Is It Time to Stop Working Across the Aisle?

Things have changed in America. Apparently, gone is the time when people from both political parties wanted common sense policies that moved us toward the common good.

On Friday, ten Democrats in the Senate voted for a Republican-sponsored budget bill. Passing this bill helped avert a government shutdown. But many Democrats, especially those in the House of Representatives, were angry about this cooperation. And that anger isn’t even reflected in this poll, which was conducted earlier in March.

Now, the majority of Democrats and independents who lean left say that the party needs to stop trying to compromise with Republicans to get legislation passed, and it should instead run full-tilt toward doing everything it can to oppose the Trump agenda.

This is a huge change from less than ten years ago, when nearly three-quarters of Democrats said the opposite: that their preferred party should work with Republicans instead of actively trying to counter them.

But perhaps one of the most startling findings is that over the past four years – since January 2021 – the nationwide favorability of the Democratic Party has sunk 20 percentage points, down to 29%, and the lowest of all time since CNN began tracking this information three decades ago.

Source: CNN

I am working this week on an article about how Trump voters are feeling about the job the president is doing. If you’d like to take a brief survey about that, please click here. We pledge to keep your information private; we do not share it with any third parties.

But in the meantime, I’d love to hear from you in the comments: has the Democratic Party decreased in favorability in your eyes? Why or why not?

Interview Coming Wednesday

Last week, I spoke at Stanford and got the chance to meet with James Mattis, the former Secretary of Defense under Trump. I found him to be thoughtful, warm, and funny. When I told him my father was a Marine, he told me I had good genes. He listened intently to my talk and showed me that he had taken two pages of notes on what I said.

One of the big takeaways I am still thinking about from getting to know General Mattis is the danger we face if we vilify instead of honor government service. If we cast all people engaged in public service as corrupt, elite, or part of “the swamp,” then people who view themselves as being of high moral character and wanting to do good in the world will by default not be attracted to the important work of government.

So many American heroes worked for the government in some capacity; who will our heroes of the future be if the culture now proclaims that government employees are lazy or nefarious?

That wasn’t all I did at Stanford. Friday morning, I texted my producer several outfit options for the interview I had scheduled later that day. We finally settled on silver shoes, black pants, and a lilac jacket.

As I sat with the film crew waiting for my guest to arrive, I wondered if I had chosen the wrong outfit, and should have gone with a different jacket instead.

Imagine my surprise, then, when Condoleezza Rice, former National Security Advisor and Secretary of State, arrived at the interview wearing… almost exactly the same thing. We chuckled about great minds thinking alike and she joked that people were going to think we were twins. (Almost, y’all. Almost.)

Stay tuned for the video interview, and make sure you’re subscribed so it lands in your inbox.

New Orleans Book Festival

I’ll be at the New Orleans Book Festival next week. I’m speaking on March 28, and signing books afterward, and on March 29, I’ll be moderating a discussion with historian Max Boot about the life and legacy of Ronald Reagan.

I’d love to see you there! Here’s a link for the schedule of events – it’s truly a star-studded literary lineup. (It’s also free and open to the public!)