| Friends and fellow citizens, Last week, we saw a small group of legislators push our country to the brink of a federal government shutdown. But the forces of moderation and compromise took over, allowing a solid bipartisan majority in the House and Senate to pass a continuing resolution that keeps the federal government open until at least mid-November. It was a temporary moment of bipartisanship. What initially had been a win for U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy turned into a major defeat as he became the first duly elected speaker removed from office on Tuesday. The effort to “vacate” came from a disappointed group of extremists led by U.S. Rep. Matthew Gaetz (R-Florida). This small group had threatened to remove him if he cut a bipartisan deal with the Democrats. And they made good on that threat. Until now, there had never been a successful effort to “vacate” an elected speaker. Gaetz and his seven colleagues point to the speaker’s breaking promises and cooperating with Democrats to justify their vote to vacate. The political reality dictated that McCarthy work with the Democrats, especially since they controlled the Senate and executive branch. In effect, they were complaining that McCarthy did as our Constitution intends. Ironically, this process resulted from a deal McCarthy made with Gaetz’s group to initially gain the speakership. It was not very “democratic,” in that it allowed about 4 percent of the Republican caucus to throw the whole House into chaos. Now the Republicans in the House face a new leadership battle to assume the gavel. We shall see if the forces of compromise and moderation will find a way forward, or if the small band will continue to be in the driver’s seat. In other words, our duly elected officials again find themselves at a crossroads of extreme ideology and the people’s will. The divide between the Democrats and Republicans certainly shows little sign of easing, but the split within the GOP is a second, and important, version of polarization that is shaping governing—and it promises to play out unexpectedly as we approach the 2024 elections. We have moved far beyond the days of Ronald Reagan and his support of the “Eleventh Commandment”: Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican. Despite the machinations of the extremes, Americans have no interest in giving up on democracy in favor of ideology. They consistently want pragmatic compromise and progress. The Vanderbilt Unity Poll has repeatedly shown that the vast majority of people are searching for a middle ground, that they want this great republic to work for them rather than for the extreme wings of either party. This problem of extremism extends into our state legislatures. Currently, there are 28 states with “supermajorities”: 19 on the GOP side and nine on the Democratic side. In these states, it is easier to pursue extreme policies because the opposition lacks the power to foster compromise. Supermajorities lead politicians on both sides of the aisle to act like activists pursuing ideology, not like politicians practicing the art of give and take in pursuit of good governance. We have seen this situation unfold in our own backyard, as the Tennessee General Assembly has ignored strong public support to undertake modest gun reform on the heels of the tragic shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville. Even among Tennesseans who backed the National Rifle Association, there was strong majority support for gun reform. But those across-the-board calls for change were ignored—by the very legislators who had sworn to serve their constituents. This problem is neither a Tennessee problem nor a Republican problem. We see similar issues in deep-blue Vermont, which is pursuing a far more liberal agenda than even the population of that state would normally support. State legislatures across the country act in undemocratic ways, just as the U.S. Congress has done. While our political system has never been perfect, it works much better when there is competition between the Democrats and the Republicans. No party has all the answers, and, through compromise, which is encouraged when there is real competition, we are much more likely to enact policies that reflect the will of the people. The bottom line is that to solve the many problems facing this country, we must work together—regardless of partisan stripe. Now for an update. Last week, as part of our effort to forge a more informative national conversation, we sought to make sense of our economy with our second annual “Ask an Economist” program, which offered insight into the state of the U.S. markets and labor issues and helped decode the debate stage’s economic talk. To catch a replay of the event, follow the link. Next week is Free Speech Week at Vanderbilt. We have scheduled a series of high-profile events on Oct. 10–17 in observance of the university’s first-ever campuswide Free Speech Week as part of Chancellor Daniel Diermeier’s new Dialogue Vanderbilt initiative. Just follow the links to register for the Symposium on AI, Free Speech and Human Rights or Bret Stephens’ conversation with our Co-Chair Samar Ali. |
| Respectfully, John Geer Senior Advisor to the Chancellor Head of The Vanderbilt Project on Unity & American Democracy |
