Americans say they're sick of partisan politics, and some of them
really mean it.
In Norman, Okla., and Tallahassee, Fla. -- two university towns where
football usually matters more than governance -- local leaders weary of
blood sport have begun taking matters into their own hands.
Next week in Norman, as the media hordes forget they ever heard of
Iowa and descend on New Hampshire for the nation's first primary, a dozen
or so renegades from the major parties are convening a forum to develop
Plan C. A third way. A bipartisan solution to business as usual.
Their immodest goal: To end divisive partisan polarization, create
bipartisanship and bring the country together after the 2008 election.
Leading the charge are David Boren, Oklahoma University president and
a former U.S. senator, along with former Democratic Sens. Sam Nunn of
Georgia, Charles Robb of Virginia, and Gary Hart of Colorado, also a former
presidential candidate.
Republican sponsors include former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd
Whitman, former Sens. Bill Brock of Tennessee and John Danforth of
Missouri, and Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska.
And yes, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will be there, but he's not
running for president.
Other formers expected to participate include Bill Cohen, former
secretary of defense and former U.S. Sens. Alan Dixon of Illinois and Bob
Graham of Florida. Also, Jim Leach, former member of the U.S. House of
Representatives from Iowa, and Edward Perkins, former U.S. ambassador to
the United Nations.
Yes, this is primarily a forum of formers. In fact, only Hagel and
Bloomberg are politically current, from which one may draw one's own
conclusions. Then again, former politicians may be the best kind. With
hindsight comes wisdom and, having been there, done that, people formerly
known as politicians have little to gain from speaking out except the rare
reward of doing something for the greater good.
While these reform-minded formers are tackling national problems,
their bipartisan counterparts in Tallahassee are acting locally through a
relatively new Web-based creation called "To The Village Square."
The square is the brainchild of attorney and City Commissioner Allan
Katz, a Barack Obama Democrat who used leftover money from his recent
re-election campaign to create the project.
He tapped as his partner Liz Joyner, a social worker and stay-at-home
mom, (who also ran his last campaign), and recruited a bipartisan board
whose members agree with two simple premises: facts matter; solutions
should be bipartisan.
"If you say you're nonpartisan, nobody believes you," says Katz.