Representatives and senators in Washington often can be heard explaining how others should bridge the current partisan divide. Less frequently do they explain what they can personally do to encourage bipartisanship and improve both civility in the House and Senate chambers and decision-making for the benefit of all.
Ed Muskie is often cited as a political role model. As a Democratic governor in the 1950s, he worked constructively with Republican majorities in the Maine Legislature. In over two decades as a U.S. senator, he forged long-lived, bipartisan, multiregional coalitions that enacted landmark environmental laws such as the Clean Water and the Clean Air acts. These laws have withstood the test of time and improved our society.
When Muskie became Maine’s senior senator after Margaret Chase Smith’s 1972 defeat, he invited the new senator from Maine, Bill Hathaway, and the two state representatives, Peter Kyros and Bill Cohen, to formally reactivate the Maine Congressional Delegation and they agreed.
Under Muskie’s leadership, the delegation met once a month in the Capitol Building, frequently receiving groups from Maine who needed the assistance of their elected officials in making Maine a better place to live and work.
The delegation’s “rules” during the 1970s and 1980s were relatively simple. The chair could not be up for reelection in the year he served, thereby eliminating potential pressures involved in running a re-election campaign. Efforts taken jointly by the delegation would be publicized jointly.
Participation in meetings was usually restricted to the four members and one staff member each. A petitioning group was usually allotted no more than 30 minutes to make its pitch. Monthly meetings lasted no more than two hours.
Selected petitioners from Maine enjoyed addressing the entire four-party delegation and usually left the Capitol impressed that their Democratic and Republican representatives got along so well and liked working as a team.
It also saved time: Instead of crisscrossing Capitol Hill to make separate presentations at four different times, petitioners only had to make one presentation. It allowed delegation members to discuss problems amongst themselves and reach agreement on moving forward as a unit on solutions.
It was a clear exercise of bipartisanship at a level at which all had something in common — the advancement of an agenda for the state of Maine.
The delegation even went so far as to have its own letterhead stationery. It was used to endorse proposals on which there was a delegation consensus. Often the members strategized on how each member could use their committee assignments or political relationships to accomplish an agreed upon goal.
Only a couple of states (Rhode Island, Wyoming) have smaller delegations than Maine, and it is possible that this small size lead to improved communications, civility and results. However, by skillful coordination and agreeing to work jointly on select issues and problems, the members of the small Maine Congressional Delegation increased their relative influence over events of importance to the people of Maine, such as building frigates at BIW or fighting trade pacts that might hurt the small wood products industry. It also led to greater interpersonal relationships, respect and civility that carried across party lines.
The House and Senate have numerous “caucuses” that cover a wide variety of issues and have large memberships. While the focus of each caucus is important, it is easy to see how an individual member could be conflicted as a consequence of multiple caucus involvements. Such conflicts can lead to decision paralysis and incivility.
Should we ask current senators and representatives from every state to declare what they will individually do to improve decision-making by reducing congressional divisiveness and incivility?
State delegations, meeting as units, will not solve all our problems, but they could begin to build the cooperation and trust needed to restore better relationships and public confidence in government. This may not be the ideal solution, but it is a start, with a clear common interest for each delegation — the interests of those who have elected them.
In 1975 and 1977 Mike Hastings scheduled and staffed the meetings of the Maine Congressional Delegation. He is now a research administrator at the University of Maine.
Another cabal formed to create the illusion that these cockroaches actually do something useful for their constituents AND provide another staff paycheck for yet another party hack.
The ugly truth is that these people, and their courtesans, are criminals interested only in lining their pockets with someone else’s money and using the government’s implied threat of violence to tell others how to live their lives.
Let us come together and give these swine what they truly deserve. Someone please pass the tar and feathers.
Bipartisanship went down the drain when George W Bush was president, George Mitchell was majority leader and convinced George W to increase taxes despite promising “no new taxes”. Mitchell then used the tax increase that he favored to oust Bush thus ending any trust between the two parties. Some Mainer’s have Mitchell on a pedestal but I for one could not have been happier the day he announced he would not seek re-election. Of course the reason for that was to cash in on all of his political favors done over the years.
Ah for the “good old days” and they really seemed to be good, at least in this regard. Yes, we should ask Congressional Delegations to try out this process but unfortuantely I think it’s Quixotic and we’d better not get our hopes up. After all, the influx of Tea Partiers and their mentality is a huge roadblock.
Stop spreading lies. Bipartisanship is over. It’s antiquated and not effective.
Are there ever only two sides to an issue? Come on.
The two party system is a corrupt corporate operation and there is NO difference between the parties. None. Barry is proving that without. Doubt.
Stop listening to the corporate mouthpieces, er I mean ” news”, and stop playing a fixed game and demand real change.
Voting for democrats and republicans gets us no where!
Where is all the coverage of NDAA, sopa, pipa, etc.??
Makes you wonder why a ” news” source can’t report the most important news?
I appreciate this thoughtful piece and hope all of our elected officials, including our dear governor, read this. Then spend a few minutes wondering what it would be like to govern for the PEOPLE instead of the party donators or ideologues.
We need a real third party, not bipartisanship! We have had an endless cycle of swinging between the GOP and Dems every 4 or 8 years. You can count on it and so, when one party loses all they have to do is wait and the cycle starts all over again. There is no need to work together and the result is that we are becoming ungovernable.
The only answer is a true third party. Not the T-Party: they are part of the GOP. Not Greens: they are democrats. We need a party that represents moderate views and which understands that not everything is left or right. With a third party it will be much harder to gain majorities and the kids (GOP and Dems) will have to learn to compromise.
We would all be better off.
Yes, Bi-Patrisanship, the holy grail of the newspaper elite.
Funny how it’s calls for bi-partisanship when Obama can’t get his agenda passed, but when its a Republican president, it’s “firm principles at work against a radical agenda.”