Former U.S. Rep. Mickey Edwards.
By ANNA MEIER
With a dismal record of passing legislation, perpetuated by hyper-partisan gridlock, the 112th Congress has been
called the “worst Congress ever.” Some prefer to stop at “dysfunctional,” but whichever
nickname you choose, there’s something seriously off about Congress these
days. Bills are proposed with the goal of
advancing partisan interests, and not necessarily the public’s. Debates have deginerated into bitter partisan bickering, not thoughtful consideration of public policy.
In such an
environment, it’s natural to search for someone to blame. But according to former Congressman Mickey Edwards, who spent many years as a member of the Republican leadership, the problem in Congress isn’t its members—it’s the system
itself.
Fortunately, it’s not beyond repair. In
his new book, The Parties Versus the People: How to Turn
Democrats and Republicans into Americans, Edwards, who served 16
years in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Oklahoma's 5th Congressional District, lays out the features of the American
political order that make it easy for parties to seek power over the public
interest.
In order to combat cronyism and get Congress back on track, he proposes
sweeping changes to our political system, from ending party-controlled
primaries to eliminating corporate donations to candidates. We caught up with
Edwards to talk about provoking accountability, moving beyond labels, and encouraging
a more effective Congress.
POGO: You've said that partisanship, not
polarization, is to blame for dysfunction in and frustration with government
today. Can you explain the difference?
Mickey Edwards: Polarization is a natural part of the
democratic process; there are more than 300 million of us and a lot of
different viewpoints, some of them very strongly held. A democracy
depends on a vigorous exchange between those alternative visions. Some of
the greatest advances in our history have come not from the political center
but from the “poles,” including the civil rights movement and the women’s
movement, both of which were radical reversals of long-held practices and
beliefs.
Partisanship, on the other hand, is the taking of political
positions that seem advantageous to one’s political club. Today, neither
Democrats nor Republicans are open to proposals—no matter what their merits—that
emanate from a member of the other party. The democratic process requires
a willingness to engage honestly in an exchange of views, with an openness to
considering an opponent’s perspective; partisanship cuts off that exchange and
proceeds solely from a cold political calculus that depends on hurting the
other side in order to gain an advantage in the next election. The two
terms—polarization and partisanship—are often confused, but they are very
different.