Sunday, October 24, 2010

Bipartisan Governing

Bipartisan governing has a great history in the U.S. dating all the way back to our founding fathers. In fact, many would argue that the further back in history you go the less partisan the politicking would be. If in the beginning we were as divided as we are now the United States would probably not exist as we know it. 
Many great leaders before us brought their rivals into office to work with them. Take Abraham Lincoln for example; he brought many of his political opponents into his cabinet and as a result he is seen as one of the United States’ greatest presidents. In recent history President Obama was inspired by Lincoln to do the same, taking in two of his Democratic opponents and a Republican Congressman, and even keeping on Defense Secretary Robert Gates from the previous administration. It is inspiring to see a current leader welcoming people in with views and opinions different from his own.
Amazing things can be accomplished when people of opposite opinions agree to work together towards a common goal. If you really get down to it most of us have the same desires, wants, and needs; it is just getting to the point of setting aside a few of the minor details and reaching a mutual consensus. I believe that bringing in others’ ideas enhances the process and breaths new life into old ideas. If two people agree all the time it would be easy to get things done but if you had two or more people that had different ideas and had to work out a compromise the end result would be much more satisfying to many more people.
I feel that the way that the political atmosphere has become the politicians are more worried about how they are going to keep their jobs than in stepping out from the pack and trying to get things done for their constituents. Term limits look to me like an idea worthy of more exploration to head off this problem. If there were term limits Congress could focus more on getting things done and less on looking over their shoulder trying to get re-elected. I am sure that I am not the only one out there that is disgusted with the amount of time, energy, and money that is poured into campaigns for public office. If only there were that same enthusiasm and energy put into getting real, meaningful things done!
I do believe that political parties have a place but as a general guideline politicians and constituents need to try to be a little less biased and visualize themselves in the other side’s shoes. If someone has a certain view they should take a hard look at it and see if it really does make sense. I believe that you should always try to do what is right and just, no matter if it is something that you believe in or you yourself would do. Only when the partisan bickering stops will this country truly be able to go forward and get things done for the people again. Looking back at some of the bright spots in history like the 1787 Constitutional Convention and in more recent history the 1964 Civil Rights Act gives me hope that we can again return to the type of non partisan negotiations that made those moments so great. It is up to us, the people, to tell Congress what we want and force the real change that is necessary so that we can get back to a less divided and more bipartisan way of governing.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...