A task force, at worst, will leave lawmakers back where they started, and if it succeeds, they all will look like heroes. While this process gives them less control than traditional procedures, it can help leaders resolve issues on which the legislature is stymied, winning leaders both public approval and higher standing in their own party. After all, every issue generates different factions. And, for a proposal to win wide support, each faction has to have confidence in its own spokesperson. L eaders can ask every lawmaker who wants a seat on the task force to post a position statement.
Every legislator can then pick a spokesperson.
In effect, the factions form around those who want to play the most active roles. If any faction feels that no candidate speaks for them, its members have to get someone in their ranks to step forward. T o keep the task force to a manageable size, candidates with few backers can be taken out of the running. Their supporters then can choose a spokesperson with a larger following. L egislative leaders can pick the chair or leave it up to the task force.