Focus Area: Constructive Politics

This post was co-authored by Chris Crawford, Program Associate for the Governance team.

In this age of intense polarization, Americans have a habit of retreating to their comfortable political corners. Our institutions of government and our media both suffer from low approval ratings. In an era of cynicism, teamsmanship, and distrust, The Faith Angle Forum has shined brightly as an example of civility, understanding, and deeper learning. Its leader, Michael Cromartie, was a champion of democratic values.

For three years, Democracy Fund has been a lead investor in the Faith Angle Forum, a project of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Twice per year, Faith Angle Forum gathers the nation’s top journalists to discuss the issues facing the nation – an opportunity for journalists to engage with religious experts on topics of the day. Shortly after the election of Pope Francis, Arthur Brooks of the American Enterprise Institute and John Carr of Georgetown University’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought discussed the ways in which Catholic teaching responds to poverty, from the political Left and the Right. Last spring, journalists gathered with author Kate Bowler to discuss the Prosperity Gospel, the faith tradition in which President Donald Trump was raised. And each election year, Faith Angle Forum has gathered polling experts to discussed the way in which voters from different faith traditions voted in the election.

It is obvious to all observers why this project is important. But to the participants, the project was made especially important by its leader. Michael Cromartie was deeply dedicated to democratic values. In addition to his deep religious faith, Michael had faith in the ability of the American people to process information when presented with the facts. He dedicated his career to creating a deeper understanding between the American media and the American people.

On August 28, Michael Cromartie died after a heroic battle with cancer. He was the rock on which a significant segment of our political class rested. He valued deeper understanding. He exuded joy. And he never tired of forging partnerships to strengthen our collective institutions.

Memorials have been pouring in from our nation’s stop media outlets, praising Michael for his life’s work. Carl Cannon of Real Clear Politics, a frequent attendee of Faith Angle Forum, wrote an especially precise summary of Michael’s impact on American politics:

“Mike Cromartie did more to ensure that American political journalism is imbued with religious tolerance, biblical literacy, historical insight, and an ecumenical spirit than any person alive. No one is a close second. This man was one of a kind.”

Peter Wehner, Michael’s colleague at EPPC, wrote that Michael “enriched the public dialogue and helped shape American culture.” In addition, he noted that Michael, “was a man who left a deep imprint on people’s hearts and souls.”

Peter’s word are appropriate and accurate. His understanding of Michael both as a human being and as a leader in his field have prepared Peter to continue the Faith Angle Forum project this fall in Miami.

Michael’s genuine desire to learn from others, and to bring the rest of us along with him, made him an ideal convener. His good nature was evident whether talking with titans of the media industry, think tank presidents, or with the hotel staff at Faith Angle Forum, all of whom he knew by name. In addition to his work with Faith Angle Forum, Michael was a central part of Democracy Fund’s Voter Study Group. With Michael’s help and unique ability to bring people together, we gathered researchers and analysts from a broad section of the political spectrum to collaborate on a project designed to listen to the American people.

With the passing of Michael Cromartie, Democracy Fund has not just lost an incredibly valuable grantee; we have suffered from a death in the family. Our thoughts are with Michael’s wonderful wife Jennifer, his EPPC colleagues, and the countless people who were honored to call him a friend. Our work would be unnecessary if our country was filled with men and women like Michael Cromartie.

Congressmen Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) and Will Hurd (R-TX) might not agree on every aspect of education or trade policy. But they have experienced life on the highway – together.

Faced with travel delays caused by a winter storm, Reps. O’Rourke and Hurd made the practical decision to rent a car and head north, a choice anyone who knows the two men could understand. Rep. O’Rourke, who started his own small business, and Rep. Hurd, who served in the CIA during the War on Terror, are “get the job done” kinds of guys.

Their shared work ethic and commitment to serve their Texan constituents helped them connect during their long ride back to Washington. As they cruised along Route 81, these bipartisan road trippers drank coffee, stopped for snacks, and took questions from Facebook Live viewers tuned into their trip.

They also did something even more unusual these days: They showed their constituents and an audience from around the country that Republicans and Democrats could get to know each other and even be friends.

Long before social media (and regular flights to Peoria!) former Leader Bob Michel (R-IL), and former Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D-IL) famously drove back and forth to Illinois together on the weekends. This time, though, online followers of the #BipartisanRoadTrip saw firsthand how so many on the Internet coalesced around the two. In this age of hyperpartisan politics, there are few Facebook Live streams that friends from across the aisle join together to watch. However, Americans from coast to coast tuned in to watch this unlikely duo make the long trek from Texas to Washington together.

As Katie Mettler reported in The Washington Post, O’Rourke and Hurd made stops for coffee and donuts along their route, pausing to talk with fellow customers, some of whom were skeptical about their newfound friendship. “You’re buddies?” an older man asked the congressmen, to which O’Rourke responded: “We’re becoming buddies.”

These unlikely buddies aren’t the only Members working to bridge partisan divides. Rep. Hurd, co-chair of the Millennial Action Project’s bipartisan Congressional Future Caucus, and Rep. O’Rourke, who has participated in the Aspen Institute Congressional Program – both of which promote efforts to connect Members of Congress with colleagues across the aisle – are just two of several recent examples.

Just two weeks ago, 28 Republican and 18 Democratic Freshman Members — representing red and blue states from coast to coast — signed a Commitment to Civility and spoke on the House floor about why they made this commitment, what their constituents had sent them to Washington to accomplish, and how civility is essential to working together across the aisle to achieve those goals. In all, 46 of the 52 new members signed the commitment, which urges productive dialogue and rejects the idea that political rivals are enemies.

And last week, the Bipartisan Policy Center hosted Republican and Democratic presidents of the House Freshmen class to discuss efforts by their class to work across the aisle to find common ground. At the event, Reps. Val Demings (D-FL) and Jack Bergman (R-MI) spoke about the class’s shared commitment sustain this effort, not not just in their first months in Washington, but as long as they are elected to serve.

Asked, “How can we help?” the Representatives responded, “Keep encouraging events like this.”

As road trippers Hurd and O’Rourke return to the Capitol and their caucuses with 1,900 more miles of common ground behind them, chances are each knows a whole lot more about how the other wants to do this job of “representative” – and that their constituents do, too.

Packing Members of different parties into rental cars for 24-hour drives may not be a feasible way to find common ground on every issue, but Reps. Hurd & O’Rourke are one example of how actions can bridge Washington’s hyperpartisan divide. And the more constituents encourage Members of Congress to work together, the more they will do so.

Nearly every year since 1998, The Faith and Politics Institute has organized The Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage through Birmingham, Selma, and Montgomery, Alabama. As I witnessed earlier this month, this pilgrimage is a powerful journey for all those who attend. It is humbling to walk the path of civil rights heroes, and it is particularly powerful to take those steps alongside those who marched through Hell over 50 years ago. Democracy Fund is proud to support this opportunity for Members of Congress and other pilgrims to interact directly with past wounds in order to find common ground to build for the future.

Learning in ‘Bombingham’

Throughout the trip, we heard from people who experienced the tumult of change firsthand. During one such opportunity at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham – the sight of a bombing that killed four African-American girls in 1963, Faith and Politics President Joan Mooney hosted a panel with Carolyn McKinstry and Marian Daniel, both survivors of church bombings from an era in which these attacks were so frequent that Birmingham was known as “Bombingham”.

McKinstry and Daniel shared similar experiences of hearing loud bangs, buildings shaking, and feelings of sheer terror. They also shared a common outlook on how to move forward from tragedy. In the time since the bombing, both women have dedicated their lives to fighting for justice and reconciliation. As McKinstry has said in recent interviews, “It was the point at which I decided that I would try to do as much as I could to change the world. We could accomplish so much more with love and kindness.”

Dorothy Frazier, one of the campus organizers at Alabama State University during the Civil Rights era, has endured the longest path toward reconciliation. In his report on the pilgrimage in the Washington Post, Jonathan Capehart quoted Frazier:

“March 7th will forever stay with me,” said Dorothy Frazier, who was a student at Alabama State University in 1965, and was involved in protests in Montgomery. She revealed during the panel that she rarely talked about what happened and that she had a hard time forgiving. “How do I forgive,” Frazier asked, “how do you forgive people who want to kill you? I’m trying really, really, really, really hard.” But moments later, Frazier earned lengthy applause when she said, “Today, I think, while I’m speaking, I’m releasing the hate.”

History Comes Alive

On the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, pilgrims gathered to hear Representative John Lewis recount his experience from Bloody Sunday.

“We looked over the bridge and saw a sea of blue,” he said, referring to the Sheriff and dozens of citizens who were deputized by the sheriff’s department the evening before a march that was planned by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Following the fatal shooting of a civil rights activist by an Alabama State Trooper, they organized a march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. When they had only made it from Brown Chapel across Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma, the Sheriff ordered the marchers to stop, and they did.

However, when John Lewis, then just 25 years old, asked the Sheriff “May I have a word,” the police and posse responded with Billy clubs and tear gas, assaulting the marchers and chasing them back across the bridge.

The violence that ensued was captured on camera and projected to millions of Americans during the evening news, bearing witness to the brutality that the attackers let loose on peaceful protesters.

“I thought I was going to die on this bridge,” John Lewis told us, the scars from 1965 visible on his head as he spoke. “I was not afraid. But I thought I was going to die.”

Lewis challenged those on the bridge to find a way to work together to further the cause of equality.

“Do not give up hope! Do not give up hope,” he told the crowd. “It’s going to be hard. But do not give up.”

As Dr. McKinstry closed the programming on the bridge with a prayer, the enormity of what we had all just witnessed became ever clearer to those of us on the bridge. Some people dropped to their knees, others broke into tears. Some looked out into the distance over the water. But every person was amazed at the opportunity to stand on the bridge with John Lewis, and to hear his words about building a better future – even when the challenge is hard. Dr. McKinstry referred to the bridge as “sacred ground.” She was right.

Healing Divides, Bridging Differences

After dinner that evening, Peggy Wallace Kennedy, the daughter of former Alabama Governor George Wallace, delivered remarks at the Alabama Archives. She spoke about growing up in Governor’s Mansion and not understanding what her father was doing. Years later, she said, her son asked her why her father had supported such treatment toward African-Americans.

“I realized at that moment that I was at a crossroad in my life and the life of my son. The mantle had passed. And it was up to me to do for Burns what my father never did for me. It was the first step in my journey of building a legacy of my own. Maybe it will be up to you and me to make things right.”

In this critical time for our democracy, Members of Congress and the American people face this very same challenge: to make things right. Doing so will require members of Congress to work together and to find common ground, in the way that members of both parties did during the pilgrimage to Alabama. Speaking only for myself, I was haunted by the ways in which the lessons of Selma, Montgomery, and Birmingham are relevant today. The words of John Lewis, Peggy Wallace Kennedy, and many others showed the importance of learning these lessons from our past and working together to build a stronger future for our republic.

On the bridge that day, many of the Alabama pilgrims were moved to tears as they faced the brutality and scars of our past. In listening to Peggy Wallace Kennedy at the Alabama Archives, they realized the enormity of the challenge to “make things right.”

She challenged the Members of Congress and all others on the trip to “Stand up rather than stand by when justice for all is at stake.”

During a question-and-answer period after her speech, John Lewis began by thanking Kennedy.

He spoke slowly.

“Thank you for being you. You are my sister. I love you.”