Michigan's two Democratic senators and two Republican congressional representatives gathered this week at the Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island to discuss the current political climate and what it takes to get things done in Washington.
Both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate are closely contested, with the House led by Republicans and the Senate led by Democrats.
But when news and other media make political attacks the main story of the day, it makes it hard to focus on efforts toward progress, lawmakers said.
“Stop reporting,” U.S. Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Bruce County, said Thursday about news organizations. “When the cameras are gone and the microphones are out of your face, it's a whole different environment.”
Moderator Nolan Finley, editorial editor of the Detroit News, began the conversation with McClain, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing), Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Township) and Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Tipton) by asking, “Since when has the Capitol become a middle school cafeteria?”
Detailed reference Recent Exchanges An exchange of “nasty taunts” between Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Democratic Reps. Jasmine Crockett of Texas and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
Greene said during a House Oversight Committee meeting that she thought Crockett's “fake eyelashes make it hard for me to understand what I'm reading,” to which Crockett responded by asking the committee chair whether it was appropriate for someone on the committee to refer to his “bleach blonde, rugged, masculine body.”
Peters said bad behavior is rewarded with attention, obscuring the reality that bipartisan efforts are taking place. It's up to the media, lawmakers and voters to stand firm and not allow polarization to be rewarded.
“This is performative politics. … I have no doubt that each of these individuals have gone out and said, 'Look at this … we're attacking each other here,' and donated $20, $25, raised a lot of money, and that then leads to more bad behavior,” Peters said. “Even if the media doesn't report it, they do report it … it's still on social media.”
Stabenow, who is retiring this year, called his comments to the committee “embarrassing,” adding that the four panelists on stage may have different political positions but all wanted to get things done in Washington.
“It's in our DNA as Americans to come together when bad things happen or we face hardships,” Stabenow said, recalling his first term as a U.S. senator during the 9/11 attacks. Then-Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski began singing, After the attack, members of Congress sang “God Bless America” on the steps of the U.S. Capitol..
“I will never forget that day, and I want to see a day when, regardless of the outcome of the election or the results of the election, people can come together and stand on the steps and sing, 'God Bless America,'” Stabenow said.
It's inevitable to see what's happening in the world and to hold those in power accountable, Stabenow said, citing the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2020, by supporters of former President Donald Trump who refused to accept the results of the election.
Both McClain and Walberg voted not to certify the election results. In some states, it is scheduled for January 2021.
While Democrats blame President Trump for the current partisan divide marked by the trading of insults, Walberg called on lawmakers to exercise restraint where they can and take responsibility for their actions. Still, leadership is important, Walberg said. So if Democratic President Joe Biden's administration wants to promote greater bipartisanship, it needs to sit down with Republicans at the table and understand that they represent most of the country.
“I think the whole premise of what we're talking about today is, what can we control? As a member of the House of Representatives, I want to help control our organization so that we can overwhelmingly work together,” Walberg said. “I think that's possible, and I'm happy to have the Michigan senator from the other party on a plane together, communicating together, riding motorcycles together.”
Both Walberg and Peters are members of the Congressional Motorcycle Caucus, a fact that came up frequently during the discussion.
McClain, who entered Congress in 2021, spoke about her perceptions of politics and bipartisanship as she took office during a tumultuous time.
“I thought I should hate. … I thought I should be pure and not engage or interact with the other side. I assure you, divided government doesn't work,” McClain said. “What surprised me the most was how well the Legislature functions. … If you take the media out of the equation, we all want what's best for the next generation. We all want to leave the next generation, our kids, better off than we found them. … We can all agree we want Michigan to be at the top of the list.”
While opposing lawmakers often have different ideas about how to leave a better world for future generations, Stabenow and McClain said there are areas of agreement on how to make Michigan a better state, such as investing in mental health care. They both expressed appreciation for each other's work on the issue.
Despite the desire for cooperation in governance, Stabenow said it cannot be ignored that some politicians only want chaos, making it difficult to find common ground in that case.
“You have people coming to the Capitol in opposition to the government, and their goal is to shut down the government. Their goal is to create chaos. That's when it gets difficult,” Stabenow said.
Asked if the deputies trust each other, Stabenow and Peters said they do.
“Absolutely not,” McClain said, drawing laughter from the audience. He then said the panelists were all “predictable” and that trust comes with relationships and time. So far, McClain said he can trust that Stabenow and Peters seem to be looking out for the well-being of the common areas he values.
Walberg reflected on lessons he learned during his time serving alongside the late Rep. John Dingell (D-Dearborn), the longest-serving president in Congress' history.
“He had a policy of never campaigning against his Michigan colleagues. I asked him why, and he said it was because we have to work together, which means we have to trust each other. We may disagree with each other, but we have to trust that, even in the campaign process, we will deal openly and fairly and not do anything to intentionally undermine each other,” Walberg said.
“That doesn't mean, for example, that he didn't support my opponent, but he wasn't there with his sleeves rolled up like John Dingell was. I learned a lot from there. And our conference, to the fullest extent of our delegation, is still like that, and I think that fosters trust.”
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