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Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Rep. Derek Kilmer, two congressional workhorses, are retiring at the end of the year.
Congress is losing some of its best players this year
Oct 28, 2024
Fitch is a former CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation and a former Capitol Hill staffer.
The college basketball world got a jolt to its system this month when beloved University of Virginia coach Tony Bennett announced his retirement. A big loss for the Cavaliers, and even a loss for the sport. When great leaders or players leave an industry, it can cause significant harm for their organization and the people they serve.
Similarly, at the end of the 118th Congress, the House and Senate will lose a greater number of “superstar players” than at almost any other time in recent memory. Most of these public servants are not household names, yet that is the definition of a “workhorse” in Congress (in contrast to a “show horse”). They show up, put their heads together and hammer out bill after bill to benefit the American people.
While many of the retiring lawmakers are laudable, here are four who have made outstanding contributions to their constituents and the nation.
Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.) has served in the House for 10 years, after 10 years in the Washington Legislature. In 2019 Kilmer was tapped to lead a new ad-hoc panel, the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress. After its first year, The Washington Post called it “the most important committee you’ve never heard of.” The evenly split panel adopted more than 200 recommendations to improve Congress as an institution, and always with an eye towards improving services to constituents.
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In every facet of operation, the committee broke the rules and pulled down partisan barriers. Instead of using the traditional hearing room dais to sit above their witnesses and audience, they all sat around a table together. Instead of two partisan staffs, they had one bipartisan staff. At hearings they didn’t divide into two camps, but instead sat next to each other, Democrat next to Republican. Collectively, the recommendations will strengthen Congress, allow constituents to have a greater voice in government and lead to better service to (and representation of) the American people.
Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) arrived in Congress in 2005, at age 29, as a bit of a partisan firebrand and the youngest member of Congress. As he grew into the job, and rose in GOP leadership ranks, time seemed to soften his approach. In 2020 he did not join his fellow Republicans in voting against the certification of Joe Biden’s election.
And in 2023 he assumed the important role of chairman of the Financial Services Committee. While holding ideological views, McHenry was credited with shepherding bipartisan legislation through the committee, often to the displeasure of more partisan elements of his party. His cooling demeanor may be why he was selected as speaker pro tempore when Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was forced out of his position in 2023.
One columnist noted of McHenry’s career, “In like a thespian, out like a Madisonian.” This may be why the Congressional Management Foundation selected McHenry for a Lifetime Achievement Democracy Award in 2024.
The retirement of Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) is another great loss to Congress. A conservative on many issues, she also built bipartisan relationships as a member of the moderate Republican Main Street Caucus. McMorris Rodgers also pushed innovation in the institution of Congress. She famously quipped that Congress is a “19th century institution using 20th century technology to respond to 21st century problems.”
She broke glass ceilings in her rise to power, becoming the first woman to chair the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee. She also holds a distinction no other person can claim: While in the House of Representatives she birthed three children!
Throughout her five decades in public service, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) has been a champion of manufacturing and agriculture in Michigan. “We don’t have an economy unless somebody makes something and somebody grows something,” she said. In the Senate she helped write the Affordable Care Act and passed major reforms to bring down the cost of health insurance and prescription drugs and to require health insurance plans to cover maternity care.
She was the first woman to chair a county board of commissioners in Michigan in the 1970s, first woman to preside over the Michigan House of Representatives, and first woman elected to the Senate from Michigan in 2001.
Any team that loses star players is much less likely to succeed in the next season. For Congress, and the country, 2025 will likely be a rebuilding year for democracy.
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A mobile home destroyed by a tornado associated with Hurricane Milton is seen on Oct.12 in the Lakewood Park community of Fort Pierce, Fla.
Paul Hennesy/Anadolu via Getty Images
Disaster fatigue is a real thing. We need a cure.
Oct 25, 2024
Frazier is an assistant professor at the Crump College of Law at St. Thomas University and a Tarbell fellow.
Before I left for the airport to attend a conference in Washington, D.C., I double checked with my wife that she was OK with me leaving while a hurricane was brewing in the Gulf of Mexico. We had been in Miami for a little more than a year at that point, and it doesn’t take long to become acutely attentive to storms when you live in Florida. Storms nowadays form faster, hit harder and stay longer.
Ignorance of the weather is not an option. It’s tiring.
I arrived in Washington and incessantly checked the weather. Each hour introduced a new wrinkle in the forecast. And, as a result, another text to my wife — asking how hurricane prep was going, pledging I’d make my way home and nudging her to cross her fingers for a little longer. I carried on in hopes that it would be another instance of a storm shifting direction — subjecting some other community to its wrath (a horrible thought that you just can’t think too long about).
The storm didn’t shift. My schedule had to change. Twelve hours after landing in D.C., I found myself again going through TSA, finding a quick meal and praying my flight would take off (and land) smoothly. I arrived home around 12:30 a.m. and slept on the couch to avoid waking up the dog (and, by extension, my wife). We woke up and continued the storm prep. Our friends and family called to check in. Our coworkers asked if we’d be on time to various meetings. The storm protocol carried on.
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The storm shifted. Well, at least a little. Miami didn’t experience nearly as much devastation, flooding and harm as its neighbors to the north. We breathed an odd and awkward sigh of relief. What a terrible feeling. The two of us were exhausted. But home. Safe. Warm. Many couldn’t say the same.
It’s going to be hard to keep this up when more storms head our way. The local weatherman who cried “Category 5!” becomes a little less reputable after even one storm dives in a new direction. The email from the landlord encouraging you to stockpile supplies seems a little over the top. It’s all emotionally, physically and, in some cases, monetarily expensive. For all those reasons it’s not surprising why some people become numb to emergency warnings.
Disaster fatigue is a real thing. We need a cure.
Our interconnected, chaotic and turbulent world is going to continue to test us. Storms will keep coming. Political turmoil won’t just disappear. Economic swings will continue. Tranquility is officially a scarce commodity. Individually, we must remain vigilant and resist the temptation to hope that the latest storm, stock market drop or otherwise crisis isn’t going to take us out. Societally, we need to make it easier to transition from the status quo to prepped for the worst-case scenario.
The solution is raising our collective level of preparedness across every dimension. With respect to natural disasters, periods of smooth seas and clear skies should be used to spread emergency kits. Storms like Helene show that even so-called climate havens like Asheville, N.C., need to be ready for the worst.
When it comes to political stability, we ought to continue to explore ways to decrease the partisan temperature. This may include greater investment in local news outlets that can make sure folks have alternatives to social media for essential information.
And, in light of financial uncertainty, we should develop and encourage novel means to bolster the size of the average savings account. This may take the form of traditional tax incentives to reward wise financial decisions to more creative approaches like savings lotteries in which each dollar saved increases the odds of earning a jackpot of sorts.
Disasters aren’t going away. Our policies should reflect the reality that preparedness must become our new normal. It’s not fun. It won’t be easy. But it’s necessary.
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Mariachi Los Pasajeros plays for voters at Dodger Stadium on Election Day 2020.
Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Play for the Vote brings music to the polls
Oct 25, 2024
Becvar is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and executive director of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund. Nevins is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.
With less than two weeks until Election Day, Play for the Vote continues seeking to enlist over 5,000 musicians across the country to perform on Nov. 5. Musicians are being sought to perform outside polling sites throughout the country, with the goal of increasing voter turnout by providing a more positive voting experience. Thousands have already joined, including professional musicians, touring artists, music professors, local music teachers and students all across the United States.
“Play for the Vote stems from the idea that voting could be a way for communities to come together through the power of music, as opposed to being a divisive process,” said Play for the Vote founder and Director Mike Block. He, along with select members of the Grammy-winning group Silkroad Ensemble, will be performing on Election Day at the Chicago City Loop Super Site (191 N. Clark Street).
Play for the Vote began in 2020, during a time of significant political and social challenges. Despite the uncertainty, the organization successfully mobilized 1,500 musicians to perform at 700 polling locations nationwide, creating a welcoming and inspiring atmosphere for voters. The overwhelmingly positive response from both musicians and voters demonstrated the powerful impact that music can have on the democratic process.
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Looking ahead to future elections, Play for the Vote's goal is to more than double its efforts. The organization is committed to recruiting and organizing 5,000 musicians to perform at 2,200 polling locations across the country.
Musicians interested in participating can sign up online. Upon doing so, they will be asked to claim a polling location and a performance time on Election Day.
Play for the Vote is a nonpartisan initiative, welcoming musicians from all genres and walks of life. It does not endorse any specific candidates or issues; instead, it focuses on fostering a spirit of community and civic responsibility. By bringing music to the polls, Play for the Vote aims to elevate the voting experience and inspire greater participation in our democracy.
Music has a unique ability to bring people together, create shared experiences and remind us of our collective purpose as citizens in a democracy. By placing musicians at polling locations across the country on Election Day, Play for the Vote aims to make voting a celebration of democracy, encouraging more people to participate in the electoral process.
Through the power of music and celebrity, the healing power generated can drown out the divisive voices of the extremes on both the left and the right. Music, theater, poetry and all forms of pop culture have amazing healing and connecting powers and when we join people together their energy for good can be amplified and scaled.
In the words of the great jazz artist Wynton Marsalis, “Music heals people because music is vibration, and the proper vibration heals.” Music indeed brings people together and multiplies their energy. When we join as one, we are more than the sum of our parts.
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RobinOlimb/Getty Images
Register for Election Overtime Project briefing for Michigan media
Oct 25, 2024
Becvar is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and executive director of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund. Nevins is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.
The Election Overtime Project, an effort to prepare journalists to cover the outcome of the 2024 election, is hosting its third swing-state briefing on Oct. 25, this time focused on Michigan.
The series is a part of an effort to help reporters, TV anchors and others prepare America to understand and not fear close elections. Election Overtime is an initiative of the Election Reformers Network and developed in partnership with the Bridge Alliance, which publishes The Fulcrum.
This Michigan briefing will introduce the Election Overtime Project and release new survey data on voter knowledge of election rules. The online event will also feature an overview of resources for journalists, presentations from expert speakers and projections for priority races.
Register now for the event which will take place Friday, Oct. 25, 2:30-3:30 pm. Eastern.
Speakers include:
- Jocelyn Benson, Michigan secretary of state. Prior to her election in 2018, Benson served as CEO of the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality, a national nonprofit organization using the unifying power of sports to improve race relations, and as dean of Wayne State University Law School in Detroit. In 2010, Benson authored "State Secretaries of State: Guardians of the Democratic Process," the first major book on the role of the secretary of state in enforcing election and campaign finance laws. She holds a law degree from Harvard Law School and a master of philosophy degree from Oxford University.
- Aghogho Edevbie, deputy secretary of state: Edevbie has served as the deputy secretary since March 2023. Previously, Edevbie served as the Michigan director for All Voting Is Local, a nonpartisan voting rights organization, and practiced law with Detroit-area firms and for the Wayne County government. Edevbie earned his law and bachelor's degrees from the University of Michigan.
- Tonya Schuitmaker, right-leaning lead, Michiganders for Civic Resilience. Schuitmaker served in the Michigan Senate from 2010 to 2018. She was the second woman to serve as the chamber’s president pro tempore. She served on the Senate Appropriations Committee and as chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education. She was also a member of the Judiciary and Energy & Technology committees. She is a practicing attorney at Schuitmaker Moraitis Law in Paw Paw, Mich. She is also co-director of the Michigan Political Leadership Program at Michigan State University. Schuitmaker earned her juris doctor and graduated cum laude from the Detroit College of Law at Michigan State University
- Christine Greig, left-leaning lead, Michiganders for Civic Resilience. Greig was elected in the state House 2014 and served as the Democratic floor leader in 2017-18 and the Democratic leader in 2019-20. As a lawmaker, she championed legislation on economic development, public education, and reproductive rights. She was a 2015 fellow for the Council of State Government Midwest's Bowhay Institute for Legislative Leadership Development Program. She received numerous awards including the National PTA Lifetime Achievement Award, AAUW Michigan Martha Griffiths Equity Award and numerous Legislator of the Year recognitions. Greig is senior advisor to The Lawmaker Network, a nonprofit organization supporting state lawmakers across the country.
- Justin Roebuck, clerk and register of deeds, Ottawa County, Mich. As clerk and register, Roebuck has focused on leading in the areas of customer service, technology and the security of public records and elections. The county clerk is responsible for the administration of all elections within Ottawa County, recording and preserving all records related to real property such as mortgage and deed documents, maintaining all records of the 20th Circuit Court, as well as all vital records such as birth, marriage, death and business registration records. Justin began serving Ottawa County in 2009 as the elections coordinator for the clerk’s office. He was appointed county clerk and register of deeds in 2014 and elected to the position in 2016. Previous to this role he served on the staff of Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land and Rep. Tim Walberg (D-Mich).
- Heather Balas, vice president, Election Reformers Network. Balas, the moderator, brings over 25 years of experience in public policy, including research, citizen deliberation, advocacy and voter education. She is a senior consultant to the Carter Center, advising on reforms to strengthen American democracy. Balas is the previous president and executive director of New Mexico First, a cross-partisan public policy organization co-founded by former Sen. Jeff Bingaman and Pete Domenici. She holds a master’s degree in political communication from the University of Maryland and a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
- Kevin Johnson, executive director, Election Reformers Network. Johnson will present newly released survey data on voter understanding of the rule of law in elections, as well as context around the increased attention to certification procedures in the United States. He is the co-founder of ERN and, since 2017, has led the organization’s research and advocacy programs focused on impartial election administration, independent redistricting and election protection. Kevin draws on decades of experience supporting emerging democracies overseas and advancing reforms in the U.S. Johnson holds an MBA from the Wharton School and a BA from Yale University.
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