Panelists discussing partisanship and gridlock at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum on Wednesday evening emphasized the role businesses must play in encouraging bipartisan cooperation in Congress.
The panel, entitled “Partisanship and Gridlock in Congress: Can we Make Democracy Work?” was introduced by University President Drew G. Faust and moderated by Karen G. Mills ’75, former secretary of the Small Business Association and Obama Cabinet member. The four panelists included former congresswoman Hilda L. Solis, Harvard Kennedy School Professor Alexander Keyssar ’69, Kennedy School Professor Theda R. Skocpol, and Mark D. McKinnon, co-founder of the bipartisan organization No Labels.
Faust said that in the aftermath of Congress’s failure to pass a budget for fiscal year 2014 and the resulting sixteen-day government shutdown, “people looked at [America]…and began to wonder about the United States; is the American experiment unraveling?”
She called upon the panelists to discuss the causes of and potential solutions for the current partisan atmosphere.
In discussing potential solutions, Solis said that the business community must exert its influence over candidates and politicians by encouraging them to be more moderate.
Skocpol also emphasized the need for moderate Republicans to “step up and organize.”
McKinnon suggested a “no budget, no pay” policy in which congressmen would not be paid unless they passed a budget.
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