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Conventional wisdom says that nothing can get done in Washington, D.C. to address America's biggest challenges. Conventional wisdom is wrong.
Recently, over 50 Republican Senators and Representatives joined with all Democrats in Congress to deliver a historic win for civil rights by passing the Respect for Marriage Act (RMA). The good faith commitments and willingness to compromise ensured this legislation, which secures same-sex and interracial marriage in the U.S., then made its way to the President for signature.
Once again, a determined group of problem solvers, including centrist and conservative Republicans, worked across the aisle to prove that practical, commonsense policymaking can still win the day in a divided country.
Of course, we all know passing any historic civil rights legislation like the RMA through Congress does not happen in a vacuum. It requires organized, persuasive and authentic bipartisan advocacy efforts that meet people where they are and bring them closer to where we want them to be.
Too many movements and advocacy efforts align themselves with one political party over the other. They label those that disagree with them from time to time as enemies and then lament why they fail to make progress on issues they care about.
We at Centerline, a centrist multi-issue advocacy platform, take the opposite approach: We like to win, and we have the record to prove it. Generating Republican support for the Respect for Marriage Act is just the latest example.
How did we do it?
The work this time, as always, begins with a disciplined, data-driven effort straddling the home states and Capitol Hill offices of legislators. Our goal was to provide lawmakers with the needed inputs throughout their deliberations to secure the Republican votes required for passage. We exceeded that goal by deploying field teams and conducting public opinion research in nine states. This effort, coupled with nearly 25,000 patch-through calls and dozens of in-state constituent meetings with Senate offices, helped to raise the voices of grassroots Republicans who supported passage of the RMA.
Along with former RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman, we organized a signatory letter of 430 high-profile Republican activists, operatives and elected leaders from every region of the country that served as veritable ambassadors to the U.S. Senate in support of the freedom to marry.
That's how we won.
Our issue-first, results driven approach is informed by decades of experience working with trusted thought partners and operatives across the ideological spectrum, who are dedicated to lending their voices to the issues that matter the most. We are committed to empowering like-minded Americans to push back against the voices of extremism on both sides of the aisle.
The RMA is just one recent example of lawmakers from both parties successfully navigating seemingly insurmountable political dynamics to pass consequential legislation. Results oriented senators reached agreements on modernized infrastructure investments (Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act), gun violence prevention (Safer Communities Act), the ratification of an international climate agreement (the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol), and a significant boost to repatriating microchip production to American shores (CHIPS Act).
That's an impressive list of accomplishments inside a narrowly divided Washington. And it's made possible when lawmakers and advocates reject shortsighted political gamesmanship in favor of the proven strategies aimed at building bipartisan consensus.
Voters, activists, and donors must be willing to support leaders who take political risks and work with others to solve the biggest policy challenges of our time, including protecting the civil rights of all Americans, adopting commonsense immigration reform, improving mental and behavioral health, and even developing clean energy infrastructure.
While some activist journalists, keyboard warriors, and vocal politicians will keep stoking the fires of political discord and dysfunction, rest assured there are many of us dedicated to getting the job done for the American people.
James Dozier is the Board President of Centerline Action.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
