In the fall of 2019, the Niskanen Center partnered with The Washington Post to organize “On Common Ground,” a series of op-ed pieces dedicated to exploring policy ideas with cross-party appeal.
As Brink Lindsey argued in the introductory essay in this series, even in our current era of political polarization almost no legislation succeeds without some measure of bipartisan support. And since polarization is mostly about issues of identity rather than policy, there are many promising policy ideas that Republicans and Democrats can agree on. “There are a host of policy controversies, with implications for national welfare ranging from significant to profound, whose competing sides are not clearly associated with either Team Red or Team Blue,” Lindsey wrote. “Here in this broad no-man’s-land, moderates can focus squarely on pressing national problems without getting caught up in the partisan screamfest.”
Essays in the Series
- Framing Essay: Brink Lindsey, “Moderates, not all is lost. Here’s how we move forward.” September 27, 2019.
- John Lettieri, “Want to fix the United States’ immigration and economic challenges? Try place-based visas.” November 21, 2019.
- Jonathan Gruber and Simon Johnson, “We need new research hubs—but not on the coasts. Here’s how to get them.” December 6, 2019.
- Lusine Poghosyan, “Here’s an easy way to increase high-quality, affordable health care.” January 2, 2020.
- Isabel Sawhill and John Bridgeland, “Here’s a cost-effective national service proposal that could bridge our deep divisions.” February 21, 2020.
- Lyman Stone, “The key tool to a safe opening is not social distancing,” May 18, 2020.