Edwards tapped to lead new fellowship

Wilson School lecturer Mickey Edwards was named director of a new Aspen Institute fellowship to educate young elected officials and reduce partisanship.

The Aspen Institute-Rodel Fellowship in Public Leadership will sponsor 24 officials in a two-year program designed to increase civility in public discourse and promote cooperation across party lines.

Though the fellowship will primarily target politicians in local and state government, politicians from all levels of government will be eligible to participate.

Edwards, who served as a member of Congress for 16 years, said he looks forward to boosting enthusiasm for public office and reducing partisanship.

"We will be on the lookout for young leaders who are thoughtful, reflective and not knee-jerk," he said. "We are tired of people shouting at each other."

Edwards hopes to reduce the polarization he said has increased in government since he served as a Republican member of the House of Representatives from 1977 to 1992. Politicians are less likely to consider opposing viewpoints today, Edwards said, in part due to the relative parity of seats held by both parties.

When the Democrats held a strong majority, "Republicans were forced to compromise; they had to," Edwards said.

Edwards also blamed greater partisanship on an increasingly confrontational media culture, including television programs Edwards described as "shows in which individuals hurl insults at individuals they disagree with."

Partisanship hurts emerging legislation, Edwards said, by limiting the possibility that bills will have multiple avenues of input. "If one side has sufficient votes, they shape legislatio; otherwise, they don't bring it up," he said.

Wilson School Dean Anne-Marie Slaughter '80 praised Edwards' efforts to halt political infighting. "I think we are approaching both external and internal threats of sufficient magnitude that a time of extraordinary political consensus is called for," she said.

Edwards said the polarization of the political climate contributes to young people's disinterest. "[I am] dismayed at the number of sharp, bright young people in America who absolutely would not consider a life in politics," he said.

"Democracies have a unique feature — professors and bureaucrats don't make laws. Decisions about what kind of country we have are made by elected people," Edwards said. "And when you have a tremendous numbers of talented young people who say 'I don't want to do that' . . . that is a problem for our country."