An Agenda To Break Gridlock
My off the cuff theory sends me in pursuit of solutions with broad popular support.
A few months ago I was riding with a coworker (and friend) to a conference. As we discussed various topics, I said I thought there are political issues out there that at least 70% of Americans support. These issues could be packaged into a winning platform for a statewide, or even a Presidential candidate. As a rock-ribbed conservative, I might not be completely on board with all of those ideas, but I’d probably be happy with most of them. Hard core progressives may object to some of those ideas as well, but hopefully enough folks could rally around a number of solutions to big problems to give us a chance to break through the political gridlock we’ve experienced for many years now. I think I’m going to take a stab at outlining what that set of issues might be and see if my off the cuff theory has any merit.
You might wonder why I would bother undertaking such an exercise. The country is too far divided you might say, and according to some, we’re headed toward a second civil war - be sure to read Jonah Goldberg’s G-File on the ridiculousness of this civil war talk.
Our nation is divided…politically speaking. Certainly there are those who view all of life as political, but they aren’t in the majority. Perhaps I’m naive, but I think overwhelmingly people have a life that is far removed from politics. In fact, most Americans spend very little time even thinking politics. Thus, if the Very Online Political Junkies try to jumpstart a civil war, it’s very possible the rest of the country yawns and goes about their daily lives.
Before I go much further, please don’t think I’m going to advocate for a third political party. Some folks get tempted by third-party talk from time to time but it never takes off. The structure of our political system limits the effectiveness of third parties. For example, if a third-party Presidential candidate won a few states and denied the GOP and Democratic candidates the necessary 270 Electoral Votes, Congress would pick the winner. Thus whichever party controlled the Congress would pick their party’s candidate. This steers people toward the left-wing coalition and right-wing coalition parties we have today.
Recently the Forward Party launched to much fanfare, but unfortunately you can’t simply say “we’re for the consensus position” on all hot button issues as Andrew Yang tries to do here (when he wasn’t being talked over by Jim Acosta). Perhaps they’ll prove me wrong, but I don’t see this new political party gaining much traction.
As my friend Jason Pye said in the most recent Peach Pundit Podcast, fringe elements of the Left and Right have outsized influence on our political system. This is a problem. Additionally, there are few attempts to persuade people not in your tribe these days. Republican and Democratic elected officials spend most of their time trying to please their respective bases, which are home to the fringe elements mentioned above.
In 2014, I led the charge in the Georgia State House to adopt a resolution calling for an Article V Convention of States for the purpose of passing proposed amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Sadly in recent years, elements of the Left and the Right have opposed Article V conventions, even though this is clearly a power given to states by the Constitution. The main reasons I championed this effort was I believed it would bring about national discussions on big, important issues, and force amendment proponents to attempt to persuade those skeptical of their proposal. The bar to amend the U.S. Constitution is very high. In fact, in order to block an amendment, it only takes 13 of America’s 99 Legislative bodies (remember that Nebraska is a unicameral Legislature) to vote No. There’s no need to fear an Article V convention, and I still believe it could improve political debate in our nation.
Two issues that could be taken up by an Article V convention enjoy broad popular support, but are unlikely to be taken up by our dysfunctional Congress. Term limits are very popular, polling well over 70% in Red and Blue states, and thus make the cut in my 70% agenda. A federal balanced budget amendment also polls at 70%, and will be added to the agenda. Improving the function and structure of government is a key part of restoring trust in government, and should be a key part of any proposed agenda to break gridlock.
I’ll explore additional agenda items in future posts, but I want to point out that I think in building an agenda to break gridlock, we need to look at issues people rank as most important. There are many issues large numbers of Americans may agree upon, but when asked what issues are most important, some issues with super-majority support may not rise to the top.
Two recent polls show us what issues are on people’s minds right now. Quinnipiac University says that inflation and gun violence are the only issues that double-digit numbers of Americans say are most important. This should surprise no one, given high prices and the numerous shocking mass shootings we’ve experienced lately. Meanwhile, Gallup produced this list:
Finding solutions with 70% support within these issue categories may prove difficult, but perhaps the pursuit will be valuable nonetheless.
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