Former Members of Congress for Common Ground
263 signatures
Let's support these 133 leading voices in the American conversation -- Former Members of Congress for Common Ground -- who have released a powerful letter addressed to all current candidates for Congress, calling for cooperation, civility, and a much more effective approach to working together.
"Congress appears gripped by zero-sum game partisanship. The goal often
seems to be more to devastate the other side (the enemy, no longer the
honorable adversary) than to find common ground to solve problems,
much less to have a spirited but civil debate about how to do so.
"The divisive and mean-spirited way debate often occurs inside Congress
is encouraged and repeated outside: on cable news shows, in blogs and
in rallies. Members who far exceed the bounds of normal and respectful
discourse are not viewed with shame but are lionized, treated as
celebrities, rewarded with cable television appearances, and enlisted
as magnets for campaign fund-raisers.
"Meanwhile, lawmakers who try to address problems and find workable
solutions across party lines find themselves denigrated by an angry
fringe of partisans, people unhappy that their representatives would
even deign to work with the enemy. When bipartisan ideas are advanced,
they are met by partisan derision."
