As Thanksgiving approaches, we hope lawmakers back home with their families and constituents are giving thanks for the opportunity to serve the citizens across this great nation. They should be congratulated for earning the trust of their constituents and getting the responsibility to be a leader in government. But they should also take a long look in the mirror and decide if they have measured up to that trust and responsibility. Because if they are being honest, in many cases they won’t like what they see.

Taxpayers for Common Sense has been working with Congress for nearly thirty years. During that time partisanship and political polarization have become a significant impediment to the effective functioning of government.

It wasn’t always like this and doesn’t have to be this way.

Let’s be clear. This is the toughest environment any of us at TCS have worked in. This new level of toxicity has manifested in incidents like the attacks on Paul Pelosi and Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), not to mention the harrowing events of January 6th. Even more recently a Senator challenged a hearing witness to a brawl, members are trading profanity-laced insults on the House Floor, and former-Speaker McCarthy was accused of elbowing one of his fellow Republican conference members. This environment of heightened aggression and division is a far cry from other, more cooperative eras of American politics, where, even amongst conflict and division, bipartisan efforts led to significant legislative achievements.

In the digital age the proliferation of social media and the fragmentation of news sources have led to heightened echo chambers of political thought. Platforms intensify this divide by tailoring content to align with pre-existing beliefs, spread misinformation and feed into ideological divisions. Gerrymandering, the strategic manipulation of electoral district boundaries, though not the primary driver, plays a significant role in this polarization by marginalizing moderate voices, creating a landscape where partisan extremes hold sway.

This cultural and political division permeates the economic and social fabric. We’ve all seen how it infiltrates family dynamics, professional environments, educational institutions, neighborhoods, and religious organizations. Division also breeds an environment of policy uncertainty, casting long shadows over consumer spending, business hiring, and investment decisions. Indeed, the ripple effects are global, influencing the U.S.’s economic policies, climate initiatives, defense strategies, agricultural decisions, and foreign relations.

To have enduring landmark policy successes the laws need to be bipartisan. Legislation like the Civil Rights Act or 1986 tax reform or more recent successes like Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act of 2012 or Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act all have a common bipartisan trait.

These historical examples underscore the potential for bipartisanship in addressing pressing issues. To navigate away from our current unsustainable path, we need leaders and elected officials committed to the principles of governance and public service. It’s crucial for these leaders to remember their fundamental role: to govern effectively and ensure the government works for the taxpayers. We believe these leaders are out there. In the last two months large bipartisan majorities came together to pass two continuing resolutions to keep the government’s lights on without a shutdown. Members on both sides eschewed the purists in their respective parties to find a compromise to raise the debt ceiling. And the House Budget Committee hearing on a potential fiscal commission showed us, from the Speaker’s office to the newest members, there is growing support for finding new ways to tackle our most pressing problems.

This call for restored civility is not just about political necessity but about restoring faith in American democracy and its institutions so we can all have a government to be thankful for.

With that in mind we wish you and yours a very happy Thanksgiving!