24-hour news, money listed as challenges to bipartisanship at <em>Pizza & Politics</em>

Janel Shoun | 

 
Non-stop media coverage and the high cost of running a campaign are two of the culprits making bipartisanship in Washington, D.C., an endangered species, said a panel of veteran Congressional staffers at Lipscomb University’s Pizza & Politics forum on Monday, Nov. 16.
 
Tennessee’s Capitol Hill movers and shakers gathered in Shamblin Theatre to discuss the role of bipartisanship in policy-making and why it seems to be less and less doable in D.C.
 
On the panel were:
  • Tom Ingram, Former chief of staff to Sen. Lamar Alexander (D-TN) and the Senate Republican Policy Committee.
  • Beecher Frasier, Chief of Staff to Rep. Lincoln Davis (D-TN).
  • Lisa Quigley, Former Congressional candidate, now chief of staff to Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN).
  • Linda Peek Schacht, Veteran White House and Capitol Hill communication official, former communications director for the U.S. Senate Majority Leader and Lipscomb faculty member.
 
Schacht provided perspective from a pre-CNN era when Pres. Jimmy Carter worked closely with Sen. Howard Baker, “the Great Conciliator,” and others in Congress to make policy. In those days, presidents and congresspeople certainly worked together better, she said.
 
Ingram, a long-time political leader, agreed, saying that it is money and 24-hour news coverage that is killing bipartisanship.
 
He claims money is an issue because it has become so expensive to run a campaign that even senators with 6-year term horizons must begin fundraising for re-election as soon as they enter their Capitol Hill offices, he said. The media is a barrier because 24-hour news has created a huge need for more and more coverage, leading to more soundbytes and less thoughtful stories.
 
“24-hour infotainment has driven thought out of the process,” said Ingram. “You have to just give a soundbyte and then you have to move on to the next fundraiser… The good thing is that it’s not as bad as it appears on television. There is a lot of bipartisanship that you never hear about.”
 
Quigley polled the students and strongly encouraged them not to rely solely on niche news channels such as Fox News or MSNBC to get all their information and form opinions. If they do, they are getting only one side of the argument, she said. Students should also read the news coverage in the New York Times, or another long-standing credible newspaper, to get more objective information.
 
The panel was also asked about blogs and the role that the “rise of the individual” played in harming or helping bipartisanship. Ingram said he believed blogs are a response to lack of available credible information. Frasier noted that while political leaders may not need to shape policy based on blogs and the Internet, it is a good way to see how political acts are construed by the media and the public.
 
Pizza and Politics is coordinated by Schacht, Lipscomb associate professor of communication and political science and a former senior fellow with the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. This event is sponsored by the Lipscomb University Office of the Provost.