>>> IVE KNOWN MEN AND WOMEN AND
INSPIRED MEN AND WOMEN THAT
PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN
HISTORY.
THEY OFTEN HAD SERIOUS
DISAGREEMENTS ABOUT HOW BEST TO
SERVE THE NATIONAL INTEREST.
BUT THEY KNEW HOWEVER SHARP AND
HEARTFELT THEIR DISPUTES,
HOWEVER KEEN THEIR AMBITIONS,
THEY HAD AN OBLIGATION TO WORK
COLLABORATIVELY TO ENSURE THE
SENATE DISCHARGE ITS
CONSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
EFFECTIVELY.
THE MOST REVERED MEMBERS OF THIS
INSTITUTION ACCEPTED THE
NECESSITY OF COMPROMISE IN ORDER
TO MAKE PROGRESS ON DEFENDING
AMERICAS PROBLEMS AND DEFEND
HER FROM HER ADVERSARIES.
>> THAT WAS JOHN McCAIN SPEAKING
ON THE SENATE FLOOR IN 2017,
CALLING ON HIS COLLEAGUES TO
TRUST ONE ANOTHER AND RETURN TO
REGULAR ORDER.
OUR NEXT GUEST CITES THAT MOMENT
IN HIS NEW PIECE MORE NEW WEEKE,
ASKING, WHY ARE MY COLLEAGUES IN
CONGRESS THROWING FLAMES INSTEAD
OF DOING THEIR JOBS.
JOINING US NOW, CONGRESSMAN TOM
SUOZZI OF NEW YORK.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING ON
THE SHOW TODAY.
WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU CAN SAY OR
DO TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM, WHICH SEEMS TO BE DEEPLY ROOTED WITHIN
SEEMS TO BE DEEPLY ROOTED WITHIN
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY?
>> ITS A LOT OF HARD WORK WE
HAVE TO DO AND THERE ARE
PROBLEMS ON BOTH PARTIES.
PEOPLE ARE BEING PULLED TO THEIR
EXTREMES AND TOO MANY PEOPLE ARE
WORRIED ABOUT THE PRIMARIES AND
FEEDING THEIR BASE INSTEAD OF
THE GENERAL ELECTION.
WERE BEING AMPLIFYIED BY SOCIAL
MEDIA, INCLUDING SOME OF THE
BREAKERS.
TOM FREEMAN REFERRED TO THE
MAKERS AND THE BREAKERS.
THE BREAKERS ARE USING SOCIAL
MEDIA TO PULL US FARTHER APART
SOMETIMES SOME OF OUR CABLE NEWS
SHOWS ARE PULLING ONE EXTREME OR
THE OTHER.
AND MOST CONCERNING, WE HAVE TO
BE CONCERNED ABOUT OUR FOREIGN
ADVERSARIES THAT ARE TRYING TO
SOW CIVIL UNRISTEST, GET US ALL
HATE EACH OTHER AND BE AGAINST
EACH OTHER IN HYPERBOLE AND
EXTREMES.
WE HAVE TO CONSTANTLY WORK AT
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS AND SEE
THAT WE CAN DISAGREE WITH OUR
COMPONENT S
COMPONENTS, BUT DEWE DONT HAVE
HOLD THEM IN TEMPTCONTEMPT.
>> SUCH A GREAT POINT TO BRING
UP, ESPECIALLY AFTER JOE BIDENS
SUMMIT WITH VLADIMIR PUTIN, THAT
OUR ADVERSARIES GLOBALLY BE IT
RUSSIA OR CHINA OR OTHER
COUNTRIES, NORTH KOREA, THAT
RIGHT NOW SEE THEMSELVES AS OUR
RIVALS LOVE TO SEE US DIVIDED,
LOVE TO SEE US FIGHTING EACH
OTHER.
WERE REALLY PLAYING INTO THEIR
OWN HANDS WHEN WE DO THAT.
YOU ARE PART OF A PROBLEM
SOLVERS CAUCUS.
MIKA TALKED ABOUT A PROBLEM WITH
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, BUT THERE
ACTUALLY ARE REPUBLICAN MEMBERS
IN THAT PROBLEM SOLVERS CAUCUS.
TALK ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIPS
WITH THEM AND WHATLL TOGETHER
ARE TRYING TO DO TO MOVE
LEGISLATION FORWARD THATS
BIPARTISAN AND FOR THE GOOD OF
THIS COUNTRY.
>> WELL, LETS EVERYBODY KNOW
FIRST THAT THE PROBLEM SOLVERS
CAUCUS IS 29 DEMOCRATS, 29
REPUBLICANS.
WE MEET ON A REGULAR BASIS,
SOMETIMES TWO OR THREE TIMES A
WEEK AND WE TRIED TO FIND COMMON
GROUND WITH EACH OTHER.
I HAVE A LOT OF GREAT PERSONAL
RELATIONSHIPS WITH MEMBERS OF
THE CONGRESS, BOTH THE DEMOCRATS
AND THE REPUBLICANS.
AND EVEN ON THINGS THAT WE
DISAGREE UPON, WEVE TRIED TO
BUILD TRUST OVER THE PAST
SEVERAL YEARS TO UNDERSTAND WHY
I DISAGREE WITH YOU, BASED UPON
HOW I WAS GREW UP AND BASED UPON
WHAT MY POLITICS ARE, I KNOW
YOURE NOT COMING FROM A BAD
PLACE.
YOU REALLY WANT TO DO WHATS
GOOD FOR THE COUNTRY.
AND WERE WORKING RIGHT NOW ON A
WHOLE HOST OF DIFFERENT THINGS
TO TRY TO BRING US TOGETHER,
WHETHER ITS ON INFRASTRUCTURE
OR POLICE REFORM, EVERY DAY,
WERE WORKING ON DIFFERENT
ISSUES TO TRY TO FIND COMMON
GROUND WITH EACH OTHER.
>> CONGRESSMAN, ITS WILLIE
GEIST.
AS YOU POINT OUT IN THE PIECE,
THE REWARD SYSTEM IN POLITICS
THESE DAYS AND THE INCENTIVES
ARE FOR THAT KIND OF EXTREMISM
THAT GETS YOU ATTENTION, THAT
GETS YOU ON PERHAPS A PRIME-TIME
CABLE NEWS SHOW, THAT GETS YOU
FUND-RAISING.
IM THINKING, FOR EXAMPLE, OF
KEVIN McCARTHY GOING INTO AN
OVAL OFFICE MEETING, AND COMING
OUT AND HAVING HIS CAMPAIGN SEND
OUT A MESSAGE THAT SAYS, I JUST
MET WITH THE RADICAL LEFTIST
PRESIDENT AND I NEED IDEAS HOW
TO DEFEAT HIM.
HOW DO YOU BREAK THAT CYCLE, THE
MORE EXTREME I AM, THE MORE FIRE
I CAN LIGHT, THE MORE GAS CAN I
PUT ON THE FLAMES, THE MORE
MONEY I RAISE, THE HIGHER
PROFILE I BECOME AND THE MORE
POWER I HOLD.
>> A BIG PART OF IT IS JUST
IDENTIFYING THAT THE PROBLEM
EXISTS AND WHY IT EXISTS.
THE MORE EXTREME YOU ARE, THE
MORE ONLINE I GET.
THE MORE RAPID I AM, THE MORE
FOLLOWERS I GET ON TWITTER.
MOST AMERICANS ARE REALLY JUST,
HEY, CANT YOU GET ALONG, WORK
TOGETHER, AND SOLVE PROBLEMS?
BUT MORE AND MORE OF THIS
HYPERBOLE AND EXTREMISM GETS
THAT BIG CHUNK OF PEOPLE IN THE
MIDDLE, THAT 50 TO 60% OF
AMERICANS TO BE POLITICALLY
DISENGAGED AND POLITICALLY
DISENCHANTED.
WE NEED TO KEEP ON POINTING IT
OUT AND UNDERSTAND THAT SOCIAL
MEDIA AND THE MEDIA BEING AS
FRACTURED AS IT IS, AND FEEDING
IT TO DIFFERENT GROUPS OF PEOPLE
IS A RELATIVELY GOOD PHENOMENON.
AND AS TIMES GOES ON, WE NEED TO
LOOK AT HOLDING OTHER PLATFORMS
MORE ACCOUNTABLE AND HOLD OUR
ADVERSARIES RESPONSIBLE FOR
SANCTIONS PROMOTING
DISINFORMATION AND
MISINFORMATION.
AND THE MOST IMPORTANT THING
BENEEDBEWE
NEED IS TO GET THE PEOPLE MORE
INVOLVED.
THE PEOPLE DONT WANT THE NUTS
AND EXTREMISM.
IF WE COULD ENCOURAGE THEM TO
SHOW UP AT THE PRIMARIES AND GET
MORE THAN 10 OR 15% OF PEOPLE TO
VOTE IN THE PRIMARIES,
POLITICIANS WOULD HAVE TO NOT
WORRY ABOUT FOCUSING ON JUST THE
RAPID BASE.
THEY WOULD HAVE TO FOCUS ON THE