LAWRENCE: Whitman: Be involved, change politics

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   Former Gov. Christine Todd Whitman is troubled by the direction in which American politics and government is headed, which is less of compromise and more of dogmatic positions taken by political party loyalists.
   Gov. Whitman, who served from 1994 to 2001, shared her views on the state of politics last week at the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics’ ongoing “Governing New Jersey” series at Rider University. She is a Republican.
   The Republican Party is becoming a party of litmus tests, which determines whether one is a good Republican based on his or her position on selected issues, she said. The Democratic Party also is becoming a party of litmus tests, but “Republicans are better at it” because they have been doing it for a longer time, she added.
   While it was not unusual for elected officials to reach across the aisle to work with members of the other political party to resolve an issue in the past, many Democrats are now being ostracized for doing so now, Gov. Whitman said.
   The result is that the American political system is in danger of turning into a European-style parliamentary system, in which the political party chooses who runs and how that elected official votes, Gov. Whitman said. And if that elected official does not hew to the party line, he or she can be removed by the party.
   ”It’s not the American way,” Gov. Whitman said.
   While political parties offered core values and philosophy, voters always elected candidates who represented their views, she said. Now, Congress is becoming more partisan and decisions are being made on “what will get me another vote” — not on policy, she added.
   ”That, to me, is enormously dangerous,” Gov. Whitman said. “We should be mad. It’s not the way we want you (elected officials) to act.”
   Citing immigration reform as an example, Gov. Whitman said President George W. Bush sought to create a “pathway to citizenship” for illegal immigrants. The Senate and the House of Representatives each approved its own bill to address the issue and which should have been sent to a conference committee for compromise — but one was never created. Immigration reform had become a political issue.
   ”There are solutions, but no one has the appetite for them. That’s just wrong when real people are getting hurt,” Gov. Whitman said.
   The two-term governor also expressed concern about voter turnout, which averages 10 percent — unless a Congressional race is at the top of the ticket, which results in average voter turnout of about 32 percent. A presidential election draws about 50 percent of registered voters, she said.
   Translated, that means voters “either don’t care or they believe the incumbents are doing a good job,” she said. She noted that the presidential election is only a few weeks away, and then people will forget about politics for a while.
   But that’s not the way it should work, Gov. Whitman said. After an election, it is even more important for voters to engage with politicians. Even if elected officials do not pick up the telephone or write back in response to a constituent’s concerns, there are staffers who do relay that information to them, she said.
   ”It influences prioritizing (of issues), but it may not influence their vote,” she said.
   Gov. Whitman urged the audience to become involved, because that is the only way to change the system. The 2012 presidential election is “all about the base,” which is by definition the most partisan members of a political party, she said. It’s all about getting out the vote.
   To those voters who may have thrown up their hands in disgust and who may not participate in an election, Gov. Whitman cautioned them that staying home is the wrong response. Nothing is going to change unless voters make their voices heard through the ballot box, she said.
   Gov. Whitman told the audience that she had just returned from a visit to Ukraine, which is holding its parliamentary elections later this month. She traveled to Ukraine as an observer through Americans Elect, which unsuccessfully sought to find a third way to nominate an American presidential and vice presidential candidate — through an online process.
   There was much rhetoric and press bias in Ukraine, and she said she sees much of it here, as well.
   Consensus, meanwhile, has become a bad word — but the people who claim that consensus is not good are ignorant of American history, she said. The founding fathers of the United States disagreed on many issues, but they worked out their differences and came to consensus. The result was the U.S. Constitution, she said.
   But politicians today draw a line in the sand and refuse to find a compromise solution because if they do compromise, they think that they are “giving up” a part of themselves, she said. Politicians who find compromise need to be praised, as long as they are moving forward and solving problems, she said.
   And asked by an audience member how an undecided voter can make a decision in the presidential election, Gov. Whitman suggested watching the debates between the candidates and then voting for the person, not the political party. There are many sources of information, including the Internet, she said.