Letters to the editor on bipartisanship, civility and cooperation
Bipartisanship
Dear President Biden and Vice President Harris,
I am no stranger to the workings of the congress. My father was a U.S. Senator back in the 60s and 70s (Sen. James B. Pearson, R-Kansas). I grew up walking the halls of Congress and the capital building. So you might understand the effect the Jan. 6 insurrection had on me.
My father retired from the U.S. Senate in 1979 because he saw the path the Republican party was headed down. He believed in bipartisanship and worked tirelessly with Democrats as well as those of his party to get things done. He introduced a bill to reduce the filibuster to 60 votes to better stimulate bipartisanship. In 1975 with Senator Walter Mondale’s and others’ support, he got the bill passed.
I implore you to help carve out or end the filibuster, get strong voter’s right laws passed, and help save the democracy for which my father served so many years.
I know this most likely will not make it to your desk, or in fact anyone’s, but some of us out here are hoping some real leadership will to return to The Hill. Will it be you?
Civility
This pandemic has gone on for two years and two of the biggest casualties, in addition to almost one million tragic deaths, are civility and common sense.
Airline passengers punch stewardesses on flights. A prominent governor makes the statement that Dr. Fauci should be thrown in jail. If asked to wear a mask in a business, customers parrot the governor and say the business owner should go to jail for requiring it.
Instead of common sense like wearing a face mask and getting vaccinated, people are furious about such policies. They say it’s all political. No, it’s all about public health. Public health does trump our idiosyncrasies.
Armed insurgents and sycophants try to overthrow our democratic government. They came perilously close. Now they talk about civil war. Perhaps they should study what happens in a failed state after years of civil war.
We need to get our civility and common sense back. We need our democracy strengthened. As Winston Churchill once said, “Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worse form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time…”.
Cooperation
The Dec. 23 article concerning Gov. Laura Kelly’s policies and decisions (Governor wants Kansans to get a $250 tax rebate) continues the assumption that bipartisanship cooperation is dead. The article also assumes that these decisions are being made for the purpose of re-election.
I realize that in this era of political polarization and extreme partisanship anyone might reach this conclusion. But I would like to honor and reflect on two great Kansans, Bob Dole and Nancy Kassebaum, and submit another theory. Could it be that Gov. Kelly is trying to do the best thing for the people of Kansas?
Perhaps if all politicians would adhere to this principle rather than blindly following the Republican and Democratic flavor of the month or year we could truly help all Americans individually and our country collectively.