Former Senator Snowe speaks on bipartisanship

Former United States Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) analyzed causes of record-breaking congressional inefficiency, its societal impacts and potential remediation strategies in a lecture on Wednesday, reinforcing the need for bipartisan compromise.

Snowe described the current Congress as the worst in history and the least productive legislative body since 1947. Rather than creating policies to address challenges at home and abroad, she said, congressional legislators the past four years have been more preoccupied with getting reelected or advancing partisan dominance.

“We put our future in jeopardy with all these issues piled in Congress. Legislating is now viewed as an antiquated practice,” Snowe said.

The congressional approval rate has hit 12 historic lows since 2010, she noted, with ratings dipping as low as 10 percent in 2012. In major surveys collected over the past four years, 71 percent of Americans said that their government is moving in the wrong direction.

Snowe explained that ideological polarization is not the issue at hand, for 80 percent of current legislators identify themselves as “moderates.” Rather, she explained, it is their sidelining that allows more radical colleagues to dominate the floors.

“Our current political system is an aberration, not a norm. In 1987, there were 97 congressmen who were willing to work with the other party. Now, only four out of 434 can walk across the aisle,” Snowe said.

Having co-chaired the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington — a coalition of policymakers, non-profit organizations and political science scholars — Snowe cited studies of congressional compromise during the administrations of George H. W. Bush, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. She noted that though there were ideological differences among legislators, their cooperation yielded functional budgets and policies for the common good.

“There was never a golden era of bipartisanship. Even our founding fathers were opinionated. But in the end, they realized the gravity and indispensability of consensus," Snowe said. "Yet, unfortunately, bipartisanship is rare today.”

Snowe also discussed a handful of “self-engineered crises” resulting from the congressional stalemate, the most notable being the debt ceiling impasse of 2011, when the inability of Congress to resolve its differences came at a $20 billion cost to taxpayers. Furthermore, she noted, many Americans are still harmed by the costs of the 2013 budget sequestration. Forty-nine percent of Americans still believe the US is in a recession, as the U.S.’s debt-to-GDP ratio continues to rise and unemployment remains high, she said.

“Economic expansion goes hand in hand with government cooperation,” Snowe said. “America deserves better.”

To salvage the Washington fiasco, Snowe encouraged her audiences to become active voters, especially during primaries, when voter turnout is as low as 18 to 20 percent.

“We must reward those who can work across the aisles and demand accountability from all candidates. Change will not come from the institution itself,” she said.

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Snowe also noted that she has been spearheading Citizens for Political Reform, a movement to lobby against gerrymandering for single-party rule. She encouraged her audiences to communicate their demand for change, inviting University students to participate in the initiative and start a chapter on campus.

Snowe represented Maine in the House from 1979-95, before being elected to the Senate. She unexpectedly announced that she would not seek reelection for a fourth term in 2012. She authored the book “Fighting for Common Ground,” which advocates for bipartisanship, in 2013.

The event, titled “What's Gone Wrong in Washington, and Why it Doesn't Have to be This Way,” took place at Robertson Hall at 12:15 p.m. and was sponsored by the Wilson School.