Making Legislators the Good Guys

by Jane Gruenebaum, Acting CEO

There’s something unusual about NBC’s hit show The West Wing. It’s not the fine acting and storytelling. It’s not the eerily accurate White House scenes. It’s the idea of portraying officeholders and government staff in a positive light. In The West Wing, they’re real people who really care. Why, politicians are the good guys!

This is quite a difference from the caricatures Americans usually see in the media. Too often, people in politics are described as insincere, or downright criminal. The result: polls show that “politicians” are among the least trusted professionals—right beside “used car salesmen.”

The pervasive cynicism and distrust that Americans have toward their government is a national sickness—one that threatens our democracy. Citizens who dislike and distrust government give up on the process. They don’t communicate with policymakers, don’t attend hearings, don’t stay current on issues, and don’t vote. Officeholders tend to respond by representing the people who remain interested in the process rather than all citizens. This, in turn, reinforces the cynicism. We spiral downward, further and further from our democratic ideals.

All of us have a responsibility to help reverse this trend.

CPA addresses this challenge through leadership development, collaboration and innovative policy solutions. We believe that positive change toward building healthy, safe, respectful and sustainable communities can come only when all voices are at the table, when unlikely allies convene, when public, private and nonprofit sectors cooperate, and when results are valued over ideology.

The Maine law lowering prescription drug prices for the uninsured is an excellent example. Led by Chellie Pingree (Flemming Fellow `96), bipartisan consensus was reached, and the Senate vote on this landmark legislation was unanimous and nearly so in the House. All parties united to find a worthy solution to the prescription drug crisis, but even more remarkably, Maine residents have a political process to believe in.

When we break out of political stalemate, and provide practical solutions to the very real problems Americans face, the public’s cynicism and distrust begins to fade. When politics works, democracy itself is the winner.

And then, someday, maybe we’ll see another popular TV show: The State House, where courageous (and attractive) state legislators and grassroots leaders earnestly work for a better tomorrow.