it's about the only bipartisan consensus left.

It's easy to forget all that when you're strolling the halls of Congress. Compared to the reality most Americans face, Capitol Hill is a utopia. It has manicured lawns and beautifully (taxpayer-financed) restored historic buildings. It has entire herds of dedicated staffers granting members' every wish like genies in business suits, and armed officers making sure nobody gets too close. The cafeteria even has a salad bar you can probably trust.

That isn't the reality in the cities, neighborhoods, and small towns members claim to represent. Yet this Congress ran home to campaign for seats that, judging by its productivity, a lot of people would say it hasn't earned.

It's college finals all over again. You goof off all semester, skip the lectures, and ignore the syllabus. Then you pull a string of all-nighters, cram, and pray for a gentleman's C. The difference is that when a student bombs the exam, the student pays for it. When Congress bombs, everybody else does. And the American people are tired of it.

Careful what you wish for, Democrats

Democrats are likely to benefit from all this frustration. The mood out there is sour, the out-of-power party usually does well in midterms, and voters looking for someone to blame don't need a map to find the majority. Polls are pointing to a major shift and, if things break the way many expect, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries could be holding the Speaker's gavel in January.

Before anyone starts measuring the drapes, though, they should remember that voter frustration is a double-edged sword. It cuts whoever is holding the gavel. The same anger that could sweep Democrats into power could sweep them right back out in two years. Ask the last few majorities how that "mandate" worked out.

If Jeffries and his new leadership team take over, here's what's waiting for them:

First, a majority built on anger rather than affection. Voters wouldn't be hiring Democrats so much as firing Republicans. That's a probationary period, not a honeymoon.

Second, the impeachment itch. After years of watching the other side weaponize every committee gavel to appease the tyrant in the White House, there will be enormous pressure from the political class to return the favor with investigations, subpoenas, and hearings. Some oversight is legitimate and necessary. But if the first six months of a Democratic House look like a highlight reel of gotcha hearings for viral social media moments, while gas stays high and grocery bills keep climbing, voters will notice. They will conclude, correctly, that they swapped one circus for another with a different set of clowns.

Third, a caucus that isn't one caucus. A Democratic majority would stretch from democratic socialists in deep-blue districts to moderates who flipped seats Trump carried. Keeping that coalition together on actual legislation, rather than just on messaging bills, will take the kind of vote-counting discipline that leaves no room for grandstanding. With a narrow margin, a handful of members with a camera and a grudge could sink the whole agenda.

Fourth, the limits of half a loaf. A House majority can pass bills. It can't make them law without the Senate and a signature from the White House. Democrats would have to show voters that they're fighting for kitchen-table relief even when Trump and the Republicans block it, without looking like they're just staging more theater. As the old folks say, that’s a “tough row to hoe,”  and voters have very little patience for "we tried."

The bar is on the floor. Step over it.

Here's the good news for whoever runs the House next: the bar is so low it's practically a tripping hazard. Show up. Vote on things that lower costs. Make food safe to eat. Fund the government without a three-week hostage crisis. Explain what you did in plain English, then go home and tell people about it. Get out of the Beltway and hire staff that doesn’t just get its news listening to NPR on the way to the office (no shade to NPR.)

It isn't complicated, but it’s harder than passing another resolution nobody asked for. It requires listening, going into communities, not just scheduling tele-town halls, and questioning the assumptions that have gotten us where we are. 

Congress had one job. The next majority had better do it, or two years from now it'll be the one cramming for finals. 

Editor’s Note: Once a month, you’ll hear from our expert working on Capitol Hill about what they’re seeing on the policy and legislative side in Washington in our On the Hill column. Think of them as our Lady Whistledown.