Nine-Term Former Congresswoman Urges Next President to Fix “Broken Congress”
T. Boone Pickens
Memorial account for T. Boone Pickens, 1928-2019. This account is now being maintained by TBP Foundation team members.
Who can fix our broken Congress?
That’s one of the key questions that Jane Harman will be trying to answer as she watches Monday night’s presidential debate.
When I sat down with Jane, I knew of her strong Democratic credentials. I’m a committed Republican. I was worried that we’d spend a lot of time butting heads. In fact, we found some common ground, and some areas to explore further.
Jane represented California’s 36th Congressional District for 18 years and is currently the president of the non-partisan Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. On top of these credentials, Jane also serves on the Commission on Presidential Debates. Like me, she is a firm believer in building consensus. She told me that the top priority of our next president is ending the gridlock that has brought Congress to a standstill.
“The first order of business for the next president is to change the broken business model of Congress. I remember being in Congress and voting for the 1997 balanced budget. It was overwhelmingly popular, and years of prosperity followed. I don’t think we can do that anymore, which is a tragedy. The toxic partisanship is immobilizing,” she said.
Despite what you may think about our political system, Jane believes fixing Congress can actually be done, and it has to start with the executive branch.
“Presidential leadership matters,” Jane told me. “Lyndon Johnson understood how to do it. Ronald Reagan understood how to do it. But we seem to have lost our way.”
Another pointer Jane gave me for Monday night is that it’s not the moderator’s job to question the candidates’ truthfulness. The candidates need to do it themselves.
“A lot of attention has been paid to the moderators. There was criticism of Matt Lauer [a couple of weeks ago]. But I have a lot of sympathy for debate moderators. I don’t think they’re the ones who should be making sure that everything is true. I think the candidates have to point it out about each other,” Jane said.
Like millions of other Americans, I’ll tune in Monday night to the first presidential debate at Hofstra University. And Jane? She’ll have a front row seat!
System Engineer at Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project, IEEE Member
8 年I spent almost 20 years in the construction trade, and then when I joined a team to commission a new plant I got to learn so many new things, but at the same time I brought something of my own to the process. One of my favorite things to ask an Engineer when we were testing a piece of equipment, after the Engineer had said, "This equipment is broken," would be "How do you know?" If you do not know what the machine is supposed to do, how do you know it is broken, how can you say it is broken, only that you see the machine doing something YOU do not want it to be doing, but that is not a definition of broken. So many people today will say, "The government is broken," or "congress is broken," or the "courts are broken." But do you really understand what those organizations are supposed to be doing? Do you? Sure, we all want to believe in the power of a just and fair democracy, but we all need to take a close look at what our systems of government are actually designed to do, who they are designed to provide the most benefit to, and I think it is not a surprise to anyone that it is not always what we think it is.
It's not the only thing that's broken and needs fixing.
Seeking Opportunities in Fitness with elearning
8 年nine terms is the problem
Vice President/ CFO at Thermcor Inc.
8 年Also, have the positions "UNPAID" without the golden parachute benefits package! This would bring out more "true patriots" with the country's best interests at heart!!