MSC Political
Compromise Course Supplement for Week 7
“Governing With
Campaigning Continued, and Conclusions”
Copyright © 2019 Bruce W.
Hauptli
I. “Governing With Campaigning Continued:
Our authors sum up their discussion of various suggestions
for how governing with campaigning (that is promoting a strongly competitive
compromising mindset—one committed to principled prudence mutual respect, and
robust competition). They conclude
that:
(188) any reform effort that
seeks to promote more participation and at the same time sustain the disposition
for compromise will need to look beyond political structures to social
institutions such as media and civic education.
We cannot count on politicians or political movements to make the
changes….
They discuss each of these in turn.
(E) Minding The Media:
They note that (189 there is a
problem with appealing to the media for help in making governing with
campaigning possible as media cover
governing as if it is campaigning—because conflict “sells.”
190 There is intense competition
for audience-share, and reporting on
complex negotiations does not attract audiences.
196-199 They discuss several
possible “fixes:”
--196 media could use “focus
groups” to gain and to report so as to promote a better understanding as to what
voters actually want (of course these couldn’t be “base groups”).
--197 Journalists could spend
less time on the campaign trail, alternate the candidates covered, and develop
expertise on the core issues and subjects which they could utilize as they
report. In addition they could
report on coverage which promotes understanding of the need for compromising in
governing.
--198 They could use “response
boxes” on web-based reporting sites where readers can “vote” on whether or not
the articles “help citizens understand better the challenges of governing.”
(F) Strengthening Civic Education:
199-202 They say that perhaps the
best hope for the future is the sort of civic education which promotes an
understanding of compromise and its place in democracy.
They conclude the chapter by reiterating that campaigning
is necessary for identifying and giving choices to voters, but
shouldn't “spill too far over” into governing.
II. “Conclusion:”
204 Melding the mindsets is difficult in normal times, but
in the current setting it is yet more difficult!
205-210 Both politicians and citizens need to understand
the two mindsets and the fact that the
status quo is certainly not ideal! Misunderstanding
them reinforces resistance to principled prudence and mutual respect (which are
essential to compromises).
210-214 Voters seem to have a preference for divided
government, are suspicious of government expansion, but are dissatisfied with
the status quo.
The political divisions are deep, but
213 it is because political
disagreement is fundamental and likely to persist for the foreseeable future
that the need for compromise is so great.
The deeper the disagreement—the larger the sacrifices required, and the
stronger the mistrust generated—the greater the need for the compromising
mindset. Governing may be more
difficult in these circumstances, but it will become impossible if the
uncompromising mindset of campaigning continues so thoroughly to dominate the
political landscape.
If the current dilemma is to be resolved, there will need
to be increased institutional supports for principled prudence and mutual trust
(or respect) and citizens in general will need to come to understand the
importance of these traits and to support them.
.
[The End]
III. Other Ideas
For Promoting Governing With
Campaigning:
We have already discussed several things Maine has
initiated which seem to help constrain competitive campaigning and, hopefully
can assist in encouraging compromises:
qualifying for office
via signatures
ranked choice voting
Clean Elections Law
term limits
We’ve also discussed the importance of fostering
civility and
civics education, but we need to
further discuss each of these as well as other ideas for enhancing principled
prudence and trust or mutual respect.
Indeed, perhaps, we first need to discuss trust and mutual
respect. Our authors sometimes, it
seems speak of one and at other times the other.
How do they differ, and how are they overlapping?
When discussing “deliberative democracy” they seem to emphasize the
importance of mutual respect, while when talking about political compromise they
speak more of trust.
For Tuesday’s class consider things politicians and
citizens in general can do to promote principled prudence, mutual respect, and
trust.
To the above list I add two further things Maine has done or
may do:
disallowing lobbyists’
contributions to campaigning during sessions
a bill for "open primaries" [LD 211]
Let’s add to this
list and discuss in class!
Of course, we also need to discuss what should be done if
compromise is impossible, too costly, or requires too great a sacrifice.
Return to Hauptli's MSC Spring 2019 Course Website
Last revised on: 04/27/19