As 2023 and the 118th Congress have begun, partisanship is clearly on display. But we’ve also seen remarkable progress by small groups of cross-party members who have increasingly come together to move policy forward. While their efforts are billed by the media and the Washington chattering class as the inner workings of renegades and disruptive of party dominance, they are actually showing how Congress should work.
Finding cross-party compromise wasn’t meant to be a rare event spearheaded by small gangs of rebellious politicians. It is supposed to simply be “regular order.”
You might argue that this is an antiquated view of Congress and that bipartisanship is long dead — a relic of age-old politics that no longer works in today’s ultra-partisan world. But it turns out that the American people didn’t get the memo about the death of compromise.
Across America, the thirst for bipartisanship cooperation is very much alive.
According to a new poll conducted by The Tarrance Group and Lake Research Partners, two-thirds of Americans — Republicans, Democrats, and independents — agree that their elected officials should prioritize compromise in their work on behalf of the American people. In fact, 67 percent of Republicans, 75 percent of Democrats, and 75 percent of independents said bipartisan action was “very important” to them, the highest support they could give.
Key demographic voters were in full support — with numbers for “very important” at 70 percent or above in key swing voting groups such as suburban moms, Republicans under 45, rural voters, non-college educated white voters and Hispanic women voters. What’s more, they overwhelmingly point to the kinds of family and economic issues they think Congress should get to work on.
These findings mirror other research by Tarrance Group and Lake Research Partners that highlight the strong desire of voters for leaders to work together towards solutions.
When it comes to specifics on where to find common ground, the survey showed overwhelming bipartisan support for economic, pro-family policies that would assist struggling families with financial security. They include:
- Job creation — Promoting job creation and economic development (87 percent favor, including 64 percent “strongly favor.” This also crosses party lines, with 96 percent of Democrats, 77 percent of Republicans and 87 percent of independents in favor);
- Hunger — Providing help for those struggling with hunger (86 percent favor, including 70 percent “strongly favor,” with 98 percent of Democrats, 73 percent of Republicans and 84 percent of independents in favor);
- Mental Health — Providing mental health supports for young people and new mothers (86 percent favor, including 65 percent “strongly favor,” and includes 91 percent support among suburban moms, 96 percent support among Hispanic women, and 84 percent support among white non-college graduates);
- Child care — Making child care more affordable (83 percent favor, including 65 percent “strongly favor,” with 97 percent of Democrats, 69 percent of Republicans and 79 percent of independents in favor);
- Job training — Providing help for people to pay for job training programs (80 percent favor, including 49 percent “strongly favor,” with 94 percent of Democrats, 64 percent of Republicans and 82 percent of independents in favor);
- Paid family leave — Providing workers with access to paid family leave (80 percent favor, including 60 percent “strongly in favor,” with 96 percent of Democrats, 62 percent of Republicans and 78 percent of independents in favor, along with 85 percent support among Hispanic men and 95 percent support among Hispanic women);
- Child Tax Credit — Increasing the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 per child to $3,000 per child to reflect the higher cost of raising children (77 percent favor,including 91 percent of Democrats, 63 percent of Republicans and 74 percent of independents in favor).
Ed Goeas from the Tarrance group noted, “There is broad support among voters for action on these important issues.” Celinda Lake agreed: “When you get to support levels that hit 75-80-90 percent, you begin to tap into not just support, but a core value that is held by the voter. What’s interesting about this set of policies is that they are core no matter who you are — GOP voters, suburban moms, Hispanic women, and also those who identify as progressives.”
To be sure there are many things we disagree on. The media, social media clicks, and divisive rhetoric that emphasizes difference, disagreement and discord are not creating confidence in any part of government or any party in Congress. But in reality, there’s a lot that Americans agree on — and they want Congress to compromise to get things done for families and communities.
If we as voters — on both the left and the right — began to reward and in fact demand bipartisan action, rather than partisan political gamesmanship, Congress might start to address family and economic policies that Americans so desperately need.
Even small nudges — like the addition of a bipartisan co-sponsorship ranking by the Chamber of Commerce or the new “Dignity Index” led by Unite, which aims to tone down the rhetoric of disagreement during campaigns — can help.
Maybe then, a Congress doing the regular order of compromise to make progress wouldn’t be highlighted as a rogue body fighting for partisan allegiances; instead, it would be called a functioning republic.
Mark Rodgers is the founder of The Clapham Group, an impact agency based in Washington, D.C., focused on building common ground between policy makers, foundations, faith communities and key stakeholders around economic mobility and opportunity. Along with his co-author, Shelley Waters Boots, Mark works with a funding collaborative on these issues. Prior to this work, Mark served for 16 years as the chief of staff for Senator Rick Santorum.
Shelley Waters Boots is a philanthropic adviser based in Washington, D.C. who works on family and economic mobility policies with foundations across the country.