Pearce Godwin, founder and CEO of the Listen First Project, joins Deconstructed to discuss what is driving the political divide and how to fix it. After working for the U.S. Senate and serving as a national political consultant for campaigns, Godwin traveled to Africa with a relief organization to gain a fresh perspective which ultimately led him to found the Listen First movement.
Goldberg is editor-in-chief of The Dispatch and the host of The Remnant podcast. His Twitter handle is @JonahDispatch.
The term “realignment” gets used and abused a lot, because people have agreed to use it without agreeing on a definition. Traditionally, realignments are said to have occurred when majority and minority parties switch places. Starting in 1932, FDR pulled blacks and working class and immigrant whites into the Democratic Party, making it the majority party for generations. It’s a sign of how massive that coalition was that it’s been shrinking since the 1960s without Republicans ever becoming the clear majority party, though the story gets complicated with the rise in voters calling themselves independents.
For the last 20 years, the parties have essentially been tied, and it seems unlikely that will change anytime soon. But there’s still a whole lot of realigning going on. Donald Trump has accelerated the trend of the white working class fleeing the Democrats. Meanwhile, college-educated and suburban voters have moved significantly toward the Democrats.
In other words, while the parties are stuck in a logjam, the coalitions making up the parties are changing dramatically.
And that’s where the inconsistency and hypocrisy come in. Parties reflect the interests of their electoral coalitions. You can see signs of the adjustments all over the place. Republicans such as JD Vance sound a lot like anti-war Democrats from 20 years ago, railing against warmongers, chickenhawks and “neocons.” Democrats haven’t changed as dramatically, but they are far more comfortable talking about American global leadership and the importance of our alliances than they used to be.
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Parties also reflect their candidates, which is why the party of philandering Bill Clinton now talks a lot about good character while Republicans fawn over Trump’s alpha dog “manliness.”
Democrats have been far more consistent on abortion, because in a post-Roe environment it’s a winning issue. But Trump has moved the GOP toward a de facto pro-choice position, denouncing “heartbeat bills” while also insisting that states should be free to do what they please on abortion.
Neither party is coherent — or good, in my opinion — on trade and industrial policy, but Trump has definitely made the GOP more protectionist and dirigiste than at any point in my lifetime. Given the movement of rank-and-file members of private sector labor unions toward the GOP it’s not hard to imagine a new partisan divide between public and private sector unions.
The most interesting change might be on the issue of democracy itself. I don’t mean the arguments about Trump’s pernicious election fraud lies (the sorts of lies once associated with left-wing Democrats like Robert F. Kennedy Jr.), but the broader debates about the Electoral College and so-called “voter suppression.”
For decades, both parties shared the flawed assumption that higher voter turnout mostly benefited Democrats in national elections. (Democrats had the opposite view in big city elections.) Voter ID laws and tighter restrictions on early and absentee voting were seen as a way to make sure that high-propensity voters — i.e., disproportionately Republican college-educated suburbanites who could be relied upon to vote — were overrepresented, and low-propensity voters — Black, Latino and rural non-college educated whites — were underrepresented. The overheated rhetoric about “voter suppression” or “election integrity” was unjustified. But the dynamic was real, because the electoral calculation was real.
After 2016, many Democrats doubled down on the claim that the Electoral College was racist or undemocratic, which was itself remarkably hypocritical given their previous boasts that the Democrats had a near-lock on the Electoral College: That’s where the phrase “the blue wall” originated. Bragging about your advantage in the Electoral College only to call it racist and undemocratic when it works against you is not a great look.
In 2024, the Harris campaign relied on high-propensity voters while the Trump campaign leaned heavily on low-propensity men. Assuming these trends are real and that they become the new normal, it will be interesting to see whether the parties switch their rhetoric about democracy.
©2024 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The Imagine mosaic in Strawberry Fields in Central Park, a tribute to John Lennon.
Dresden is a policy strategist for Protect Democracy. Livingston is director of field support for Over Zero.
Election officials, law enforcement and civil society have been preparing for months — some for years — to ensure that the full election process plays out safely, securely and in accordance with the law. And for the most part, it seems that Election Day was indeed generally orderly. While the election process continues with final counting and certification, the projected result of the presidential election came more quickly and clearly than many of us anticipated.
As we look ahead to the next months and years and consider what preserving our democracy will need from us, we should gather what we have learned and consolidate some of those lessons. Election Day itself was largely peaceful, but the campaign period was marked by unprecedented incendiary and group-targeted rhetoric. It was also not free of violence — a major party candidate was nearly assassinated and one of his supporters was killed, election workers were threatened and harassed, shots were fired repeatedly at a campaign office in Arizona, falsehood- and hate-fueled threats flooded a small city in Ohio, and numerous other localized incidents left marks on our democracy.
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In the coming months and years, leaders will guide their communities in addressing these incidents and their impact. But political violence threats and harassment are not unique to the last six months — they are bound up with the history of our country, even as Americans steadfastly reject them. The campaign period threw into sharp relief the importance of both responding with care and remaining committed to the long-term work to prevent these incidents in the first place. We should not leave those lessons behind, even as we complete the election process and move forward.
What would “responding better” look and sound like in the future?
Simply put, while incendiary rhetoric can stoke tensions, deepen divisions and create a permission structure for violence, responsible communication — from leaders and the media alike — can remind communities of our better angels, guiding us in resisting harmful divisions, recovering quickly from incidents that might escalate and building longer-term resilience to these risks.
But communicating in contentious times requires striking a careful balance. When violence seeks to intimidate people from participating in public life, leaders and the media must take care not to inadvertently play into these aims by stoking the very threats and sense of fear they are trying to defuse.
To support leaders and journalists in navigating these tensions, our organizations developed resources for responsible communication and reporting. They provide a helpful template for communities to discern responsible, de-escalatory communication from inflammatory fear-mongering; to determine when to keep reading or listening and when to turn elsewhere.
Leaders’ words will shape how communities make sense of, and respond to, the current moment. Communities can judge whether those words are leading towards a more peaceful, democratic outcome by asking a few simple questions.
Are leaders condemning violence? When violence has occurred, it is critical for leaders to unequivocally and swiftly denounce it, regardless of who is involved. Violence is antithetical to community and national values, and the overwhelming majority of Americans reject it. Unambiguous condemnations of violence help to reinforce that norm.
Are leaders combatting us-vs.-them divisions? Violence peddlers often seek to divide us, constructing a threatening or guilty “them” and a virtuous “us” in need of protection. Instead, leaders can remind us of all that unites us, emphasizing our shared identities and what we stand for. This can help build resilience in the face of divisive rhetoric. In Springfield, Ohio, for instance, the city came together to reaffirm local Springfield values and support the Haitian community amid hate-filled and false conspiracy theories targeting them. Leaders can remind us that, as parents, veterans, neighbors or Americans, we are proud to honor our election systems, to respect our community members who make free and fair elections possible, and to resolve our differences peacefully.
Are leaders channeling our emotions into constructive, democratic action?Leaders should use precise, measured language to describe the incident, taking care not to cast it as more widespread than it was and avoiding warlike and natural disaster metaphors (like “erupted” or “flooded”), which can generate additional fear and diminish feelings of agency. While conflict entrepreneurs bet on us feeling defeated, true leaders remind us that we are not powerless and guide us to taking positive action. Voting has ended, but there are plenty of ways to support our communities, whether through thanking election workers, engaging in local politics, reaching out to elected officials, or joining organized efforts to counteract political violence.
Critically, violence in American politics has historically targeted groups on the basis of their identity to control who participates in public life. Leaders should voice support for groups that are especially likely to be targeted — including Black, immigrant, LGBTQ, Jewish, Arab and Muslim communities — ensuring that their needs and priorities are centered in community responses.
Further, violence can be exploited to generate support for authoritarian responses that crack down on our rights and freedoms in the name of restoring “law and order.” Responsible leaders should offer alternative solutions to address our natural desire for security, for instance through outlining specific plans to restore safety and/or continue the electoral process.
In moments of tension most of us depend on the media for our information. Reporting shapes what we know about an event, informs how we put it in the broader context of the political moment and influences our views on what kinds of responses are necessary and appropriate.
Good journalism is always a vital yet challenging endeavor. But responsible reporting on political violence is especially hard. As with all public communications, even well-meaning reporting can inadvertently escalate tensions, fuel conflict, provide platforms to extremists, or be used to justify crackdowns and authoritarian responses. So when it comes to reporting on the risk of violence or an actual incident of violence, newsrooms need to use extra care.
Here are some of the key signs your news sources are following best practices:
Is reporting accurate, concrete and specific? All good reporting seeks to get the facts right, but in reporting on violence, this also means mindfully calibrating the language being used to present the facts. Hyperbole (especially in headlines) or language like natural disaster metaphors evoke feelings of fear without providing meaningful information. Look for numbers (“eight storefronts were damaged”) rather than vague descriptors (“many windows were smashed”). Coverage should also attribute responsibility concretely — if one or a few individuals engaged in violent behavior, a story shouldn’t lump them in with a bigger group by referring to actions by “protesters” or “Republicans” or “Democrats.”
Is reporting giving you context? Violent events almost never happen in a vacuum. There may be a history of scapegoating a targeted community. Extremist groups involved in violent events may try to turn the media into a free megaphone. Violence may interact with a larger process of democratic backsliding. Coverage should explain this context with clarity and not simply repeat the talking points of those who may have another agenda, particularly one that violence might advance.
Are you getting the full story? Violence is only part of the story when an incident occurs. Reporting on responses and the communities that were targeted paints the full picture. Who is responding to address what happened or prevent similar incidents in the future? Who has condemned the violence? What do targeted communities say they need to recover and repair? If you’re not seeing coverage that answers these questions, you’re only getting part of the story.
We hope that there is no need for any of this in the future. But we have seen in recent months how much words matter if or when inflammatory rhetoric or threats of violence occur. Communities will rely on their leaders to speak up effectively in support of nonviolence and the democratic process, and their media to provide conflict-sensitive coverage that is accurate and complete.
At the end of the day, we all have a role to play in ensuring our communities and democracy are resilient to these risks. We can ask ourselves whether the people we are hearing from and the news we are consuming advance these goals — whether we should continue listening or reading, or look elsewhere for information.
Daulby is CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation.
As Mr. Rogers famously said, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
A few months ago, I became the new CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation with a renewed mission to lead the helpers back to the Capitol. After a career on Capitol Hill that started as a paid intern and ended after being the staff director for the House Administration Committee on Jan. 6, 2021, I have been called back to serve the institution. I agreed to do so because we are in desperate need of the helpers, and having been a doer for the last two decades, it is now time for me to be a helper.
In addition to the presidential election, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives were on the ballot Tuesday along with roughly a third of the Senate. Our institution is rapidly turning over and we will see hundreds of new staff come to Washington in January. I have watched with much joy and enthusiasm the progress that has been made on Capitol Hill, and particularly in the House. Staff have access to a team of bipartisan coaches and online resources from which to learn and grow in their current positions, thanks to the office of the Chief Administrative Officer. Staff retreats are now commonplace and offered by three entities in the House. While I was on the Hill, my team established the Congressional Excellence program that continues to provide individual leadership development and coaching to members of Congress.
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We are making progress.
However, for outside organizations like the Congressional Management Foundation to move the needle on making Congress work more and squabble less, we need more helpers. With the growing popularity of the “fix Congress” movement and acceptance that we need infrastructure like the House Administration Committee’s modernization subcommittee, we started a trend … which has become a habit of telling Congress what it can do better. Most members and staff know that Congress needs improvement, but they need a helping hand.
Well-meaning organizations have sent letters, published op-eds and spoken on panels in a silo. So much of this important work never gets communicated effectively to the Hill and so few resources have been committed to directly sharing our work and executing programing that help the members of Congress achieve what we are publicly telling them to do. That is why CMF will continue to support leadership and professional development opportunities, building a community that strengthens bipartisan relationships and facilitating educational opportunities that leverage private-sector expertise.
CMF’s Revitalizing Congress program is just one example of the work we do to help Congress function more efficiently. This program works with members of Congress to:
So many American feel Congress is broken. These beliefs have become so embedded in our society that it seems most Americans have lost hope in an institution that seems ineffective, unresponsive and unable to address the challenges America faces. Most Americans see only examples of ineptitude, petty partisan politics and the occasional scandal on Capitol Hill.
But what if Americans got a glimpse of a different Congress? Americans' views might change if they saw examples of members of Congress employing innovative practices to engage with citizens, or congressional offices employing private-sector business practices to improve their operations. And what would other lawmakers do if they also saw how their colleagues enhanced their operations and citizen engagement?
In this spirit, CMF created a distinctive honors program — the Democracy Awards — to recognize non-legislative achievement and performance in congressional offices and by members of Congress.
And we do so much more.
In the coming weeks our congressional management guide, “Setting Course,” will be published and distributed to all new members of Congress and their staff. We will follow that publication with a series of workshops for new staff in 2025 that will help them onboard to these new positions. We will offer staff academies on pressing topics and cohort dinners with staff from both sides of the aisle with private-sector leaders. Staff are desperate for hard skills and professional development tools. We will continue to conduct retreats, offer webinars on office skills and run management classes.
The work of the helpers never ends. I hope you will follow us on our journey.
Wright is a youth leader at NM CAFe.
Politicians often proclaim that “youth are the future,” but they don’t listen to our voices or consider our opinions when making policies that will shape the future. The reality, however, is we don’t need to wait for young people to become changemakers — we already are changemakers. We are actively shaping the world through activism, raising our voices and organizing — and it’s time for politicians to take us seriously.
As a young person, I know that we are already challenging the status quo and reshaping the organizing sphere. I have witnessed the success of including young people in organizing from a young age when, at 16, I started working on disability accessibility in my home state of New Mexico. This led to furthering policy that helped support students with dyslexia, which I also have. Organizing around disability accessibility led to the state funding more money for testing for youth with disabilities.
Including youth voices in organizing is essential to adapting our current landscape to the needs and aspirations of those entering the space — something often overlooked in discussions about necessary steps toward building an inclusive economy that centers working people and families and treats those people with dignity.
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Organizers face many challenges, but I want to focus on solutions. Transformational change in organizing must begin with a genuine interest and commitment to creating a long-lasting impact. Increasing diversity within organizing is a crucial first step. This goes beyond checking boxes across race, faith or gender; it means building a bigger table that includes young people.
Gen Z is unapologetically authentic and consistently shows up for our communities. The necessity to adapt is an important quality that youth leaders bring to the ever-changing field of organizing. We are digital natives, adept at using technology to amplify our voices and connect with others globally. Being fluent in this rapidly changing landscape allows us to organize quickly, spread awareness and mobilize support in ways previous generations could only dream of.
Intergenerational organizing, like the program Faith in Action and NM CAFe are building through Rising Youth, provides a home for youth who are interested in creating social and political change but aren’t typically in communities that allow space for them to get fully engaged.
Youth organizing spaces shift the current sphere of thinking to focus on issues that have often gone overlooked and under-prioritized. By listening to and empowering young voices, we can change the narrative to one that represents future leaders.
Youth have become boisterous champions of environmental justice, gun reform, LGBTQ+ rights and racial equity. In New Mexico, youth led the successful effort to be part of building the world we want to see, through working on immigration reform, mental health initiatives and creating a national platform for youth to be connected and empowered through organizing
Young people are demanding their voices be heard and will mobilize to ensure the issues that matter most to them aren’t swept under the rug. Young voters' political and social opinions are pivotal in driving change in this country. We are becoming more civically engaged than the country has seen in the last few decades.
Elected officials and candidates are joining platforms like TikTok and X to reach young voters because they want to build a base of young supporters. However, we don’t just want to be reached through social media; we want to be included and have a voice in the issues that impact us daily.
It is crucial that we continue to support and amplify youth-led initiatives, ensuring that young leaders have the resources, platforms and opportunities that we need to succeed. This means investing in youth programs, fostering intergenerational collaboration and creating spaces where young voices are not only heard but valued. The future is shaped by our actions today, and with youth leading the charge, we can create a more just, inclusive and vibrant world for all.
By listening to and empowering young voices, we can create a better future now. Our generation is ready to lead, and the time for change is today, not in the distant future. It's time for society to recognize and embrace the potential of the next generation as the driving force for positive change.
