Panelists Discuss Business and Bipartisanship

Panelists discussing partisanship and gridlock at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum on Wednesday evening emphasized the role businesses must play in encouraging bipartisan cooperation in Congress.

The panel, entitled “Partisanship and Gridlock in Congress: Can we Make Democracy Work?” was introduced by University President Drew G. Faust and moderated by Karen G. Mills ’75, former secretary of the Small Business Association and Obama Cabinet member. The four panelists included former congresswoman Hilda L. Solis, Harvard Kennedy School Professor Alexander Keyssar ’69, Kennedy School Professor Theda R. Skocpol, and Mark D. McKinnon, co-founder of the bipartisan organization No Labels.        

Faust said that in the aftermath of Congress’s failure to pass a budget for fiscal year 2014 and the resulting sixteen-day government shutdown, “people looked at [America]…and began to wonder about the United States; is the American experiment unraveling?”

She called upon the panelists to discuss the causes of and potential solutions for the current partisan atmosphere.

In discussing potential solutions, Solis said that the business community must exert its influence over candidates and politicians by encouraging them to be more moderate.

Skocpol also emphasized the need for moderate Republicans to “step up and organize.”

McKinnon suggested a “no budget, no pay” policy in which congressmen would not be paid unless they passed a budget.

He expressed hope that his organization No Labels, which, among other initiatives, brings together congressmen from both sides of the aisle, will foster bipartisan relationships.

Skocpol, however, expressed skepticism toward McKinnon’s approach, stating that “this is not a problem that can be solved just by getting people in a room and telling them to be nice to each other.”

Before discussing current partisanship, Mills asked Keyssar whether there has been similarly contentious political behavior in the past.

Keyssar answered yes, adding that, “we did have a Civil War.”

Keyssar advised, however, that the American public should not simply be resigned to such behavior because it has occurred before, but should instead ask what can be learned from those moments.

In an interview with The Crimson prior to the panel, Solis said that the cause of the current partisan atmosphere lies in the number of elected officials “representing very strong opinions [on] both sides of the aisle.”

During the event, however, panelists primarily blamed the divided state of the Republican Party, and in particular, the Tea Party.

Skocpol said that a partisan atmosphere has persisted “because the leverage on the Republican Party does not depend on general popularity.”

Rather, she said that leverage depends on “billionaire, ultra-free market ideologues” who view compromise as a “dirty” and “evil” word.

McKinnon argued that today’s system rewards people for refusing to compromise, pointing to organizations like Citizens United “who go out and make money by punishing people for good behavior.”