A Demand for Party Leadership
Leaders from all political parties should be working together to fix our broken politics.
But they aren’t even talking about reducing endless hyper-partisan fighting. We have solutions, but do our leaders have the courage to cooperate by putting country over party?
Let’s say something about the lack of leadership - petition party leaders to detoxify politics and celebrate America with all of us rather than party by themselves.
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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We Demand That Our Parties Take Responsibility for Reducing Toxic Polarization
We can fix our destructive political culture, starting with existing solutions that party leaders aren’t talking about and journalists aren’t asking about. Our political parties and leaders should take responsibility for solving the problem of tribal politics, setting the expectation of working together in public bodies, building relationships across the aisle, and equipping officials to fulfill the mission of our public institutions.
Sign the petition to hold our would-be leaders responsible for fixing the problem that cannot be solved by citizens alone without the parties working together. Create hope for trustworthy institutions, better competition with fearless debates featuring common ground and honest disagreement, and a renewal of mutual trust that Americans can solve American problems. Put political courage with humility in party platforms and turn the page on toxic dysfunction. Information submitted to this form is under the control of Braver Angels, 501(c)3 in accord with our privacy policy and the preferences you express in the form.
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Petition
This summer, Republicans and Democrats will convene separately to draft national platforms with competing visions for a fractured America. Their state and county parties regularly draft competing platforms and resolutions, too, and candidates compete as party standard bearers in primaries and elections that seem constantly to grow more angry, warlike, and tribal.
While a competition of ideas is healthy, we, the undersigned voters, demand that leaders from all parties also cooperate to speak with one voice about a single vitally important yet overlooked issue – accepting joint responsibility for fixing our toxic political divisiveness.
Although partisanship and disagreement are normal in a democracy, we describe our current contempt-filled politics as suicidal to our national union and republic:
- That 69 percent of Democrats and Republicans surveyed in 2022 agreed that our democracy is in danger of collapse, while historic levels of polarization are blamed for governmental dysfunction and citizens’ lack of trust in vital institutions and in each other as well-meaning neighbors and Americans
- That despite widespread awareness of this destructive problem, our political parties, candidates, elected officials, journalists, and citizens have collectively been derelict in the duty to confront hyper-partisanship and mutually destructive antagonism as a clear threat to our republic that we must solve as partners with united commitment
- That we have effective solutions for establishing working relationships across political differences and instilling realistic mutual trust in public bodies and our communities. It is time that our political parties and candidates speak about those methods, practice them, and compete in elections over the best ways to heal our Union.
Our birthright as a nation is a fragile common destiny threatened by fear of each other and complicity in dividing Americans into enemy camps for political gain.
The parties are jointly responsible for serving us and cannot do so if their product is toxic, causing hatred, cynicism, and distrust. They can jointly choose a better path using remedies that arose from bipartisan members of Congress and our communities, assuring that a renewed American spirit of solving problems together is spotlighted center stage across the nation.
The undersigned voters therefore petition Republicans and Democrats at national, state, and local levels to work together on a House United Plank in each party’s platform or in mutual party resolutions beginning this summer, taking responsibility for cross-party cooperation toward solving our entrenched polarization. We hereby come together across political differences to respectfully demand that our leaders take this action as models for all political parties, and we commend the plank’s suggested items (below) as a starting point for discussion.
Suggested Items for the House United Plank
- That political polarization is a destructive force that threatens our sense of union, interferes with successful completion of public business, breeds cynicism, and undermines citizens’ trust in each other and in our institutions,
- That the issue can be solved only by the political parties working together – joint deliberation is needed and neither party alone can depolarize politics,
- That the question of blame and argument over which party has polarized the nation more is for historians to determine, but is not relevant to charting a better path together such as by adopting existing remedies that are referenced in the petition,
- That these potential remedies, whether originating in the needs of Congress or local communities, can be adapted easily by state and county parties to reduce polarization in state or local units of government and communities,
- That although all sectors of American society have been slow to address polarization, our political leaders and officials at all levels of public service bear special responsibility for setting expectations and providing models for citizens,
- That we find leaders and activists of good faith in both parties who can lead this effort and who would like to see pronounced change in our toxic political culture,
- That at this dangerous moment it is important for elected officials to make depolarization an essential part of their public service, by showing their constituents (including those who didn’t vote for them) that all district residents are represented, by finding responsible ways to disagree better without attacking opponents as enemies or stereotyping them or their motivations and values, and by affirmatively doing bipartisan town halls and other community events that bring politically diverse officials and constituents together to demonstrate healthy deliberation,
- That the parties therefore pledge to American voters that they will work together and lead their supporters to depolarize politics in public bodies and our communities, and, in that way, will be this generation’s founders of a more perfect Union.
References
- “That 69 percent…our democracy is in danger of collapse…” Quinnipiac University National Poll (8/31/22) https://poll.qu.edu/poll-release?releaseid=3854 Question 21 (“Do you think the nation’s democracy is in danger of collapse, or don’t you think so?”)(Among registered voters, 72% of Democrats and 70% of Republicans think there is danger of our democracy collapsing).
- “…historic levels of polarization…” The Congressional Management Foundation, State of the Congress 2022, https://ourpublicservice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/State-of-Congress-2022-PDF-FINAL.pdf (p. 4: “In the last few years, historic levels of polarization and hyper partisanship have led to the erosion of the public’s trust in the institution and a general feeling that those in Congress aren’t honest and that they don’t care about serving the people…the current climate of polarization and rancor make it difficult for Members and staff to speak out for change without fear of ridicule, or…even threats of violence against Members, staff, and their families.”)
FMC: The Association of Former Members of Congress, Congress at a Crossroads: Retiring Members of Congress Tell Us What’s Right, What’s Wrong – And How to Fix It (2020) https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a43d8aa90bcce5858a40b47/t/6203fd3d94973c4a1ad0d662/1644428606518/FINAL+-+FMC+Legacy+Report+Official.pdf (p. i: describing “A political process that encourages hyper-partisanship, places Members into opposing teams rather than encouraging collegiality, and prevents leadership from giving even the smallest victory to the other side”)
- House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, Final Report for the 116th Congress, Chapter 2, Encourage Civility and Bipartisanship in Congress, (2020) CRPT-116hrpt562.pdf (congress.gov) (p. 83 “…this…generally dismal approval rating [of Congress] is often attributed to one thing: partisan bickering that undermines the ability of the institution to operate effectively for the American people. Partisanship is cited as the reason for gridlock, inaction, ugly campaigns, and vitriolic arguments seen everywhere from the House floor to social media.”)
- …effective solutions for establishing working relationships…” 1) House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, Final Report for the 116th Congress, Chapter 2, Encourage Civility and Bipartisanship in Congress, Recommendations at pp. 93-97 (2020) CRPT-116hrpt562.pdf (congress.gov) and Final Report for the 117th Congress, Chapter 5, Building a More Civil and Collaborative Congress, Recommendations at pp. 103-109, (2022) GPO-CRPT-117hrpt646.pdf (congress.gov) 2) FMC: The Association of Former Members of Congress, Congress at a Crossroads: Retiring Members of Congress Tell Us What’s Right, What’s Wrong – And How to Fix It (2020) https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a43d8aa90bcce5858a40b47/t/6203fd3d94973c4a1ad0d662/1644428606518/FINAL+-+FMC+Legacy+Report+Official.pdf, Recommendations at Chapter 6, pp. 32-37, and 3) Braver Angels, a non-profit on a mission to bring Americans together to bridge the partisan divide and strengthen our democratic republic, https://www.braverangels.org including its Braver Politics initiative Braver Politics – Braver Angels
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