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Q&A
BRIDGING DIVIDES
C O U RT E SY O F BI L L H OAG LA N D
Polarization is so pervasive in the United
States that, ironically, it is one of the few things
Americans agree on. In a June 2021 Georgetown
University poll, voters rated “division in the
country” as the most important issue facing
them personally.
Bill Hoagland (A’69) operates in what might be
the capital of polarization—Washington, DC—
as senior vice president of the Bipartisan Policy
Center, a think tank that works to combine “the
best ideas from both parties to promote health,
security, and opportunity for all Americans.” The
center was founded by Tom Daschle, George
Mitchell, Howard Baker, and Bob Dole—two
Democrats and two Republicans who served
as U.S. Senate majority leaders.
Even after 40 years on and around Capitol
Hill, including 25 as a Senate staff member,
Hoagland remains optimistic. He spoke with us
about how he does it.
To some, the notion of the Bipartisan Policy
Center might sound quaint, or even extinct,
given all of the polarization in America. How
much work is being done on a bipartisan basis
in Washington these days? The headlines
would suggest that very little is getting done
on a bipartisan basis. But I would argue that
behind the headlines, the big issues—the debt
and fiscal policy issues—there’s a lot going on.
Telework, telehelp, telemedicine. There is work
going on in the expansion of broadband.
Let’s be fair. Things are very partisan, broadly,
but there is work going on amongst the senators
and representatives and the president. These are
good people operating under bad incentives, and
that creates the difficulties that we have today.
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I’m not going to sugarcoat it. It’s not easy.
I think it’s driven largely by factors that we didn’t
have in the past—social media, talk radio and talk
TV, and 24/7 media coverage. It makes it more
difficult to find those bipartisan agreements. But
this is the essence of our democratic process.
Most of the real work gets done behind the
scenes—not in the limelight of the cameras and
microphones.
I’m still a Hoosier and Boilermaker, and
I still have the optimistic mindset after all these
years working in this area of government that
the best way to operate is through compromise
and bipartisanship.
How often does the polarized environment
leave you frustrated, and how do you
personally find the motivation to keep trying?
I think that it’s just basic. I believe that this
form of government has its weaknesses and is
difficult, but I still think it’s the best option. As
Churchill would say, you can always count on
Americans to do the right thing after they’ve
tried everything else. I’m of that mindset.
These are difficult times, but there are
good people willing to make sacrifices and
compromise. I’ve never given up hope that
we can solve these problems. There are days
when I wonder if we should leave it to the next
generation, but I’ve not reached that point yet. I
intend to continue where I think this organization
and myself can have some influence to literally
help preserve the democratic process. I do
think we are at a difficult point here, but I’m not
going to give up on this system of government
that we have.
—TOM KERTSCHER
“These are
difficult times,
but there are
good people
willing to make
sacrifices and
compromise.”
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