Building Bridges over Troubled Congressional Water

The American people have spoken resoundingly. They are fed up with broken government which put corporate interests far ahead of those of hardworking, ordinary citizens, failed to exercise oversight, gave a wink and a nod to the serious mismanagement of the Iraq war, squandered our treasure and the lives of many fine soldiers, and put partisan power above doing the peoples’ business. But their endorsement of Democrats is rather anemic. The mood could be characterized as determined but not very hopeful that real change will come, especially if Dems and Republicans continue to jockey for partisan advantage.

Bridging the divide and learning to work productively again - now THAT would be a signal accomplishment. A couple of simple changes might turn that skeptical attitude toward Democrats into genuine admiration.

One simple step would change how incoming freshmen members of Congress are oriented to their new position and acquire basic knowledge about how things work, including how to order supplies and hire staff. The two parties orient their own freshmen to such mundane routines separately, thus underscoring to newly-elected members how different the two parties are. which unfortunately minimizes the chances they can build a working relationship based on friendship. While I can see no good reason to continue the apartheid policy in Congress, objections to the current practice leap to mind.

What the hell are they doing? (I use the phrase advisedly.) Sending the message that the other side is so off limits that they shouldn’t socialize, that they’re so wrong-headed they might give our newcomer cooties? Must Republicans and Democrats really remain separated even while getting oriented to common daily routines of their new working environment? What harm could it do to allow the new kids on the block (and their spouses too) to hang out for awhile and get to know members who’ll be seated across the aisle?

We should be eagerly looking for opportunities to establish friendships and build bridges between members of opposing parties. Newly elected representatives need to learn to work together, work out differences, and find an acceptable compromise. If they can do that, the public’s frustration with how little Congress has accomplished might vanish as mist before the sun’s warmth.

One more simple change could go a long way to reducing the inflammatory rhetoric and creating a more positive working environment. The practice of allowing members of Congress a minute to address the body each day isn’t in itself a bad idea, but its timing couldn’t be worse. The morning time seems to encourage members of each party to lob zingers at each other. (Is it because C-SPAN’s cameras are rolling?)Then soon afterwards they are off to work in committees, often with the very people whose policies they’ve just trashed. As one might imagine, that doesn’t exactly make the other side feel warm and cooperative.

With such relatively easy steps, Democrats could go a long way to resolving the gridlock that has mired Congress, reduce the incendiary rhetoric, and begin building bridges between one another. That would be statesmanship, putting the good of the nation ahead of personal and partisan advantage.

One hopeful sign is Democrats’ announced intent to forgo retaliation for their years of being shutout from the legislative process. Rather than imitate recent GOP practices, Dems plan to allow the minority party to submit legislation and offer amendments. In so doing, they’ll begin reviving the broken democratic process to what our Founding Fathers envisioned and that served our nation well for some two hundred years.

We the people have some work ahead. Americans have a vested interest in seeing that Congress gets beyond this unproductive era of bitter partisanship and returns to the civility it enjoyed for many years. With our watchful insistence this period in American history will fade into the past as an anomaly from which we will have relearned the perils and pitfalls of unchecked power and regained appreciation for the wisdom of those who hammered out our Constitution.

Surely it does God’s heart good when we build bridges, tear down walls, and pursue reconciliation. It’s time to roll up our sleeves and begin hustling to do the hard work of democracy. That’s how government of the people works. It’s up to us, not just our elected representative, to set our House in order. So let us begin rebuilding an America where differences are respected, minority views protected, and Americans relearn the important civic virtue of a live-and-let-live tolerance as essential glue that can help hold our diverse and often fractious society together.