|
Two hundred
and twenty
years ago
this summer,
fifty five
delegates
from
America’s
thirteen
states
locked
themselves
in a room in
Philadelphia
to hammer
out a new
Constitution
for our
Nation.
Four months
later, in
September,
they emerged
with an
agreement.
No one had
been allowed
inside the
room during
their
deliberations.
James
Madison took
notes;
others
shared their
thoughts
through
correspondence.
A transcript
of the
proceedings,
however,
does not
exist.
But it’s
safe to
assume the
debate
wasn’t
pretty.
Egos were
involved.
Fortunes
were
involved.
Political
futures were
involved.
Yet somehow,
the
delegates
managed to
put aside
their
differences
and reach
consensus on
a framework
for
government
that was
revolutionary
for its
time.
Today, that
same
governing
framework
still
exists. But
reaching
that type of
political
consensus
seems to be
a thing of
the past.
Clearly,
there are
exceptions.
But
increasingly,
partisanship
has become
the coin of
the realm in
our Nation’s
capital, and
distrust
between the
parties
abounds.
In this
edition of
the
Forum,
we look at
some of the
reasons for
that, and
some of the
solutions
being
pursued. We
gear our
coverage of
this topic
around two
of the most
widely
respected
former
legislators
in
Washington –
former
Senate
Majority
Leader
Howard Baker
and former
House
Republican
Leader Bob
Michel.
In a Q&A,
Senator
Baker talks
about a
bipartisan
effort he is
helping lead
to break
find common
ground on
some of the
key issues
facing our
country. In
an essay
that
follows,
Leader
Michel
discusses
gridlock in
Congress and
some ideas
he has to
reform the
institution.
This edition
of the
Forum also looks at some other topics that are making news or
will be
making news
in the
coming
months,
including
the debate
over health
care on the
presidential
campaign
trail and
the
Bloomberg
plan to
fight
poverty in
New York.
As with all
editions of
our journal,
we hope you
enjoy what
you read,
and hope you
will not
hesitate to
write us at
editor@riponsociety.org
with any
comments you
may have.
Bill Frenzel
Chairman
Emeritus
Ripon
Society |
