Require cooperation from legislators

Whenever our nation goes through a crisis involving either national or financial security, the reaction is often the same; lost confidence in the political process and pursuit of simplistic, extreme and frequently counterproductive solutions.

Most of us are frustrated with the gridlock that holds vital legislation hostage to the whims of a few political demagogues, and yet we continue to re-elect them.

Conventional political wisdom holds that the nation is better served when power is not aggregated in one party, and that may be true, providing that the leadership of each party is committed to reaching a consensus when critical issues arise. That is not the case at present. Republicans in particular have calculated that it is better to obstruct than compromise. Positions they advocated as recently as a year ago are suddenly deemed unacceptable when proposed by Democrats.

To fix the problem, voters on both sides of the aisle must ask their candidates how they intend to work with the opposition to accomplish reasonable solutions, because regardless of the election results neither side will dictate policy. The smears and debauchery that occur in a typical election cycle do not make this an easy task. Especially in the primaries, candidates are loath to suggest that they will compromise on anything, but the question must be asked.

The second piece is to inform candidates of our expectations. Do we really want representatives to oppose important legislation simply because it is proposed by the opposition, or because party leadership has its own peculiar agenda? That has been standard operating procedure in this Congress and the results have been disastrous. The people are left with convoluted laws and policy that no one can support. It will take some effort, but a committed, well-informed electorate can change this process.

William S. Hicks

Carpentersville