KALAMAZOO, MI — One day ahead of the Aug. 2 primary election, a pair of U.S. representatives from opposing parties made a stop at Western Michigan University to talk about civility and bipartisanship in modern politics.
The event was hosted by the university as part of WMU’s “We Talk: Civil Discourse Initiative,” which focuses on the importance of constructively engaging with people who hold differing views. Moderating the event was WMU President Edward Montgomery.
Appearing on the panel with Montgomery were U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, and Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, both members of Congress’ bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.
The two lawmakers talked about their longtime friendship outside of the political arena, receiving death threats from angry constituents, the change in how media is digested in the era of the 24/7 news cycle and the danger of politics getting in the way of progress and relationships in an age where vitriol and party politics reigns supreme.
That discourse needs to start at the community level, Dingell said.
“You can’t just look at us and tell us we have got to talk to each other,” she said. “Every American needs to worry about their democracy. Congress is a representative body. So, it represents the population of what you are seeing.
“See how easy it is to bully people online. See what’s happening to our young children in schools. And our shopping centers, movie theaters, that people are going in with assault weapons. All of us have responsibility to treat each other respectfully, to demand civility, to take the tone down.”
Upton, who is in his last term before he retires, agreed. He spoke of the importance of the Problem Solver’s Caucus in Congress and how it can serve as an example for those when discussing differences and similarities.
“Relationships are really important; getting to know people,” he said. “Our Problem Solver’s Caucus, 60 members, you can bring one staff person and not a thing has ever leaked. You trust each other. You sit next to Republicans and Democrats. They know you are not going to be fighting them.
“We have a civility pledge. We get to know their families, their spouses, and you get to know some of that character that is there.”
As part of that pledge, there’s no screaming at one another, Upton said.
There is also no campaigning allowed against other members of the caucus, something that leads to trust, Dingell said.
“We do meals together, walk together to vote, sit together on the floor,” Upton said. “When you have such a close margin between the R’s and D’s, the Problem Solver’s Caucus, if it can stay aligned, can really make a difference.”
There’s importance in that, both politicians agreed, as it is needed at a time in which many bills — such as the recent “toxic burn” bill to help veterans — die when the parties refused to work together.
John Clark, chair of WMU’s political science department, asked the two representatives what citizens can do differently to help, as citizens are the ones who incentivize their elected officials.
“It used to be that there were more than 60 members of the House of Representatives who were interested in solving problems and it seems now for many members (of Congress), they’re responding to incentives that essentially say that the biggest problem is that there are too many people from the other party here, and so it’s less about fixing public policy or using public policy to address problems and more about the next election and how one side can one up the other side in the next election,” Clark said.
Upton pointed to the large size of the districts, the need for campaign finance reform and anticipated low voter turnouts in elections such as Tuesdays, where he suggested no more than 15% of registered voters are likely to vote.
“I would say it’s not just money or party, but everybody’s afraid of Donald Trump,” Dingell added.
Dingell said infighting and endorsement seeking in the two parties often leads to candidates on both extreme fringes being elected over those candidates who are more moderate.
“The silent majority need to not be silent and need to demand accountability from their elected officials,” she said. “Both parties are letting some people dominate that should not dominate.”
When asked by Montgomery how to best be respectful when in disagreement, Upton said it starts with honesty.
“I think you just have to be honest from the get-go,” he said. “If you are not going to agree on something, then you let it be known. You can have friendly and courteous debate for sure and you move onto something else.
“It’s the game-playing I think that makes people mad.”
Dingell agreed, saying she and Upton are both solutions-driven people who know the issues they are going to agree on.
“One of the things that is happening in this country that I think is a danger to all of us, is there are people that are deliberately trying to undermine credibility and the people’s confidence in institutions,” she said. “They are trying to deliberately make it so people don’t trust the media and when you do not have confidence, and your institutions do not have credibility, your democracy is in real danger.”
Dingell also pointed to the 24/7 cycle as driving some of that division.
“The media has changed,” she said. “There used to be three networks and nobody thought of their network as having a political bias, the way you think of Fox News being conservative and say CNN and MSNBC are too the left. But we stopped investing in smaller local newspapers, they don’t have the resources or the money to cover those local issues to hold people accountable.”
Upton also took issue with the state of media today.
“I blame the media for a lot of what we have today just because I don’t see that they are nearly as accountable to what’s going on as they once were,” Upton said. “Now you have your 24/7 news and people gravitate toward whatever perspective they might want to have.”
As a result of that, he said, misinformation can get out and quickly go viral.
“Social media, which was supposed to be the greatest thing since sliced bread has become such a source of harm,” Dingell said. “I think it pits people against each other. There’s so many false facts.”
Dingell said one great danger in that there are numerous media sites that have cropped up that play to the advantages of specific candidates and issues, but don’t do the work of holding those candidates and others accountable.
The biggest danger, she said, is the inability for people to find common ground despite differences of opinion.
“I just believe we are Americans first and Democrats and Republicans second,” Dingell said. “You’ve got to try to bring people together and find that common ground. If you’ve attacked somebody viscerally, if you’ve insulted their integrity, you’ve done name calling or bullying, it’s very hard to trust after that.”
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