Where do we go from here?

How does today’s Michigan Legislature begin the process of Republicans and Democrats working together to move the entire state forward?

We have some modest recommendations. And we want to hear from you.

We recognize that as new lawmakers today arrive in Lansing they tend to have narrower perspectives, less governmental experience and more distaste for ideological opposites.

That’s the result of several things:

  • Expansion of news sources and loss of statewide news: Cuts to major institutions from the major Detroit papers and the old Booth Newspapers (now MLive) to radio and television news and the explosion of “news” sources on the internet have reduced the common understandings that used to bring us together. We used to have Walter Cronkite bring us together nightly for “the News.” Today, we have Rachel Maddow on one side and Sean Hannity on the other feeding people very different views of “the News.”
  • Term limits: Incoming new lawmakers used to be put on committees to learn the ropes from more senior members. Now new lawmakers come in with agendas formed and too often the next step up in their political careers facing them squarely. House speakers with only two years of experience – two years to get to know the entire state, two years to get to know their fellow caucus members, two years to understand the “other” party, are not likely to be reaching effectively across the aisle. The expansion of term limits passed recently by voters, giving the opportunity for longer service in the House and Senate, may help. We hope so.
  • Supercharged leadership political action committees: When legislative leaders control the vast majority of money in the electoral process, rank-and-file members fall into line quickly – or they will find themselves out of office. This leads to “Hastert rule” like scenarios, named after the former U.S. House speaker who insisted on having sufficient votes from his caucus to pass an item before bringing it up. This type of thinking is death to bipartisanship.
  • And more!

Some of our thoughts on how to overcome this:

  1. Watch the new term limits system carefully. It may help. If not, we may need to revisit that issue, difficult as it admittedly is. Or at least have more institutions push back on the idea that political experience is inherently bad.
  2. Help all members understand the state better. Detroit is very different from Lake Orion is very different from Hillsdale is very different from Caro, Marquette, Oscoda – you understand. We would suggest the legislative leadership take steps to encourage members to get out of their home districts and visit other parts of the state. An annual “field trip” to Detroit might be a good start – followed by one to northern Michigan and the UP. Maybe regional caucuses could help encourage cultural exchanges. Voting without understanding how those votes impact not just one district but others nearby and far away is not helping the state as a whole.
  3. Restrictions on leadership PACs. This is a difficult issue. It’s much easier for special interests on one side or the other to just give to the leadership PACs of the party they work with most, and not worry about individual races. Leaders have huge power in setting the agenda, and irritating them by going to specific races is not a good idea. But still, everyone realizes that the centralized fund raising has led to increased partisanship. Let’s discuss this issue in the open.
  4. Continued out-of-office shared experiences. Events such as softball games between Republicans and Democrats (and maybe the House and Senate!), the legislative “Polar Plunge” for Special Olympics and more should be expanded. These are opportunities for members to drop their partisan guards and embrace each other’s shared humanity. It’s harder to hate someone after you’ve both been dunked in a pool for a good cause.
  5. Encourage more participation in academic presentations around the Capitol. It’s sad when a university or think tank offers a presentation on a matter, and staff shows up while the members are attending a fund raiser. It shows how money is wagging the Legislature, not deeper understanding of issues and viewpoints whether presented from the right or left. We’d like to see leadership lean in and encourage more participation in these events.
These are just a few ideas. What can you offer? In the 1970s and ‘80s, the Legislature would come into session Monday nights for a few minutes – and then members would join in dinner or at taverns, often in bipartisan groups, sometimes in regional groups of both parties, and get to know each other. That may not be feasible today, but are there other similar ideas that can be implemented?

We believe most lawmakers coming to Lansing today, in their hearts, want more than just re-election, want more than ideological purity, want more than standoffs.

They want to make Michigan a better place to live, work and play. What can we do to increase trust, and use that trust and understanding to bring about more solutions that can help move our state forward? Let us know at info@migoodgovernment.org.