The Bipartisan Policy Center, a Democracy Fund grantee, will launch its Commission on Political Reform on Wednesday, which will seek to understand the causes and consequences of America’s partisan political divide and recommend reforms to help Americans achieve shared national goals. Watch the webcast of the launch here (March 6 at 1 pm eastern). The commission will be co-chaired by former Senate Majority Leaders Tom Daschle (D-SD) and Trent Lott (R-MS), former Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME), former Senator, Governor and Secretary Dirk Kempthorne (R-ID), and former Representative and Secretary Dan Glickman (D-KS). The co-chairs will be joined by 25 other Americans, including volunteer and religious leaders, veterans, business executives, academics, state and local elected officials and journalists. “Democrats and Republicans are not just more divided ideologically, but less collaborative in practice than at any time in our careers. Even more troublingly, we suspect that the divide is not limited to Washington; that much of America is now riven along party lines, goaded to partisanship by increasingly shrill voices in politics, the media, and well-funded interests on both sides,” wrote Snowe and Glickman in an op-ed for USA TODAY. The commission will hold a series of “National Conversations on American Unity” starting on March 6, 2013 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library in California. Throughout the next year the commission will also host forums in other cities across the country, including: Philadelphia; Columbus, Ohio; and Boston. In 2014, the commission will present recommendations to the American people in three areas: electoral system reform, congressional procedural improvements, and promoting public service. The public can join the conversation by visiting www.bipartisanpolicy.org/CPR or following the commission on Twitter: @BPC_Bipartisan #EngageUSA. Check the website daily for new blogs and videos featuring the commissioners, information about upcoming Twitter Q&A sessions, and facts about bipartisanship. Questions and comments from the public will be incorporated into the “National Conversations on American Unity” in real time starting on March 6. Commission on Political Reform Co-Chairs: Tom Daschle, Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader (D-SD); Co-founder, BPC Dan Glickman, Former U.S. Representative (D-KS) and Secretary of Agriculture; Senior Fellow, BPC
Dirk Kempthorne, Former U.S. Senator (R-ID), Governor and Secretary of the Interior; President and CEO, American Council of Life Insurers
Trent Lott, Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader (R-MS); Senior Fellow, BPC
Olympia Snowe, Former U.S. Senator (R-ME); Senior Fellow, BPC Commission on Political Reform Members:
Hope Andrade, Former Texas Secretary of State (R)
Molly Barker, Founder, Girls on the Run
Henry Bonilla, Former U.S. Representative (R-TX); Partner, the Normandy Group
John Bridgeland, Former Director, White House Domestic Policy Council; Former Director, USA Freedom Corps; President and CEO, Civic Enterprises
John Donahoe, President and CEO, eBay Inc. Susan Eisenhower, Chairman of Leadership and Public Policy Programs, Eisenhower Institute; President, Eisenhower Group, Inc. Floyd H. Flake, Former U.S. Representative (D-NY); Pastor, Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral Mark D. Gearan, Former Director, Peace Corps; President, Hobart and William Smith Colleges Heather Gerken, J. Skelly Wright Professor of Law, Yale Law School Michael Gerson, Former Speechwriter for President George W. Bush; Columnist, The Washington Post
Charles Gonzalez, Former U.S. Representative (D-TX)
Jennifer M. Granholm, Former Governor of Michigan (D) Antonia Hernandez, President and CEO, California Community Foundation Karen Hughes, Former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs; Worldwide Vice Chair, Burson-Marsteller
Victoria Kennedy, Co-founder, Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate
Chris Marvin, Managing Director, “Got Your 6” David McIntosh, Former U.S. Representative (R-IN); Partner, Mayer Brown LLP Eric L. Motley, Ph.D.Former Special Assistant to President George W. Bush; Vice President, the Aspen Institute Deborah Pryce, Former U.S. Representative (R-OH); Principal, Ice Miller Whiteboard
Reihan Salam, Lead Writer, National Review Online’s “The Agenda”
Kurt L. Schmoke, Former Mayor of Baltimore (D); Vice President and General Counsel, Howard University Margaret Spellings, Former U.S. Secretary of Education (R); President and CEO, Margaret Spellings and Company
Diane Tomb, President and CEO, National Association of Women Business Owners
Ronald A. Williams, Former Chairman and CEO, Aetna Inc; Founder, RW-2 Enterprises, LLC
Elaine Wynn, Director, Wynn Resorts