At this time in American history, the issues of economic and health reform are dividing the country in a radical way, but with the political left and right so against one another, is there any chance of consensus?
The Richard Harwood Colloquy on National Affairs offered a look at this question with “The Age of Obama: Do We Need a Middle Ground?” This discussion included celebrated Washington Post columnists E. J. Dionne and Kathleen Parker, as moderated by CNBC chief Washington correspondent John Harwood.
The Harwood Endowment funds this colloquy, a spring lecture, and student internship in journalism. The well-known late journalist Richard Harwood was a friend, neighbor, and trustee of Washington College. His son, John, has continued this relationship with WC.
Those who attended the Harwood Colloquy were intrigued and learned much from the discussion, including students. Senior Maureen Sentman said, “I thought I would find myself siding with one side or the other. But…no one was telling us what to think. They were throwing out opinions, but no one was whole-heartedly for one side or the other. They’re what media should be. For columnists they were very fair.”
Indeed, the audience was relieved that there was less bashing than in a typical political debate. Instead there was a general evaluation of current affairs.
Many believed that the Obama administration would usher in a new era of bipartisan politics, or at least reduce the heavy polarization between the two parties. Harwood explained that this would be the result of the “conservative ark of the last generation being seen as discredited” (five in seven of the last presidents were Republican). Also, Barack Obama’s personality and plans for change seemed to indicate a new type of policy-making.
However, as evidenced by the recent health care debate, there seems to be no middle ground for the parties.
The current health bill is further right of middle-road in this case. Despite overwhelming Democratic support, the liberal side has to entice the conservative side to pass the bill.
“And the middle-road Republicans are gone,” Dionne said, citing a change in the party’s composition.
Though she was the more conservative of the two, even Parker said, “I cannot explain the Republican party.”
She said that these “deity-sized issues of climate change and trillion dollar deficits…are motivating hysteria on the right.” These gigantic issues baffle people and fear causes recoil from bipartisanship.
The journalists turned to the role of media in the political divide. Do various news outlets present stories in a biased manner? Of course they do. But why?
Looking specifically at Fox News, Parker noted that it was created specifically because conservatives view the mainstream media as basically liberal.
“No it isn’t,” Dionne said.
“Yes it is,” Harwood said. “Fox presents a right-hand perspective in response to a media that is left of center.”
Part of the problem lies in the speed of information. In a 24-hour newscycle, there always needs to be more information, but brevity has become just as important. By picking up just a few major bullet points of a candidate’s policy, “most people vote for the person they’d vote for anyway, if they had studied him for days and days,” Parker said.
These “information shortcuts” need to present a candidate as being different from the other, so the parties become more polarized in an effort to shorten their argument.
Parker also cited the current “vacuum” in Republican leadership. The Democrats have “an eloquent leader in Obama,” but the GOP has no such figure. Instead, there is a divide between Palin and non-Palin conservatives. Thus, media personalities like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck are painted as party leadership, which is far from the truth.
“Republicans must distance themselves from entertainers,” Parker said.
Dionne noted that the number of Republicans who consider themselves fully conservative has increased in the last ten years to twenty percent (which is a good audience for a likeminded radio program).
Harwood also noted that he had not anticipated that the political right would choose opposing Obama over their fear of standing in his way.
He also admonished this, “partisan reflex to stop whatever the other party is doing” as politics rather than substance. It has certainly contributed to party polarization, as for the question of middle ground?
“I like to think this situation isn’t permanent,” Parker said. “If the president would just ask us to do something, [the American people] would rally.” She believes he, “seems to be not yet governing, but still campaigning.” He needs to find an endpoint and begin striving for it, for instance, “to say we’re going to spend a lot of money now, but will have to raise it later.”
Even former President G. W. Bush had to rush through an unpopular economic stimulus plan, which is, “evidence these things had to be done.”
Can the two parties ever find common ground in order to push the US forward?
“Sept. 11 had the potential to do it,” said Harwood, “and another moment was when Wall Street collapsed and we almost had another depression [in 2008].”
Perhaps the only time liberals and conservatives can come together is on the brink national of disaster, Dionne said.
When it comes to such important policy matters, it may take a lot to get the political left and right to the middle of the road. What will pull them together in the current health care debate? Only time (and next year’s Harwood Lecture) will tell.
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