The Transpartisan Review Blog #26

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Transpartisan Imperative: Busting Out All Over

by A. Lawrence Chickering and James S. Turner

Comedy Central’s Samantha Bee and virulent conservative Glenn Beck? Together? Approaching one million views, “Strange Bedfellows – Full Frontal” with rebel Samantha Bee hosting ultraconservative Glenn Beck makes a Transpartisan point. “What we need now,” they claim to agree, “is for reasonable people to sit down with each other and say: O.K., your guy wasn’t the end of the world. My guy wasn’t the end of the world. How can we talk to each other?” Trigger warning: Bee uses tough language.

On NPR, Trump and Clinton voters civilly discuss the future after a heated campaign. They talk about shared visions, insights into how their campaign rhetoric might be seen differently than they intended, and reveal the many hues of each individual’s politics. Negotiator William Ury persuasively answers the question “How Do We Transform Conflict Into Cooperation?” on NPR’s TED Radio Hour.

Combative Conservative Weekly Standard editor William Kristol and equally insistent liberal Brookings Governance Studies program director William A. Galston announce together a New Brookings Center saying:

“As a Democrat and a Republican…We stand together in defense of the institutions of world order conducive to peace, prosperity and freedom that the past 12 presidents, six of each party, have worked to build and uphold.

“We stand together in defense of constitutional, orderly, and civil self-government that respects civil liberties and equal rights and the rule of law, and rejects bigotry of every kind.

“We stand together in our conviction of the continued vitality of the American Dream, secured by engagement with a hopeful future based on pride in the accomplishments of the past.”

This sample of cross-party, cross-interest, intergroup communication following the November 8th election signals an opening for Transpartisan initiatives. As Americans of all political persuasions across the country reach out to their neighbors, focusing on what they agree on, the American experiment enters the next phase of its development.

The Transpartisan Review, debuting inauguration week, plans to focus on these initiatives.

(Image captured from “Strange Bedfellows – Full Frontal” now available on YouTube.)

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