On Civility and Bipartisanship and Bending the Trajectory

On Civility and Bipartisanship ~~  and Bending the Trajectory

By Marsha Porter-Norton 

The Colorado Capital Conference I recently attended was bipartisan.  I came away with renewed hope that our country can heal itself from our partisan wounds and perhaps, even tackle the big challenges we face.  The speaker line up modeled bipartisanship from the opening bell.  We heard from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell right along with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. We heard from Grover Norquist with Americans for Tax Reform and from President Obama’s Chief of Staff, Denis McDonough and his Energy Secretary, Ernest Moniz.   The conference was hosted by Republican Senator Cory Gardner and Democrat Senator Michael Bennet and attended by a very diverse mix of attendees from across this  “purple” State.  Of course, Colorado Mesa University and the University of Colorado also hosted but are nonpartisan by nature.  Several speakers noted that many states would not even host a Capital Conference and also told us our state is one of the last bastions of bipartisanship. As if I wasn’t already so proud to be a Coloradoan.

Our country is very polarized.  We all know this.  So what was it like being there in close proximity to this supposed vile partisanship and is there anything that can be done?  Below are some thoughts from the speakers with some of my own conclusions woven through out.  To be clear, I don’t agree with all these ideas but they are at least food for thought and maybe some should move forward?

Redistricting: State legislatures draw the maps for Congressional races and the majority of them are so homogenous that most candidates do not have to interact with or be accountable to voters who have a differing world view.   This was the opinion of Senator Chuck Schumer, D, New York and also the former Republican Governor of Maryland, Robert “Bob” Erhlich.    Senator Schumer went as far as to say that we can largely thank our highly polarized country for the way these maps are drawn.  These maps affect the configuration of districts for House of Representatives races which eventually leads to the makeup of the House itself (Senators do not have “districts” as they run state wide).  This phenomenon is toxic for democracy as it creates Congress members who can safely ignore opposing views because they don’t represent very many voters who disagree with them.  One answer is to have State legislatures or maybe an appointed body step up and draw diverse district boundaries. We are lucky in our 3^rd Congressional District as the make up is more balanced than a “safe” district.   While this is a long term problem and will take a very creative set of solutions (and significant political will), Senator Schumer ended with a hopeful comment that our “…democracy will prevail.”   I hope he is right.

Open Primaries: This idea was also put forth by Senator Schumer. He theorized:   What if the primaries were open and everyone voted for any candidate regardless of party?  And further, what if there was then a run off of the top two vote getters?   Apparently California has done this and in his view, it became a governable state again.  The former Senator Trend Lott, R, Mississippi also called for election reform.     I get that the devil is in the details on this one.   There are many reasons, some of them valid, why the political parties wish to have only their voters voting for their candidates. I would note our City Council elections in Durango are non-partisan and the process seems to work just fine. It’s compelling.

Media:   “We are just in the opening moments of this media revolution”, relayed Matt Bai who is a national columnist for Yahoo News and before that chief political correspondent for the New York Times Magazine.   Much air time was given to our media systems and how they contribute to the polarization in our country because media of all forms influence our information base, voting and even, what we think of people who disagree with us.   Mr. Bai relayed that our society is in a cataclysmic shift in the way we consume media and in his words the way we “…monetize it.”  And, our political processes on all levels are right in the middle of this seismic activity.    As one side,  Governor Erhlich noted that cable news has taken the fun out of politics because candidates fear their every move will be aired out of context in the 24 hour news cycle (which is true) and thus, they become fearful of expression….scripted and stilted.   Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid added, “If all you watch is cable news, you think we hate each other. We don’t.” One of the best solutions coming from Mr. Bai is to require media literacy in our schools. Love this idea.   Maybe too each of us can be careful about what we believe on Facebook or other social media; we can research facts;  we can discount political advertising that is hateful; and/or maybe we can make a habit of talking  more with neighbors,  friends or family of different political stripes.

Money:  This might be the area I sensed the highest amount of “stuck-ed-ness.” The vast amount of money in politics was cited across the board as being depressingly unhealthy but there was no consensus about solutions.   One speaker noted that in the old days, candidates would talk about issues with voters. Now, they must spend the majority of their time talking about money to donors.   My favorite ideas which were generated from a variety of our speakers included getting rid of the shadowy super PACs that hide campaign donations and require that all donations go directly to the candidates. Another idea was to combine that tactic with removing any limits but put in place the requirement of immediate reporting on-line so we all see in real time who is giving to who. The  allure and addiction of money in politics is not going to go away.  I believe it’s a matter of how badly we want our democracy back as to if any reforms will be instituted.    

 
What does divided government mean? Several of the speakers noted that they think the USA has hit a new low in polarization and that things are improving.  The country has accomplished some things lately.  The conservative columnist William “Bill”  Kristol told us the evenness in our country views creates even more polarization since it’s not clear where we stand. We the People elect a very conservative House and a Republican Senate and yet, the President was reelected. He said this gives leaders inconsistent signals and makes them wonder if they have mandates to govern. Conversely, one speaker noted a divided government is not necessarily a bad thing because it forces compromise.  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R, Kentucky noted wisely though that a divided government isn’t a message of:  “We don’t want the Congress to  do nothing.”    

Some of the elected officials  who spoke to us said something such as:  I know it seems like we don’t like each other but we actually do. We are friends. We go to dinner or workout together.   I was thinking:    “Really. The average citizen would never guess that you all like each other based on what you often say often say on TV, put in your campaign ads, and write.”   This argument is sort of akin to the kid on the playground who is bulling and tells the teacher: I didn’t meant it. Everyone does it. I actually like the person I was hitting.    If elected officials would focus more on civility in every single  thing that they do the country probably would shift or at the very least, we would have more role models.

This current state of partisanship is real but it doesn’t have to define what our democracy looks like for our children and their children. My take away is that our government is us. Washington DC is not a separate animal while it may feel that way sometimes.  Political Consultant Frank Luntz relayed to us that only leaders will change this divided and toxic political environment, not us.  I must respectfully and whole heartedly disagree.  The people choose to have such a partisan country. We choose this by who we elect; which media we consume; with our thoughts and words.  Our problems are too big not to take this issue seriously.  As Senator Cory Booker, D, New Jersey  noted, “On all indices from the World Economic Forum, the United States is dropping….in graduation rates, R&D investment, infrastructure, etc. and this is a threat to our future.”   In order to solve these huge challenges,  present and future generations need us to bend the trajectory of our civility and bipartisanship towards a healthier destination.  I think we can but will we?

Learn more about the conference at: http://www.coloradomesa.edu/capitalconference/